Front Row Motorsports Goes Left and Right in Austin, Texas

Circuit of the Americas Competition Notes

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TEAM AND RACE NOTES:

Front Row Motorsports heads to Austin, TX and the Circuit of the Americas for the first road course of the season. Michael McDowell and Todd Gilliland will look to put their road racing skills to the test, while Layne Riggs will make his inaugural road course start after an impressive top-10 finish at the Bristol Motor Speedway last weekend.

Known for being a road course specialist, McDowell has seen success in recent years, including winning last year at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway road course and three top-10s in his last five road course starts. McDowell also has a top-10 in three starts at the 3.426-mile track. Gilliland is no stranger to victory lane at COTA, as he won the inaugural Truck Series race in 2021. His best career Cup Series finish also was on a road course, a fourth-place result at the Indianapolis road course in 2022.

After his first top-10 of the season, Riggs will make his first career road course start at COTA. Riggs will try to wheel the No. 38 Ford F-150 to victory lane, to make it four-straight Truck Series victories for Front Row Motorsports and the No. 38 truck at the circuit (Todd Gilliland, 2021, Zane Smith, 2022-2023).

The weekend kicks off Friday, March 22nd with Truck Series practice and qualifying at 3:30 p.m. ET on FS1. Saturday, March 23rd will feature the Cup Series on track for practice and qualifying at 10:00 a.m. ET and the XPEL 225 Truck Series race at 1:30 p.m. ET on FS1. The EchoPark Automotive Grand Prix with be Sunday, March 23rd at 3:30 p.m. ET and will be televised live on FOX. Fans can also listen in on the action live on Sirius XM and the Performance Racing Network.

CUP SERIES COMPETITION NOTES:

No. 34 Love's Travel Stops / Delo Ford Mustang Dark Horse:

DRIVER MICHAEL MCDOWELL: 

"Really looking forward to this weekend, COTA is a proper road course. The racing is fun and with moving the Restart Zone back, that will certainly cut back on the Turn 1 chaos. I’m looking forward to getting back there with a lot of the things that we learned last season of making our road course program better. We should have a shot at winning the race and hopefully we can."

CREW CHIEF TRAVIS PETERSON:

"Really excited for this weekend at COTA, and I know Michael is ready! We always look forward to the road courses and right now we have good momentum, it’s going to be a great opportunity for us to perform at a high level, we should be in contention on Sunday."

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

DRIVER TODD GILLILAND:

"COTA is a race I've had circled on my calendar. I've won there in the trucks and it's where I got my first top-10 of 2023. I know Ryan (Bergenty) and the team will bring me the same speed we had last year, but it will come down to me executing and being technical around every turn."

CREW CHIEF RYAN BERGENTY:

"This is a very technical track, but we have the driver that can get it done. Our results the past couple weeks haven't been what we wanted, but our luck is about to change. Todd (Gilliland) is able to compete upfront, we saw it last year and when he won in the trucks, so I'm confident he can get the job done this weekend."

TRUCK SERIES COMPETITION NOTES:

No. 38 Love's Travel Stops / Delo Ford F-150:

DRIVER LAYNE RIGGS:

"COTA is going to be a battle for sure. I have never run on a road course before, so it's going to be interesting to say the least. Dylan (Cappello) and the team know what they need to bring to the track, and it won't be far off from what Todd (Gilliland) and Zane (Smith) ran to keep the record strong. I just have to execute."

CREW CHIEF DYLAN CAPPELLO:

"We want to keep the win streak going, for sure, but it's going to be a challenge since Layne (Riggs) has never run on a road course. He's been preparing for months with sim time and talking to other FRM drivers, so I know he'll be ready. Myself and the team are giving Layne the exact set up we gave Todd and Zane. I know we'll be fast."