A Recap of the Weekend Past
It was All-Star weekend at the Texas Motor Speedway. Michael McDowell represented Front Row Motorsports (FRM) in the exhibition race showcasing the sports best. McDowell and his No. 34 Love's Travel Stops/Luber-finer Ford team finished 12th of the best 21 drivers in the NASCAR Cup Series.
Anthony Alfredo competed in the preliminary All-Star Open for his chance to race his way into the All-Star race. Alfredo finished eighth in the SpeedyCash.com Ford Mustang. Although he did not advance to the main event, Alfredo had a solid race.
Todd Gilliland also flew the SpeedyCash.com colors on his Ford F-150 during Saturday's NASCAR Camping World Truck Series race. The event was a part of their regular season. Todd finished seventh and moved up to fourth in the point standings.
TODD GILLILAND. NO. 38 SPEEDYCASH.COM FORD F-150. FINISHED 7.
Todd Gilliland and the No. 38 SpeedyCash.com Ford F-150 team led eight laps in Saturday's SpeedyCash.com 220 at the Texas Motor Speedway. Gilliland earned his seventh top-10 finish of the season.
The team started the race from the fourth position and Gilliland raced in the top-five early in Stage 1. Attempting different grooves to race, the team fell back a few positions and Gilliland finished the Stage in ninth. The truck was fast, but needed a little more speed to stay in the top-five.
The team stayed on the track to begin Stage 2 and led the field to the green. Gilliland and the SpeedyCash.com Ford F-150 paced the field until the older tires gave away to fresh rubber. Gilliland stayed in the top-five before pitting under caution late in the Stage. Gilliland was 13th to begin the final stage, but happy that the truck stayed in the top-five on the longer run.
The dirty air moving back up the field was difficult, but Gilliland raced his way back to eighth at the checkered. A team was disqualified in post-race inspection putting Gilliland seventh in the final race standings.
Gilliland returns to action this Friday evening at the Nashville (Tenn.) Superspeedway.
GILLILAND ON TEXAS MOTOR SPEEDWAY:
"It's actually a bit frustrating. We really wanted to put our truck into Speedy Cash victory lane, but we just didn't have overall speed or track position at the end. We've been running so well and getting top-five finishes, so we're a bit disappointed. I'm still proud of our team and what we're doing, but we still want to work on our intermediate program, too."
MICHAEL MCDOWELL. NO. 34 LOVE'S TRAVEL STOPS/LUBER-FINER FORD MUSTANG. FINISHED 12.
The Daytona 500 Champion, Michael McDowell led FRM into the All-Star race Sunday night at the Texas Motor Speedway. The multiple-stage race of small sprints, average finishes and inverts allowed the field to shuffle throughout the night.
The Love's Travel Stops/Luber-finer team found themselves all throughout the 21-car field of All-Stars on Sunday. From the back, to mid-pack, and to almost taking the lead in the third Stage of the race, McDowell raced hard all night.
The most impressive part of Sunday night was McDowell racing from 15th to 12th in the final 10 lap shootout to end the race. On a track that was hard to pass on, McDowell put on a show at the end.
MCDOWELL ON TEXAS MOTOR SPEEDWAY:
"The Love's Travel Stops/Luber-finer Ford Mustang really came to life in that final stage. It was only 10 laps, and it was going to be very hard to win, but getting a top-10 was possible. Especially that final stage we really moved up. It was fun to race for the lead early and then get shuffled with all the quirks of the race. You're putting on a show for the fans and it was fun to be up there and then be fast at the end, too. That's a good night for everyone."
ANTHONY ALFREDO. NO. 38 SPEEDYCASH.COM FORD MUSTANG. FINISHED 8.
Anthony Alfredo made the best of his efforts to qualify into the All-Star race on Sunday during the All-Star Open race. The Open was a 40-lap race to allow drivers to win one of three stages to qualify into the All-Star race. The winner of two 20-lap stages and a final 10-lap stage all advanced.
Alfredo started Stage 1 from the 12th position, but showed a lot of speed early. He raced up to seventh and missed two wrecks right in front of him. He finished the first stage in sixth and came to pit road for tires.
The second stage saw drivers racing with drastic measures to race into the All-Star race. Alfredo was measured in his moves and finished ninth to have his car ready for the final Stage.
At the end of the final 10-lap Stage, Alfredo was eighth, but happy with the SpeedyCash.com car.
ALFREDO ON TEXAS MOTOR SPEEDWAY:
"For our first Open race, and trying to get into the All-Star race, we did pretty good. We had a fast car, passed some guys, but had to avoid wrecks and we just lost track position. It's hard to pass, so we just couldn't get back up there, but I'm happy that our SpeedyCash.com Ford Mustang was fast."
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