It was a Tough Night at the Track Too Tough to Tame

McDowell Ends Night in Wreck and Gilliland Gets Spun

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A Labor Day weekend tradition, the Southern 500, kicked off the NASCAR Cup Series Playoffs Sunday night at the Darlington (S.C.) Raceway. For Front Row Motorsports (FRM) it was a disappointing end to what was a long night.

Michael McDowell and the No. 34 Stage Front VIP Ford team came into the playoffs looking to better their last playoff run in 2021. McDowell qualified ninth and was fast in the opening 20 laps. However, the team suffered handling with their car and had to make major swings to find more speed. After coming back from laps down, McDowell was back in the top-25 before getting caught in an accident late in the race that ended their night. The team is 19 points behind the cut line to advance to the second round with two races remaining in round one.

Todd Gilliland and the No. 38 Quincy Compressor Ford didn't qualify as high as McDowell, but actually had the best speed of the night. Gilliland's Ford Mustang came to life when the sun went down and the track cooled. He had his car inside the top-20 and was marching even higher. But on Lap 332, Gilliland was hit by Kyle Busch. Gilliland spun low and kept the car off the wall. He rallied back to 26th.

Todd Gilliland, Driver No. 38 Quincy Compressor Ford Mustang:

"We didn't fire off great, but by the middle of the race and into the night, we were better and moving up. Then, I don't know what happened. Kyle (Busch) just slid into us, hit us, and I was trying to save it. I hate that it happened and that it collected Michael.

"We came back, we were a lap down, and finished 26th."

Michael McDowell, Driver No. 34 Stage Front VIP:

“We just didn’t execute tonight. We had one set of tires that just got us really far off. I’m not sure what happened. The car just went really loose and lost a lap there. It kind of spiraled from there. We hit pit road when the caution came out. That’s never good. I sped on pit road. That’s never good. It all came apart. It’s not how we wanted to start, but we still have two more and we’ll race hard, so we’ll see what we get.”'

The team next races Sunday at the Kansas Speedway. The race is scheduled for 3:00 p.m. ET on the USA Network.