MOORESVILLE, N.C. (May 16, 2022)– Front Row Motorsports (FRM) visited the Kansas Speedway for the first of two visits to the track this season. FRM came home with a trophy thanks to Zane Smith and the Speedco NASCAR Camping World Truck Series team. Michael McDowell led the charge on Sunday and Todd Gilliland enjoyed his birthday with an ever-improving race.
SMITH DOMINATES KANSAS TRUCK RACE
Going into the weekend, crew chief Chris Lawson and the No. 38 Speedco Ford team had hopes of delivering Smith his first mile-and-a-half win of his career. The team did that in dominating fashion.
Smith led the only practice session and then qualified the Speedco Ford F-150 inside the top-five. Once the green fell, it was only moments later when Smith took the lead. He led for the majority of Stage One before losing the top spot to finish second in the stage.
Smith and the team made adjustments and won Stage Two. The final stage, Smith had over a four second lead before a late-race caution fell. Smith beat the field on the restart and pulled away. After leading a career-best 108 laps, Smith took his third win of the season and extended his Playoff lead.
SMITH ON KANSAS
“We had an incredible truck. I feel like we struggled with the handling at the end of the first stage. It took some work, but this was our Vegas truck, and we all know how it ran there. The team made the right adjustments. It's great to have so many people supporting us and working with us. The people on this program are pretty special."
MCDOWELL BATTLES CHANGING TRACK CONDITIONS, FINISHES 23RD
The weekend did not start the way the Michael McDowell and the Love’s Travel Stops Ford Mustang team wanted. But, the team proved fast on race day. Qualifying midfield, McDowell was able to work the car inside the top-20. McDowell was strong and raced close to the top-15 before the end of Stage One.
Teams fought the changing track conditions on Sunday, but the Love's Travel Stops team were on top of it all afternoon. The end of Stage Two, McDowell was at his best. The team had "caught a caution" and moved up to 12th. McDowell finished the end of the stage in 14th.
McDowell stayed near the top-15 to start the final stage and raced inside the top-18. The car became tight on the final pit stop and McDowell finished 23rd.
McDOWELL ON KANSAS
“We should have had a better result in at the end. Blake and the team made great adjustments, the car was fast, and we were right there for a top-15. We just lost the handling right at the end. That cost us. We had a good day and we'll learn from it and close it out and the next mile-and-a-half race."
GILLILAND STRUGGLES EARLY, REBOUNDS TO FINISH 25TH
Todd Gilliland started his birthday weekend much of the same as his teammate. The First Phase Credit Card Ford Mustang team didn't have the qualifying result they hoped for, but made huge gains during the race.
Spending a majority of the race loose into the corner and very tight off, as the laps clicked off, the better the car got. Capitalizing on a caution to get the free pass, Gilliland took advantage of being back on the Lead Lap.
Starting the final stage in the top-20, the team worked hard on the car with each opportunity to correct the corner entry. It helped and Gilliland finished top-25.
GILLILAND ON KANSAS
“The weekend didn’t go the way we wanted, but we learned a lot and got better throughout the race. A lot of these races are firsts for me, so the track time is invaluable and important. I feel like we are getting better each week, and I am getting better as races go on, learning how the car and track changes as these races progress. That type of thing you can’t get enough of, so we will keep working and keep learning.”
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.
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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