Love's Travel Stops Team Nabs Second Consecutive Top-10
Wellcare Ford Team Finishes 34th After Pit Road Penalty
Front Row Motorsports (FRM) left the Sonoma Raceway with a top-10 finish on Sunday after Michael McDowell and the No. 34 Love's Travel Stops/PEAK Ford team had the pace to win the race.
McDowell qualified third and was recognized as possibly the only car that could beat eventual race winner, Martin Truex, Jr. McDowell finished fifth in Stage 1 and then came to pit road. He raced back up to eighth at the end of Stage 2 and was on a three-stop strategy to race for the win on a long run. A caution ended that plan and the team came down pit road with the leaders. A miscue on the stop left the front tire changer grabbing his reserve wheel lug as the other fell loose. McDowell, who was third at the time of the pit stop, restarted outside the top-10 in the closing laps. He raced back to seventh.
He is now 19th in the championship points and within 14 points of the playoffs.
For Zane Smith, making another start in the No. 38 Wellcare Ford, his race was defined on Lap 51. An uncontrolled tire during his pit stop put Smith two laps behind the leader. Smith was able to get one lap back, but with only two cautions in the race and the rest of the field on the lead lap, Smith was not able to race for position. Instead, Smith was able to gain more NASCAR Cup Series experience, keep the car clean, and finish 34th. Without the penalty, Smith had the pace to be a top-15 contender.
Zane Smith, Driver No. 38 Wellcare Ford Mustang:
"We had a pit road penalty and that put us two laps down in a race with not many cautions. It just ended our chance for a better finish. It's disappointing for everyone, but we have a few more Cup starts to put this one behind us."
Michael McDowell, Driver No. 34 Love's Travel Stops/PEAK Ford Mustang:
“Here’s the deal. We ran good all weekend. We had a top five, top three car. I think we legitimately had the pace to run with the 19 there. We were starting to run him back down on that long run and that last pit stop hurt us. It is what it is. I’m proud of everybody at Front Row Motorsports. They brought a really fast car and we had a shot at it. We almost executed all day, it’s just that last stop. We came off pit road 12th or 13th and thankfully we were able to get back up to seventh and get a top 10, but I felt like we had a car that could contend today, so proud of the effort. Thanks to Love’s Travel Stops and all of our partners. We needed the win and we just didn’t do it.”
The NASCAR Cup Series now has a weekend off before returning to the Nashville Superspeedway in two weeks.
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.
-30-