Both Drivers Use LCQ Race to Transfer
Suffer Fuel Woes Due to Lengthy Caution Laps
Front Row Motorsports (FRM) began their 2023 NASCAR Cup Series campaign with a trip to the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum for The Clash at The Coliseum.
The 150-lap exhibition (non-points paying) race was held inside the stadium on a purpose-built, quarter-mile track for the second consecutive season and featured live performances by Wiz Khalifa, Cypress Hill, Cheat Codes, and Dixie D'Amelio.
Todd Gilliland and the No. 38 gener8tor Skills team finished 23rd.
Michael McDowell and the No. 34 Fr8Auctions.com team finished 24th.
Martin Truex Jr. won the event.
Todd Gilliland, Driver No. 38 gener8tor Skills Ford Mustang:
"I didn't want to miss The Clash this year. We were fast in practice and loose in qualifying on Saturday. Tonight, our gener8tor Skills Ford Mustang was good. We got bumped out of a transfer spot in the heat, but Michael and I had a strong LCQ race to make the main event.
"From there, it was a lot of pushing and shoving to get track position. We'd gain a few spots and then lose some. I think we were a top-15 car pretty easily, but we weren't allowed to refuel after the LCQ. There were then too many caution laps in The Clash and we ran out of fuel.
"But, it was cool to see all of our guests come out to Los Angeles and have fun. Thanks to everyone at gener8tor and Boot Barn for making the trip and their support."
Michael McDowell, Driver No. 34 Fr8Auctions.com Ford Mustang:
Courtesy of Ford Performance:
WHO WOULD HAVE THOUGHT YOU COULD RUN OUT OF GAS? “I don’t know how many laps under caution we ran, but obviously just a calculation running the LCQ and a heat race. We just didn’t anticipate running over 100 laps of caution, so that was unfortunate. It was a battle out there for sure.”
YOU WON THE LCQ, SO SOMETHING POSITIVE. “I feel good about how we were able to start near the back and drive up into the top 12, top 13 twice, so our Fr8Auctions.com Ford Mustang was good. It’s just a good weekend. We’ve got a lot of new guys, so it was good to get up to speed and figure each other out.”
FRM will now look ahead to Daytona Speedweek from February 15 through the 19th with the running of the Daytona 250 for the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series and the Daytona 500 for the NASCAR Cup Series- races that FRM have won in the past two seasons.
ABOUT FRONT ROW MOTORSPORTS
Front Row Motorsports (FRM) is a winning organization in the NASCAR Cup and Craftsman Truck Series. The team is the 2021 Daytona 500 and 2022 Craftsman Truck Series 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 Craftsman 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.
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TEAM CONTACTS:
Michael McDowell
John Dragonetti
Email: jdragonetti@frontrowmotorsports.com
Mobile: 704-578-9937
Todd Gilliland and Zane Smith
Jeff Dennison
Email: jdennison@frontrowmotorsports.com
Mobile: 704-252-3356