FRM Daytona Race Recap

McDowell and Gilliland Crash Late While Racing Up Front in Daytona

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The NASCAR Cup Series regular season came to a close at Daytona International Raceway as Michael McDowell and Todd Gilliland had hopes of clinching a playoff spot heading into the weekend.

In a race that was supposed to take place on Saturday night under the lights, the drivers eventually raced into Sunday afternoon due to a rain-out that took out both qualifying and the original race start time.

Michael McDowell and Todd Gilliland both found themselves racing up front racing for the lead throughout the race but both were unfortunately involved in crashes that ended their day early. McDowell and the No. 34 Horizon Hobby team were credited with a 32nd place finish while Gilliland and the No. 38 First Phase Mustang finished in 23rd.

After qualifying on Friday evening was canceled due to rain, Todd Gilliland and the No. 38 First Phase team started the 400-mile event from the 32nd position, but quickly made up ground to the front.

As the field crossed the line to finish Stage One, Gilliland had worked his way up to the 12th position and did not stop there. The No. 38 would continue to fight forward, working through the draft and settling into sixth at the end of Stage Two. While racing late in the final stage, rain began to fall quickly on the race track. As the field entered Turn One, the track was too slick, creating a big wreck collecting Gilliland and ending his day early.

"It was fun to get up front and race for the lead throughout the day," said Gilliland. "Unfortunately, it got really wet going into turn one and everyone lost traction and I just had nowhere to go. I have never seen anything like that. It is a bummer for our First Phase crew, I thought we were in a good position for the end."

Michael McDowell and the No. 34 Horizon Hobby team benefited from Friday's qualifying rain-out as they took the green flag from the ninth position for the 160-lap race on the super speedway.

McDowell battled inside the top ten for a majority of event, capturing the lead to start the final stage. While the No. 34 was pacing the field out front, McDowell would get a bump down the back straightway, upsetting the car and sending him in to the outside wall, effectively ending the strong run.

"It is not the way we want to end this race," said McDowell. "It is just a product of this type of racing. I hate it for my guys. We really wanted to secure this win a get a spot in the playoffs, but Daytona had other plans. We are not done though, I am confident we can get this No. 34 team in to victory lane before this year comes to an end."

FRM now travels to Darlington Raceway for the Southern 500 on Sunday night.

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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 . 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