A Recap of the Weekend Past
Michael McDowell and the No. 34 Love's Travel Stops Ford team finished 17th Sunday at the Texas Motor Speedway. The team had a fast Ford Mustang and overcame an in-race penalty to finish 17th.
Anthony Alfredo and the No. 38 Speedy Cash Ford Mustang team also had a fast car at Texas, but a late-race wreck left Alfredo escaping his car that caught on fire after being sent into the wall. Alfredo was able to safely get out of the car and was cleared and released from the care center.
MICHAEL MCDOWELL. NO. 34 LOVE'S TRAVEL STOPS FORD MUSTANG. FINISHED 17
Michael McDowell and the No. 34 Love's Travel Stops team blasted to 11th at the start of Sunday's race, having a great start. McDowell then settled into 19th by a Lap 25 Competition Caution. McDowell had some minor damage after a huge multi-car wreck that highlighted the race. The team made repairs and McDowell was back on the track, having to start at the rear for pitting early.
On the restart, McDowell was penalized for not starting at the tail of the field. He had to serve a pass-through penalty under green and lost a lap. At the of Stage 1, McDowell was already back to 17th.
In Stage 2 and 3, McDowell raced from 14th to the 20th positions. The car remained strong and the team was just looking to get back on the Lead Lap. McDowell came close a few times and ended the race in 17th.
MCDOWELL ON TEXAS MOTOR SPEEDWAY:
"It really was the penalty that hurt us. We lost a lap there and that may have been four of five positions that we could have had at the end. The Love's Travel Stops Ford Mustang was pretty fast all day. Even on the longer runs, the car came to us. Getting two laps down was a bit too much to overcome for a top-12 or top-10, but we had a good car and we can take this package with us to Kansas."
Speedy Cash returned to Anthony Alfredo's 38 Ford Mustang for Sunday's race at Texas Motor Speedway, statistically Alfredo's best track. After all 334 laps had been completed, Alfredo and crew had their race come to a fiery, unexpected end.
A tough break in the initial stages of the race put the No. 38 Speedy Cash crew on their back foot. Being involved in an early incident that took out eight competitors, Alfredo suffered front end damage that required numerous repairs. Fixing an overheating issue after the damage, Alfredo restarted one lap down, but fighting back to gain back lost time. Gaining positions and fighting with a damaged car, Alfredo fought back to the 24th position before his race got cut prematurely.
With 29 to go, late contact sent Alfredo into the wall, with his car slamming rear-first into the wall in turn two. As the car came to rest, it caught fire, with Alfredo able to quickly and safely exit his car.
ALFREDO ON TEXAS MOTOR SPEEDWAY:
"Things were good, and poised for a top-25 finish with a damaged race car at that. It's just a huge bummer because I know we could have been a lot better without that. You never want to have contact with a teammate, so when I checked up for the incident in front, someone behind wasn't able to stop quick enough, and that unfortunately send us tail first into the wall. I'm just thankful for the AMR Safety personnel and safety implementations that NASCAR has done; I feel fine, and ready to go again."
ABOUT FRONT ROW MOTORSPORTS Front Row Motorsports (FRM) is a winning organization in the NASCAR Cup and Camping World Truck Series and the 2021 Daytona 500 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 NASCAR Camping World 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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