On Wednesday, Front Row Motorsports (FRM) announced that it has elected to exercise its option on both Michael McDowell and Todd Gilliland for the 2024 NASCAR Cup Series season, allowing the organization to keep its core two-driver lineup intact.
“Both Michael and Todd are like family to me,” said Bob Jenkins, owner of Front Row Motorsports in a team release. “They have been determined to make the team better each season and they just keep fighting to do that. I’m proud of both and now we will be focused on the remainder of 2023 and prepare for 2024 to be even better.”
McDowell, a 16-year veteran of NASCAR’s premier division, will continue to serve as the leader of Front Row Motorsports and its efforts to bolster performance, something that the 38-year-old has done handily over the last two seasons.
Since joining the organization on a full-time basis in 2018, McDowell has collected a victory in the 2021 Daytona 500, as well as seven top-five and 29 top-10 results, all while piloting the No. 34 Ford.
With only three races until the end of the NASCAR Cup Series regular season, McDowell sits 17th in points, three points below the cutline. Should the Phoenix, Arizona native successfully qualify, it will mark the third post-season berth for Front Row Motorsports.
Gilliland, currently in his second year of competing full-time in the NASCAR Cup Series, has had a breakout season by all accounts, scoring three finishes inside the top 10, and vastly improving metrics when it comes to top-15 and top-20 results.
With eight finishes inside the top-15, the 23-year-old driver has already doubled his accumulation of top-15 results from last season, while also matching his count of finishes inside the top 20, with 13 races remaining on the 2023 NASCAR Cup Series schedule.
Unlike this season, where a lack of funding forced Todd Gilliland to migrate to Rick Ware Racing for six NASCAR Cup Series events, the Sherrills Ford, North Carolina native is scheduled to compete in all 36 NASCAR Cup Series events in 2024.
Zane Smith, the defending NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series champion, is now free to explore additional opportunities in NASCAR’s National Series, including opportunities with Front Row Motorsports.
In addition to the organization’s two-car NASCAR Cup Series program, Front Row Motorsports reiterates that it is committed to remaining in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series in 2024, with the program’s plans to be announced in the coming weeks.
