Front Row Motorsports

History

Front Row Motorsports has become known as one of the more prominent small-budget teams in the Cup Series, operating with around 60 employees on a fraction of the budget of larger teams, and with equipment often coming second-hand from other Ford teams the team has a technical alliance with such as RFK Racing (from 2016 to 2023) and Team Penske (from 2024 onward). The team has struggled on most intermediate tracks, however since 2011, the team has become noted for its performance at superspeedways and to a lesser extent short tracks, which rely less on aerodynamic performance. This reputation has grown since the signing of noted restrictor-plate racer David Ragan in 2013, who won the team's first race at Talladega the following year with the help of another skilled plate racer and teammate David Gilliland. FRM has also won with Chris Buescher at the rain-shortened 2016 Pennsylvania 400 at Pocono Raceway and Michael McDowell at the 2021 Daytona 500. McDowell dominated and won the 2023 Verizon 200 at the Brickyard in a breakthrough moment for the team, the first time Front Row led the most laps in a race.

The team has received equipment from RFK Racing since 2010 and began a technical alliance with Roush in 2016. The team also began receiving technical support from Ford starting in 2016, after receiving limited data from Ford since 2010. In 2024, FRM switched its technical alliance from RFK Racing to Team Penske.

The team was awarded the assets of BK Racing on August 21, 2018, after former owner Ron Devine and a trustee from Union First Bank put the team up for bidding. After purchasing the assets, they ran a No. 23 car for the rest of the season, driven primarily by J. J. Yeley from NY Racing. After the 2018 season ended, this team became the No. 36 team in 2019.

Antitrust lawsuit with [[23XI Racing]] against NASCAR

Main article: 23XI Racing v. NASCAR

On October 2, 2024, it was announced that Front Row Motorsports, along with 23XI Racing, filed an antitrust lawsuit against NASCAR over the terms of the updated charter agreement, as well as anti-competitive practices committed by the France family. On December 18, both teams were granted a motion of preliminary injunction, allowing them to race as chartered entries in 2025 while continuing their legal battle with NASCAR. The injunction also allowed the transfer of the two Stewart–Haas Racing charters to both teams. On December 31, FRM announced it finalized the purchase of their third charter from SHR. On June 5, 2025, the U.S. Court of Appeals overturned the preliminary injunction ruling. On August 25, NASCAR filed a legal notice of its agreement to issue one of the charters to a redacted entity. On December 11, 2025, after eight days in court, the case was settled.

Bob Jenkins

Robert "Bob" Jenkins, the full owner of the team since 2005, resides in Dandridge, Tennessee, Jenkins also owns Morristown Driver's Services (MDS), a full-service, Logistics Provider, specializing in all phases of transportation management. His family is also the owner of Jenkin's Insurance in Dandridge.

Jenkins began his NASCAR career as a sponsor for a then-Busch Series (now Xfinity Series) entry driven by Brad Teague and fielded by longtime owner Jimmy Means. Jenkins began fielding Cup Series entries in 2004 with Means, taking full ownership of the team in 2005.

The Yum! Brands, most notably Taco Bell and Long John Silver's, as well as MDS often appear on the Front Row cars when the team does not have an outside sponsor, with funds coming from Jenkins himself.

The team shop is currently in Mooresville, North Carolina in the shop that used to house MDM Motorsports and Ranier Racing.

NASCAR Cup Series

Car No. 4 history

;Noah Gragson (2025–present)

On July 10, 2024, Front Row Motorsports signed a multi-year deal with Noah Gragson to drive for the team starting in 2025. On January 3, 2025, FRM announced that Gragson would drive the No. 4 in 2025.

Car No. 4 results

Car No. 26 history

;Josh Wise (2012) In 2012, Front Row Motorsports fielded to the No. 26 car. For Daytona, the car was sponsored by presidential candidate Rick Santorum, and driven by Tony Raines. Raines qualified for the race after being one of the three fastest "go or go home" drivers during the first day of qualifying. He finished nineteenth but ran as high as second. Rookie of the Year candidate Josh Wise took over the car starting at Phoenix and ran the majority of the season as a start-and-park operation. The only full race for the team besides Daytona was at Sonoma Raceway where Wise finished 30th. Despite running the majority of the season, Wise lost the ROTY honors to a late entrant Stephen Leicht.

