Gilliland Stamps Championship Case, McDowell Rebounds for Top-10 and Alfredo Wins Sunoco Rookie of Race
A week after winning NASCAR's biggest race, the Daytona 500, Front Row Motorsports (FRM) returned to the World Center of Racing to compete on the historic road course at the Daytona International Speedway. Todd Gilliland competed in Friday's NASCAR Camping World Truck Series event and Anthony Alfredo and Daytona 500 Champion, Michael McDowell, both raced in Sunday's NASCAR Cup Series race.
A week after winning NASCAR's biggest race, the Daytona 500, Front Row Motorsports (FRM) returned to the World Center of Racing to compete on the historic road course at the Daytona International Speedway. Todd Gilliland competed in Friday's NASCAR Camping World Truck Series event and Anthony Alfredo and Daytona 500 Champion, Michael McDowell, both raced in Sunday's NASCAR Cup Series race.
Todd Gilliland and the No. 38 Frontline Enterprises Ford team came into Friday night's road course looking for redemption at Daytona. Gilliland was going for the lead in the season opener before being involved in a wreck. Friday night was a different story for Gilliland.
After starting 32nd because of the result in the season opener, Gilliland sliced through the field early, but a pit road penalty put Gilliland 22nd at the conclusion of Stage One. Easily overcoming that, Gilliland and the team finished fifth at the end of Stage Two. The finish scored Gilliland valuable championship points.
The final Stage of the race featured a remarkable seven cautions and it took the third NASCAR overtime (green, white and checkered finish) to complete the race. Once the dust settled of left and right turns, it was Gilliland coming home fourth in the No. 38 Frontline Enterprises Ford F-150.
It was Gilliland's 17th top-five finish in his NASCAR Camping World Truck Series career and again ties his best finish for FRM.
Gilliland vaulted to a tie for 10th in the championship points after Friday's finish. Gilliland has a weekend off before returning on Friday, March 5 at the Las Vegas Motor Speedway.
TODD GILLILAND. NO. 38 FRONTLINE ENTERPRISES FORD F-150. FINISHED FOURTH
"It was a wild race, especially the ending. We just avoided all the wrecks, but man, some were really close calls. The guys at FRM had a fast truck for us. We worked late in the shop to get what we wanted out of the Frontline Enterprises Ford F-150. It worked. The truck was awesome and this was a finish that we needed to get us into the thick of this championship chase. I know we're only going to get better from here."
Anthony Alfredo went all 70 laps in Sunday's NASCAR Cup Series race at the Daytona Road Course and made every one of them count. Alfredo was rewarded at the end of the race with the Sunoco Rookie of the Race Award- his first in the NASCAR Cup Series. Alfredo finished 22nd.
Alfredo started 31st on Sunday based on his Daytona 500 finish and other metrics. The start put Alfredo in heavy traffic and damage on the road course was bound to happen. Alfredo did a nice job in the first Stage. He raced as high as 22nd and finished it in 30th after cycling through on pit stops.
The second stage was an exciting one for Alfredo. He started the Stage in 13th, the best in his young Cup career. Alfredo did a nice job and as his tires lost grip he held position close to the top-25. He finished Stage Two in 31st, but said that he learned a lot about the braking zones and was just keeping the nose clean.
The final stage was an adventure for Alfredo. He suffered nose damage that eventually cut his left front tire. The damage tore the sheet metal and the team had to pit. Alfredo was given a penalty and lost a lap. However, the team made repairs and Alfredo made up the lap late in the race.
The closing 15 laps, Alfredo showed his best. He jumped 16 positions over the final 25 laps to win the best rookie of the race and his best Cup finish to date. Alfredo moved up four positions to 28th in points.
ANTHONY ALFREDO. NO. 38 THE PETE STORE FORD MUSTANG. FINISHED 22
"We had a really solid Pete Store Ford Mustang. Unfortunately when they stacked up in Turn 1 on one of the restarts we got pushed into it and got a little nose damage. It didn’t hurt temperatures or anything like that, but it did slow us down a little in the high speed sections. We ended up cutting a left front tire down. The crew did a good job clearing the tire and we fought hard to get back on the Lead Lap so we could battle back in the last 15 laps and salvage a top-25. We got a little more damage in those last 15 laps, but we were able to make it work. It was a great day to learn and get better."
Making the first lap of Sunday's race the most exciting, Michael McDowell and the No. 34 Fr8 Auctions/ #BraveLikeWyatt Ford Mustang had a flat tire force the car wide after starting from the front row. McDowell then got into the infield grass, but just like in the Daytona 500, the crew made quick repairs and never lost speed in the car.
McDowell went from starting second to the tail of the field before climbing back to 25th at the end of Stage One. The car was fixed and McDowell went to work behind the wheel during Stage Two. He didn't miss a beat in showing why he's one of the best road course drivers in Cup. He raced back inside the top-20 and was up to 12th before McDowell cycled to 22nd after pit stops to end Stage Two.
The final Stage, McDowell again impressed with the Fr8 Auctions/#BraveLikeWyatt Ford Mustang. McDowell didn't miss a beat, was fast and smooth. The pit crew made a four tire changes without any issues, twice. That allowed McDowell to climb back into the top-10 late and finish eighth after coming from the rear early in the race.
McDowell is sixth in championship points.
MICHAEL MCDOWELL. NO. 34 Fr8 AUCTIONS/#BRAVELIKEWYATT FORD MUSTANG. FINISHED EIGHTH
"That was way too much excitement for me. The Fr8 Auctions/#BraveLikeWyatt Ford Mustang was actually really good. We had a flat tire there coming to the green. I knew something was wrong. I should have just pitted, so I screwed that up and that hurt us a little bit. We lost track position and then missed the chicane. Pretty much everything that could go wrong went wrong today, but this is what our team is all about -- Front Row Motorsports -- we grind it out and we fought hard. We just kept the fight in it and ended up with another top-10, so pretty crazy how that all went down. It was another great run. I’m really excited to keep this momentum going. We’ve got to clean it up a little bit, but not a bad night altogether.”
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.