McDowell Finishes 22nd in Richmond and Gilliland Finishes 25th

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The NASCAR Cup Series made their second trip to the Richmond (Va.) Raceway on Sunday. Front Row Motorsports (FRM) Cup teams were looking to keep McDowell in the playoff hunt and also trying to get Gilliland another top-10 result.

Michael McDowell and the No. 34 Stage Front VIP Ford Mustang started 18th. Wasting no time, McDowell and the No. 34 team quickly moved up to 11th to end Stage 1. McDowell and the team played the long game in Stage 2, electing to pit only once, and led laps. At the end of the stage, McDowell was able to hold onto 23rd. The team lost some positions after a pit road penalty when the air gun got stuck to the wheel. McDowell came back to finish 22nd. The team remains in the playoff spot in 16th and are 18 points ahead of the cut line. Qualifying 16th, Todd Gilliland and the No. 38 Speedy Cash Ford Mustang finished Stage 1 in 20th after staying consistent in the first 70 laps. Starting Stage 2 with an adjustment, Gilliland raced his way into the top-15. The team had great momentum before a speeding penalty on pit road forced them do a pass-through penalty on pit road. Gilliland lost all his track position, but the team rebounded back to 25th.

Todd Gilliland, Driver No. 38 Speedy Cash Ford Mustang:

“We were up in the top-15 and then lost the position with a speeding penalty on pit road. I hate that happened because we had the car to be top-15 today."

Michael McDowell, Driver No. 34 Stage Front VIP Ford Mustang: "The strategy just didn't work out, but I'm proud of the speed we had. We are all disappointed in the race result, but we are still in this fight and headed to Michigan."

The team next races Sunday at the Michigan International Raceway. The Cup Series race is scheduled for 2:30 p.m. ET on the USA Network.