Front Row Motorsports Cup Series Race Report - Charlotte 1

No. 34 Walmart / RTIC Ford Mustang Dark Horse:

Starting ninth, his 8th Top-10 starting spot of the season, Michael McDowell was ready to make some noise and keep his Walmart/RTIC Ford Mustang Dark Horse up front. The No. 34 team played the long game and tried the overcut to stay out and lead 6 laps during the first round of green flag pit stops. The strategy proved successful as McDowell was able to drive back through the field on fresh rubber to finish Stage 1 in 10th place, earning stage points. The ensuing pit stop during the stage break, Crew Chief Travis Peterson made the call to take two tires and gain track position for the remaining 17 laps in the Stage. While McDowell held his own, a tight race car in traffic put the No. 34. But luckily, a caution from Ryan Blaney allowed another round of pit stops and adjustments to be made. The 34 pit crew helped McDowell gain two spots on pit road, to restart 11th. McDowell had a great restart and drove up to as high as 9th before another caution involving Noah Gragson was flown with 30 laps to go in the stage. With storms looming and not wanting to give up track position, the No. 34 elected to stay out, taking the restart with 35 laps to go in Stage 3 in 7th place. Unfortunately, McDowell's Dark Horse only got tighter in the short run and a Harrison Burton caution with 4 laps to go, ended the stage with McDowell in 16th-place. The cars were brought to pit road for the Honor and Remembrance moment of silence, as he restarted 16th after another round of pit stops. Another caution gave McDowell and the No. 34 pit crew a chance to gain spots on pit road, restarting 12th, but again he fought a tight race car and fell back to 16th position. The caution was thrown for rain with 55 laps to go in Stage Three and after a heavy downpour, NASCAR declared the official.

Start: 9th

Stage One: 10th

Stage Two: 16th

Race Result: 16th

DRIVER MICHAEL MCDOWELL:

"It's just frustrating, we had a solid Ford Mustang Dark Horse after a good qualifying effort to get in the top-10. We had good long run pace, but with so many cautions, we really couldn't make the short run adjustments compared to the guys up front. The car was super tight on some of those restarts, and then the rain didn't help shortening the race. But I'm happy with the progress we've made the past few weeks. We continue to show speed and know we have what it takes, we have a great stretch of tracks coming up for us for us to go get a win."

No. 38 Quincy / Warthog Compressor Store Ford Mustang Dark Horse:

Todd Gilliland competed in his third Coca-Cola 600 this past Sunday at the Charlotte (N.C.) Motor Speedway. Qualifying 35th, Gilliland was in for a long 600-mile race. Starting in his patriotic Quincy / Warthog Compressor Store Ford Mustang Dark Horse, Gilliland settled in and managed to pick away at the competition. Gilliland was one of the first to come down pit road to receive four tires and fuel. Gilliland continue to battle and finished the first stage in the 30th position. Gilliland returned to pit road under the stage break caution for fresh rubber and adjustments to tighten up his Ford Mustang Dark Horse. Continuing to pick up spots, Gilliland still fought with the handling of his race car. Stage Two ended under caution after fellow competitor, Harrison Burton, went for a spin. Gilliland finished Stage Two in the 24th position. The cars were brought to pit road for the Honor and Remembrance moment of silence and when back on track, Gilliland and the No. 38 pitted for right-side tires only, restarting in the 13th position. After another caution was thrown for the No. 7, Gilliland pitted. The caution was thrown for rain with 55 laps to go in Stage Three and after a heavy downpour, NASCAR declared the race official.

Start: 35th

Stage One: 30th

Stage Two: 24th

Race Result: 17th

DRIVER TODD GILLILAND:

"It's a bummer we couldn't finish the race. Ryan (Bergenty) and the team finally got our Ford Mustang Dark Horse tuned in, and I felt like we had something to compete for a Top-15 with. Given everything from the qualifying effort and the weather, I'll take a Top-20, it's just unfortunate that we couldn't finish out the race to see what we really had. We've made good gains in the points and are looking forward to the coming weeks."