Car No. 26 results

Car No. 34 history

;Mach 1 Racing (2004–2005) The No. 34 car made its debut on March 14, 2004, at Atlanta Motor Speedway with Todd Bodine driving the car as the No. 98 Lucas Oil Ford. At the time, the team was owned by Chris Edwards and was known as "Mach 1 Racing". Bodine finished 41st after dropping out within sixteen laps. Bodine drove in eight races with the team that year, along with his brother Geoffrey, Larry Gunselman, Randy LaJoie, Chad Chaffin, and Derrike Cope filling out the driving duties that year, driving a total of 29 races.

In 2005 the team changed numbers to No. 34 and planned to run full-time, but due to sponsorship limitations and lackluster performance by LaJoie, the team only ran a limited schedule. Although it attempted many races, two drivers (Ted Christopher and P. J. Jones) each qualified for a race with the team that year. In the fall of 2005, the team website announced that the team was up for sale, but that was quickly rescinded. Later that year, Front Row Motorsports moved into their shop to operate the No. 34 in addition to their current team.

;Multiple drivers (2006–2008)

The combined team began running at the 2006 Auto Club 500 with Randy LaJoie as the driver. However, he failed to qualify for the races. Lajoie and teammate Chaffin swapped rides the next week in Las Vegas and Chaffin would drive for the next eight races. Chaffin would then return to FRM's other car after Kevin Lepage's departure for BAM Racing, one week after FRM purchased the owner points from Peak Fitness Racing and renumbered the No. 92 to No. 61. Chad Blount would then take over the No. 34 car for two races, however, he was unable to get into the field and was released. Carl Long, Greg Sacks, Mike Skinner would attempt the next three races with Skinner making the 3M Performance 400 and finishing 37th on the lead lap. Johnny Miller returned to FRM to run the road course at Infineon. After Blount's release, Long, Sacks, Chaffin, Brian Simo, Kertus Davis, Skinner, and Joey McCarthy attempted races for the team, with Long qualifying at Bristol. Lepage drove the car for the rest of the season and made Martinsville.

The car attempted full-time status in 2007 with Lepage, but after missing the first four races, the team decided to go part-time with Andretti and Chaffin. Lepage swapped places with Andretti and Chaffin at the No. 37 so that Lepage could continue full-time. Chaffin later left the team in early 2007. They tried to make another attempt to run the No. 34 at Texas Motor Speedway with myAutoloan.com as the sponsor, but they failed to qualify for the race.

The 2008 season began with the No. 34 planning to run a full season. The team made the Daytona 500 with Andretti behind the wheel and Makoto's Ginger Dressing brand as the associate sponsor, and manufacturer's support from Chevrolet. Andretti left the team to race in the Indianapolis 500 with Roth Racing and eventually decided to continue in the series. Tony Raines qualified for his first race of the season in the No. 34 Chevrolet Impala SS at Dover but finished 40th after transmission failure. The No. 34 Chevy ran part-time after that, with Chad Chaffin attempting the final races for the team in 2008.

