Front Row Motorsports Cup Series Race Report - Pocono

No. 34 GUNK Ford Mustang Dark Horse:

Qualifying 21st for his 22nd start at the Pocono Raceway, Michael McDowell and Crew Chief Travis Peterson were ready to take another shot at punching the team's ticket to the playoffs. Pitting under the Lap 14 caution, McDowell took right-side tires to gain further track position. McDowell finished out Stage 1 in the 12th position. McDowell cycled to the Top-10 in Stage 2 running as high as seventh position, before pitting under caution for tires and fuel. McDowell finished Stage 2 in the 20th position. McDowell took four tires and fuel under the stage-break caution. While driving to the front, the No. 34 Ford Mustang Dark Horse took damage in the final stage on a restart after being sandwiched in the Turn 1 wall, forcing McDowell to come to pit road for the team to assess the damage. Diagnosing a potential broken right rear toe link, McDowell went a lap down and finished the race in the 24th position.

Start: 21st

Stage One: 12th

Stage Two: 20th

Race Result: 24th

DRIVER MICHAEL MCDOWELL:

"It was a tough day for sure, just trying to get the balance right and find speed. We had a fast GUNK Ford Mustang Dark Horse in practice, but we just couldn't find what we were looking for today. Travis had a good strategy of getting us track position, but we just unfortunately got caught up on the high side on that restart. We'll bounce back at Indy next week and see if we can get a good result there."

No. 38 C.H. Reed Ford Mustang Dark Horse:

The NASCAR Cup Series made their annual trip to the Pocono Raceway this past Sunday. For Gilliland, this was his third trip to the 2.5-mile track for a Cup Series race.

Qualifying 33rd in the No. 38 C.H. Reed Ford Mustang Dark Horse, Gilliland and the team looked to pull the strategy card to get to the front. Avoiding the caution on Lap 14, Crew Chief Ryan Bergenty brought Gilliland to pit road for right-side tires and fuel, moving Gilliland up to the 25th position. Gilliland finished Stage 1 in the 24th position. Staying out under the stage-break caution, Gilliland started Stage 2 in the 15th position. On the restart, Gilliland brushed the wall and fell back to the 30’s. A caution for the No. 1 gave Gilliland the chance to come to pit road for tires and fuel, and to check the right-rear toe link. Leaving pit road, Gilliland was hit with a speeding penalty. Gilliland finished Stage 2 in the 22nd position. Under the stage-break caution, Gilliland and the No. 38 Ford Mustang Dark Horse took right-side tires and fuel. Gilliland gained multiple spots from the quick stop, starting the final stage in the 9th position. After falling back to the 20’s, Gilliland blew his right-front brake rotor. Gilliland and the team retired from the race, posting a 34th place result.

Start: 33rd

Stage One: 24th

Stage Two: 22nd

Race Result: 34th

DRIVER TODD GILLILAND:

WAS THE CAR GIVING YOU ANY INDICATION THERE WAS A PROBLEM? 

“We fought with a little bit of brake shake through practice and a little at the beginning of the race. About five laps before that, my brake pedal started getting a little bit long. Then it just blew in the middle of the straightaway. I have never had that before. We have been really lucky. We have had some really well-built Ford Mustangs coming out of Front Row Motorsports and haven’t had many mechanical issues the last three years. I thank those guys for giving us great cars. We will keep battling. Definitely not our best day to begin with and we have a lot of work to do but we will try to learn from it.”