Front Row Motorsports Ready For An All-Star Weekend

North Wilkesboro Speedway Competition Notes

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TEAM AND RACE NOTES:

It's All-Star weekend for Front Row Motorsports as all three teams will race on the newly repaved North Wilkesboro Speedway.

Layne Riggs and the No. 38 Infinity Communications Group Ford F-150 return to Riggs' roots in the short track scene this weekend. Riggs and the team come to the North Wilkesboro Speedway after a stellar showing at the Darlington (S.C.) Raceway, running in the Top-10 and even Top-5, before getting caught up in a wreck with 50 laps remaining in the event. Riggs looks to carry that momentum over to this weekend.

The Charlotte Knights, the Triple-A affiliate of the Chicago White Sox, will be on the No. 34 Ford Mustang Dark Horse, as well as Truist and the Charlotte Knights Charities, the philanthropic base of the Knights, for the 200-lap Main event, Sunday night. This will be Michael McDowell’s third All-Star Race appearance; he has raced in the 2021 and 2022 versions of the event finishing 12th and 15th, respectively. McDowell is automatically qualified for Sunday night's event by winning at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway Road Course race last August.

Todd Gilliland will carry the Long John Silver's colors on his Dark Horse as he will try to race his way into the main race. Gilliand will have to compete in the All-Star Open Sunday evening to qualify for the chance to race for $1 million.

The festivities of All-Star Weekend kick off Friday, May 17th with practice for the Truck Series and practice and qualifying for Cup starting at 5:00 p.m. ET. The Pit Crew Challenge will begin after qualifying. Saturday, May 18th will feature the 250-lap Truck Series race followed by Heat Races to determine the field for the Sunday night show, beginning at 5:00 p.m. ET. Starting at 8:00 p.m. ET, Sunday, May 19th the evening will include both the All-Star Open and 200-lap All-Star race. All the coverage will be televised on FS1 and available on SiriusXM Channel 90 and the Motor Racing Network.

CUP SERIES COMPETITION NOTES:

No. 34 Charlotte Knights Ford Mustang Dark Horse:

DRIVER MICHAEL MCDOWELL: 

"I’m excited to have a local, hometown team, like the Charlotte Knights, on our Ford Mustang Dark Horse for the All-Star Race. NASCAR does a great job promoting this event and making it a fan favorite. To have the chance to race for a million dollars with a winning organization loved by the fans, is awesome."

CREW CHIEF TRAVIS PETERSON:

"We’re excited to be in the All-Star race, it’s a fun event and always nice to have a chance to race for a million dollars. Coming off back-to-back Top-10s, we’ve definitely got the momentum on our side to have a good race. It will be interesting to see how the repave and tire selection plays a factor, but we’re looking forward to the challenge."

No. 38 Long John Silver's Ford Mustang Dark Horse:

DRIVER TODD GILLILAND:

"The All-Star race is always a fun event. It's kind of like the kickoff to the 600 with all the activities surrounding the weekend. We'll have to race our way into the main event, but with the momentum we have building, I don't see why we can't."

CREW CHIEF RYAN BERGENTY:

"With a million dollars on the line, I definitely want to make it into the main event. Todd (Gilliland) and the team have a lot of good momentum right now, and I think we'll give the fans a good showing of what were about. I am confident going into this weekend."

TRUCK SERIES COMPETITION NOTES:

No. 38 Infinity Communications Group Ford F-150:

DRIVER LAYNE RIGGS:

"This is a big weekend for myself and the team. I'll be able to capitalize from the CARS Tour race and take what I learn over to the truck. It would be awesome if I could come out of Wilkesboro with two wins. I ran the late model test there, so I feel like I have a leg up on the competition."

CREW CHIEF DYLAN CAPPELLO:

"We're looking forward to this weekend, even more so that Layne (Riggs) is running the CARS Tour race today. He's had solid runs at both Bristol and Martinsville, so I think he can continue that at Wilkesboro, especially with how he ran at Darlington. We have a lot of momentum going into this weekend."