;John Andretti (2009) In 2009, John Andretti drove the car full-time, and the team entered into a partnership with Earnhardt Ganassi Racing. The No. 34 team received owner's points from EGR's defunct No. 15 team, becoming locked in for the first five races of the season. For the Daytona 500, Window World joined as the primary sponsor, and the car was fielded as a fourth EGR entry, with EGR crew chief Steve Lane and several EGR crewmembers tending to the car. The team finished 19th in the race. Window World ended up joining the team for the first five races of the season, and additional races later in the year. The team ran EGR engines at the Daytona 500 and the spring Atlanta race, using Pro Motors Engines otherwise. Steven Lane served as the full-time crew chief and some of the EGR crew became permanent employees. Beyond Window World's involvement, the team ran mostly unsponsored; team owner Bob Jenkins began using the space on the No. 34 Chevrolet Impala SS to advertise his Taco Bell restaurants while seeking a new primary sponsor. Andretti missed two races while he ran the Indianapolis 500, and teammate Tony Raines took his place for those events. Raines quickly earned the team's best solo effort finish to that point with a 25th place at Darlington. With John back at the wheel, the team finished 16th at the Lenox Industrial Tools 301 at New Hampshire Motor Speedway, along with numerous other top-thirty finishes throughout the year. At Michigan, race sponsor Carfax jumped aboard the No. 34 Chevrolet as the primary sponsor. The team remained in the top-35 for the entire season which guaranteed the team starts the first five races of 2010.

;Travis Kvapil (2010) For 2010, Travis Kvapil was the primary driver of the No. 34 Long John Silver's car, with the team switching to Ford and Roush/Yates providing engines and support for the team. Steve Lane returned to the Long John Silver's team with Kvapil. John Andretti drove the No. 34 in the Budweiser Shootout and the 2010 Daytona 500 with Window World as the primary sponsor, with Kvapil driving the No. 37 Extenze Ford in place of rookie teammate Kevin Conway. Kvapil and the No. 34 team's best finish of 2010 was an 18th at Talladega in the spring and finished 33rd in owners points after Kvapil, Andretti (both with the LJS crew), Kevin Conway, and Tony Raines (both with the Extenze / A&W Crew) ran races with the number.

;David Gilliland (2011)

In 2011, David Gilliland returned to Front Row Motorsports running the No. 34 Taco Bell Ford for the full season. He would go on to finish third in the 2011 Daytona 500, ninth in the 2011 Aaron's 499, and 12th in the 2011 Toyota/Save Mart 350. The third-place finish at Daytona was the beginning of FRM's noted success on restrictor-plate tracks.

;David Ragan (2012–2015) For 2012, former Roush Fenway Racing driver David Ragan drove the car full-time. Ragan helped the team improve slightly, with a best finish of 4th at Talladega in October. He recorded two top-ten finishes throughout the season, both at Talladega.

Ragan got the team its first win at Talladega Superspeedway in the 2013 Aaron's 499 on a last-lap pass. Along with David Gilliland's help, the team was able to finish one-two. The win was also the first for a car using No. 34 since Wendell Scott in 1964. The No. 34 team improved more in 2013 earning sixteen top-25 finishes including the win, a sixth-place finish at the fall Talladega race, and a twelfth place finish at the night race at Bristol. However, three consecutive engine failures near the end of the season dropped Ragan to 28th in points.

Ragan returned as the driver for 2014, with sponsors CSX and Farm Rich (which sponsored the team's win at Talladega) The team struggled to adapt to the new no ride-height rule for the 2014 season and wasn't helped by the struggles of all the Roush-Yates engines teams all year long. Ragan was outside the top-thirty in points near the end of the season. However, the No. 34 car got a boost at the October Martinsville race, when it finally scored its first top-ten of the season. In the race, Ragan drove a tribute baby blue paint scheme dedicated to the late Wendell Scott, the last driver before Ragan to win using the number 34.

Ragan returned to the team in 2015. With KFC sponsoring, Ragan came back from a lap down in his Duel race to qualify for the Daytona 500 (his points had been moved to the No. 35 car), where he later finished 17th. After the 500, Ragan temporarily left the team to drive for Joe Gibbs Racing in place of an injured Kyle Busch. Ragan was originally scheduled to return to the No. 34 upon Busch's return to the series, but in April, circumstances led to him to instead leave for Michael Waltrip Racing to replace an ailing Brian Vickers for the rest of the season.

