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Front Row Motorsports Cup Series Race Report - Martinsville 2

No. 34 Benebone Ford Mustang Dark Horse:

Michael McDowell became just the 47th different driver in the NASCAR Cup Series to make his 500th career start, at the Martinsville Speedway. Looking to have a steady, consistent run at the Paperclip, McDowell and the No. 34 Benebone Ford Mustang Dark Horse started 24th place. After an early caution, the 34 pitted for four tires and fuel under the caution period. Holding strong in Stage 1, McDowell finished 22nd. Towards the end of Stage 2, the No. 34 was playing the long-game strategy-wise to try and jump positions, eventually finishing 18th. In the final stage, McDowell was competing with two other drivers for a Top-15, running as high as 15th with 150 laps to go. On the final green flag pit stop of the evening, the No. 34 wouldn't fire and the crew had to replace a battery, causing McDowell to go down 9 laps. McDowell finished 33rd.


Start: 24th

Stage One: 22nd

Stage Two: 18th

Race Result: 33rd


DRIVER MICHAEL MCDOWELL:

"Tough day for sure, Martinsville is such a demanding track. During that last pit stop, all the lights in the ECU and dash went out and we lost power, so that's unfortunate because we had a good run in our No. 34 Benebone Ford Mustang, we really had good long-run pace and strategy to get us in the Top-15. Not how we wanted the 500th start to go, but we'll look to finish strong at Phoenix. It's my hometown race and last one of the season, hopefully we can end it on a high note."



No. 38 Ruedebusch Development & Construction Ford Mustang Dark Horse:

Bringing a fresh look to the Ruedebusch Development & Construction No. 38 scheme, Todd Gilliland qualified 13th for Sunday's 500-lap event. An early caution gave crew chief Ryan Bergenty the chance to play the strategy card and pit for right-side tires. Gilliland restarted within the Top-10 and was as high as fifth place, but battled with the handling of his Ford Mustang Dark Horse. As the stage progressed, he fell back to 17th where he finished Stage 1. In a hectic Stage 2, Gilliland fought to stay within the Top-20, but after a multi-car incident that collected the No. 38, Gilliland finished Stage 2 in the 32nd position. Cautions and trips to pit road was the story for the final stage as the 38 crew made repairs to the right toe-link without losing too many laps. Gilliland was able to rally back from the damage and get himself back into the Top-30 before finishing the race in the 26th position.


Start: 13th

Stage One: 17th

Stage Two: 32nd

Race Result: 26th


DRIVER TODD GILLILAND:

"It was a pretty up and down weekend for us. We showed decent speed in practice and qualified well, we just couldn't carry that over to the race. Thanks to Ruedebusch, Front Row Motorsports and everyone on this 38 Ford Mustang team for the effort. We have one more race left, so we can't hang our heads. We'll finish strong at Phoenix."

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