Smith Finishes 13th After McDowell and Gilliland Caught in Accidents

McDowell Raced in Top-Five and Gilliland in Top-10 Before Wreck

Smith Avoids Serious Damage to Grab Top-15 in First Daytona 500 Start

---

The NASCAR Cup Series and the Daytona International Speedway hosted The Great American Race, the Daytona 500 on Sunday. Front Row Motorsports (FRM) had Michael McDowell, Todd Gilliland and Zane Smith all competing for the win.

The 200-lap race was won by Ricky Stenhouse Jr. after a double overtime finish that stretched the race to 212 laps. The race featured eight cautions with a seven car wreck on Lap 183 that collected McDowell and six other cars. Before the accident, McDowell and the Love's Travel Stops team were running in the top-five for the majority of the second half of the race.

Another big accident in the first overtime sent Gilliland and the No. 38 gener8tor Ford spinning. Smith and the No. 36 Wellcare Ford was also involved, but with less damage.

Gilliland and the No. 38 gener8tor Skills team finished 27th and McDowell and the Love's Travel Stops team finished 28th. Both cars ended the race with damage.

Racing at the end, Smith and the No. 36 Wellcare Ford team were able to finish a strong 13th.

Zane Smith, Driver No. 36 Wellcare Ford Mustang:

"It was a chaotic race. At the start, we needed to work on our communication. That put us behind when we made our first pit stop. We did a good job of getting a lap back and then trying to make it to the end.

"The end, it was about avoiding the wrecks. That was hard. We had a little damage, but came back on the track and were able to race for some positions.

"The whole weekend was an awesome experience. It's cool to get a top-15 in the Daytona 500 for Wellcare and I just want to keep doing this. Thanks to everyone who made this possible."

Todd Gilliland, Driver No. 38 gener8tor Skills Ford Mustang:

"We raced in the top-10 and the car was good. We needed a little more help with the car to be able to race with the top three or four leaders. We lost a drafting partner at the end and we were just riding until the accident that sent us to overtime.

"I thought we then had a chance to get back into the top-10, but just caught in that last accident. I was tagged from behind and spun. We hit the wall pretty good and spent the final overtime on pit road.

"I have to thank gener8tor Skills and all the partners who came on Sunday. We wanted a better result, but it was cool to see all the support."

Michael McDowell, Driver No. 34 Love's Travel Stops Ford Mustang:

"It was the best speedway car that I've had here. It's disappointing how it ended. We were going to be in a good position, and had been all afternoon, but just got unlucky.

"Thanks for Love's Travel Stops for another great Daytona 500 week. We were going to have a shot at it, but it was fun racing a great car. Thanks to everyone at FRM for a great car. I'm looking forward to this season."

FRM now travels west to the Auto Club Speedway in Fontana, California. The race will be on Sunday at 3:30 p.m. ET on FOX.

---

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-

TEAM CONTACTS:

Michael McDowell

John Dragonetti

Email: jdragonetti@frontrowmotorsports.com

Mobile: 704-578-9937

Todd Gilliland and Zane Smith

Jeff Dennison

Email: jdennison@frontrowmotorsports.com

Mobile: 704-252-3356