;Brett Moffitt (2015)

Meanwhile, Joe Nemechek took over the No. 34 at Atlanta, the first of an eight-race sponsorship from CSX. Brett Moffitt took over the No. 34 at Las Vegas and Phoenix, with Chris Buescher driving the car for the next four races along with Talladega and Reed Sorenson driving at Richmond. In May 2015, Moffitt, competing for Rookie of the Year honors, was named the driver for the remainder of the season, though Justin Marks took over at Sonoma, Buescher drove the car at Watkins Glen, and Josh Wise ran the fall Talladega race. Despite not running the full season, Moffitt earned Cup Series Rookie of the Year honors.

;Chris Buescher (2016)

On December 10, 2015, it was announced that reigning Xfinity Series champion Chris Buescher would drive the No. 34 for the 2016 season, as part of FRM's new alliance with Roush Fenway Racing. Bob Osborne replaced Derrick Finley as crew chief for the No. 34. Finley then became Front Row's technical director. It was later announced that longtime FRM sponsor Love's Travel Stops would be moving to the No. 34 in 2016 (after sponsoring the No. 38 since 2013). CSX also returned to the team for eight races. Buescher, in one of the biggest upsets in recent NASCAR history, won a fog-shortened Pennsylvania 400 at Pocono, after taking the lead in the final 15 laps. It was Buescher's first win in the Cup Series and the team's second Cup Series victory. Buescher, with the win, became the first driver since Joey Logano in 2009 to win a race as a Cup Series Rookie of the Year candidate (In 2011, Trevor Bayne won a race during his part-time rookie season but was not running for the Cup Series Rookie of the Year award). Buescher later moved up to 29th in points following Richmond, locking him into the Chase. It was the first-ever Chase berth for a Front Row Motorsports entry. Buescher began the Chase in the 13th position in points, but three sub-par finishes cost him a chance to move on to the second round. He finished sixteenth in points, a career-best for the team. Buescher later departed for JTG Daugherty Racing following the season's conclusion.

;Landon Cassill (2017)

It was announced on December 16, 2016, that Landon Cassill would shift over from the #38 car to replace Buescher. His best finish in the 2017 season was sixteenth at the Daytona 500. After only one year of having Cassill in the car, it was announced on October 10, 2017, that he would not be returning to the car or Front Row Motorsports.

;Michael McDowell (2018–2024)

Michael McDowell was later announced as Cassill's replacement for 2018. During the season, he only scored one top-ten finish at the Daytona 500 and ended up 26th in the standings. McDowell started the 2019 season with a fifth-place finish at the Daytona 500, later scoring another top-five at the fall Talladega race.

On December 12, 2019, FRM announced that McDowell will return to the No. 34 for the 2020 season. He scored four top-10s and finished the season 23rd in the standings, a new career best.

McDowell began the 2021 season by winning the 2021 Daytona 500; it was his first NASCAR Cup Series win, in his 358th Cup race. He was a 100-1 underdog. He would go on to finish inside the top 10 in the first three races of the season.

McDowell started the 2022 season with a seventh place finish at the 2022 Daytona 500. He scored seven top-ten finishes during the regular season. On July 26, crew chief Blake Harris was suspended for four races and fined 100,000 for an L2 Penalty during post-race inspection after the 2022 M&M's Fan Appreciation 400 at Pocono. The penalty came under Sections 14.1 C, D and Q and 14.5 A and B in the NASCAR Rule Book, both of which pertain to the body and overall vehicle assembly rules surrounding modification of a single-source supplied part. In addition, the No. 34 team was docked 100 driver and owner points and 10 playoff points.

McDowell began the 2023 season with a 28th-place finish at the 2023 Daytona 500. He dominated the Indianapolis road race, landing him in the playoffs and earning him his second career win. McDowell was eliminated at the conclusion of the Round of 16.

On May 8, 2024, McDowell announced he would leave FRM at the end of the 2024 season and he had signed a multi-year contract with Spire Motorsports to drive the No. 71 Chevrolet starting in 2025.

;Todd Gilliland (2025–present)

On November 19, 2024, FRM announced that Todd Gilliland would move to the No. 34 in 2025.

Car No. 34 results