Atlanta II Weekend Recap

Another Second-Place Finish for Smith in Boot Barn F-150

McDowell and Fr8Auctions.com Team Bounce Back to 15th

Gilliland and YANMAR Run Top-Two and Finish 17th

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It was a busy weekend for the drivers and teams at Front Row Motorsports. Activity began last Thursday when YANMAR hosted Todd Gilliland at the Atlanta Braves game. The game was followed by Gilliland visiting the YANMAR EVO Center to test drive their equipment and have fun all day on Friday.

Meanwhile, over in Mid-Ohio, Zane Smith and the Boot Barn team was qualifying for their NASCAR Camping World Truck Series event. Smith qualified 13th and again finished second in the race on Saturday. Smith and the team put themselves in position to lock the regular season championship at the next race at the Pocono Raceway just by showing up.

Back at the Atlanta Motor Speedway on Sunday, it was an electric, drafting-style race that produced can't miss television. Michael McDowell and the Georgia-based Fr8Auctions.com team scored their fourth consecutive top-15 finish.

Gilliland raced the YANMAR No. 38 Ford to a 17th-place finish after racing in the top-five earlier in the race.

Smith and the Boot Barn team continued their remarkable season on Saturday at the Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course. It was clear early that Smith and eventual winner Parker Kligerman were going to go head-to-head for the win.

It was a heavyweight battle defined by thrilling passes and a respect for racing that was the talk of NASCAR Nation all Saturday evening. Kligerman took Stage One and Smith and the Boot Barn team took Stage Two. In the race for the win, Kligerman and Smith raced nose-to-tail, side-by-side, and dominated the remainder of the field. The Boot Barn Ford may have been slightly faster, but Smith didn't wreck Kligerman to win. Smith finished second and earned the respect some drivers are lacking.

Smith continued to impress NASCAR fans and positioned FRM to take the regular season championship at Pocono in two weeks.

"It'd be tough to wreck the guy who helped push me to my Daytona win," said Smith. "I have to thank everyone at FRM for bringing another fast truck. Thanks to Boot Barn for supporting us and everyone with the team. We came close and will try again at Pocono."

It was shaping up to be a career day for Cup Series rookie Gilliland on Sunday afternoon behind the YANMAR Ford. The team put Gilliland in position to race with the top-10 drivers in Stage One and Two and Gilliland drafted to the front. Although he didn't lead a lap, Gilliland helped push fellow rookie Harrison Burton to the lead and Gilliland followed in second.

Gilliland raced with eventual winner Chase Elliott in the lead draft before shuffling back after pit stops. The YANMAR Ford was racing back to the front when Gilliland was collected in a nine-car accident that resulted in driver-side damage.

The team made repairs throughout the final stage and Gilliland hung tough with the damaged body. He avoided other accidents and finished a strong 17th at the end of the day.

"A huge improvement for us from our first Atlanta race, so I am proud of that," said Gilliland. "Our YANMAR Ford was good in the draft and it was fun to race with Harrison at the front. I wish we didn't have the damage. We had a great day going, but still ended 17th. A lot of good things to take away from today for sure.

"Thanks to YANMAR for such a fun week. We did a lot and I felt the support. That makes us all feel good and want to keep working hard."

McDowell looked like he and his Fr8Auctions.com team had a car that could compete for the race win on Sunday. However, a Lap 92 accident left McDowell with damage and then a cut tire put the team three laps down. Just moments earlier McDowell was easily racing in the top-10.

The team came back from the deficit to get back on the Lead Lap for the final restarts. McDowell raced back to 15th and closed the gap to the top-20 in the points. He is now only three points out of 19th.

"A wild day for us at Atlanta with our Fr8Auctions.com Ford," said McDowell. "We were super fast early and made a couple changes on the balance. I thought we were going to have a shot to run up front, but just got caught up when the 19 got spun by the 1.

"That ruined our day, but we fought hard and got three laps back. I don't know how we did that, but we got a top-15. The streak continues. The guys worked hard on pit road to fix this car and make it fast at the end. Big thanks to Fr8Auctions.com for what they do for us at Front Row Motorsports. Them and the Brave Like Wyatt Foundation, everyone with Love's, Speedco, Speedy Cash, Horizon Hobby, WISE Power, Stage Front- there are a lot of people behind us this year and it's showing."

The Front Row Motorsports NASCAR Cup Series teams head to the New Hampshire Motor Speedway this weekend. The truck team will have a weekend off before racing at the Pocono Raceway.

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ABOUT FRONT ROW MOTORSPORTS Front Row Motorsports (FRM) is a winning organization in the NASCAR Cup and Camping World Truck Series and the 2021 Daytona 500 champions. The team was founded in 2004 and is owned by successful entrepreneur, Bob Jenkins. FRM fields the No. 34 and the No. 38 NASCAR Cup Series teams along with the No. 38 NASCAR Camping World Truck Series team– from its Mooresville, N.C. headquarters. Visit teamfrm.com and follow FRM on social media: Twitter at @Team_FRM, Instagram at @team_frm and Facebook at facebook.com/FrontRowMotorsports.

-30- TEAM CONTACTS: Michael McDowell John Dragonetti E-mail: jdragonetti@frontrowmotorsports.com Mobile: 704-578-9937 Todd Gilliland and Zane Smith Chris Murdock Mobile: 740-861-4534 E-Mail: cmurdock@frontrowmotorsports.com