front row motorsports Tag

By Reid Spencer, NASCAR Wire Service DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. — On the fifth try, rain finally got the better of Daytona International Speedway—and that was perfectly all right with reigning NASCAR CRAFTSMAN Truck Series champion Zane Smith. NASCAR called Friday night’s NextEra Energy 250 after 79 of a scheduled 100 laps, making Smith the winner when the fifth rain shower of the evening thwarted track-drying efforts.  In front of the largest crowd for a NASCAR CRAFTSMAN Truck Series race at Daytona since 2011, Smith won the season opener for theRead More

By Matt Weaver, Special Contributor DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. — Willy Auchmoody says The Money Team is going to subject themselves to liver damage on Thursday night after making the Daytona 500 in the most unlikely of circumstances.   Conventional wisdom says Auchmoody, the general manager, and crew chief Tony Eury Jr. should actually be pulling an all-nighter of a different kind and doing whatever it takes to get the ride height issues addressed on the No. 50 and for driver Conor Daly. Pace laps for the second qualifying race began withRead More

By David Morgan, Associate Editor DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. – Two wildly different paths, same result. After a combined 300 miles of racing in the two Bluegreen Vacations Duels at Daytona International Speedway on Thursday night, the 40-car field for the 65th running of the Daytona 500 is now complete, with defending Truck Series champion Zane Smith and Conor Daly punching their ticket for Sunday. Racing in the first Duel race, Smith was able to breathe a sigh of relief early on after finishing eighth in his race, ahead of seven-time CupRead More

By David Morgan, Associate Editor DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. – It all comes down to this. Just two spots remain up for grabs in the starting lineup for Sunday’s 65th running of the Daytona 500, with four drivers looking to punch their ticket into the Great American Race on Thursday night in the Bluegreen Vacations Duels at Daytona. Six drivers came into the week needing to either post a quick time in single-car qualifying or race their way in through the Duels, but last night seven-time NASCAR Cup Series champion Jimmie JohnsonRead More

By David Morgan, Associate Editor It’s that time of the year again. Two weeks after the season kicked off with the Busch Clash exhibition race at the L.A. Coliseum, the 2023 campaign shifts into high gear with Sunday’s 65th running of the Daytona 500. The Great American Race has seen many attempt to conquer it, but only a select few have been able to hoist the Harley J. Earl trophy in victory lane at the end of the day. Some go their entire careers without being able to accomplish that feat.Read More

By Matt Weaver, Special Contributor All that’s left for Todd Gilliland to do is just win the dang Daytona 500 and everything else will take care of itself. Okay, it’s not quite that dire nor that simple, but winning the biggest race of the year would solve several emerging issues for the second-generation Cup Series racer at Front Row Motorsports. Gilliland found out over the winter that his full-time schedule would be scaled down to 30 races to make room for Truck Series champion Zane Smith and his five-race campaign. SmithRead More

By Luis Torres, Staff Writer AVONDALE, Ariz. – No longer the bridesmaid of the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series is Zane Smith, who won in a thrilling overtime finish in Friday’s Lucas Oil 150 at Phoenix Raceway. “Oh, my God, third time’s a charm. I want this shit more than anyone in the world. I don’t care what anyone says,” an elated Smith after capturing the title. “Thank you to all you race fans, my whole team. Oh, my God, I was crying that whole lap. “I’ve wanted this championship forRead More

By David Morgan, Associate Editor AVONDALE, Ariz. – The NASCAR Camping World Truck Series will be the first title fight of the weekend to be settled, as the four remaining drivers in the Playoffs will duke it out Friday night at Phoenix Raceway for the right to hoist the championship trophy when the checkered flag falls. Eight drivers started the Playoffs with a berth in the championship race in mind, but half of them fell by the wayside, leaving Ty Majeski, Chandler Smith, Zane Smith and defending series champion Ben RhodesRead More

By David Morgan, Associate Editor INDIANAPOLIS – When all of the dust settled at the end of Sunday’s Verizon 200 at the Brickyard, a trio of NASCAR Cup Series rookies drove like veterans to bring home a top-five finish. For all three of the rookies — Austin Cindric, Harrison Burton, and Todd Gilliland — it came down to being in the right place at the right time on the final restart as the race on the 2.439-mile Indianapolis Motor Speedway road course was pushed into overtime. The feat by Cindric, Burton,Read More

By David Morgan, Associate Editor HAMPTON, Ga. – Michael McDowell is no stranger to success on the superspeedways and with Atlanta Motor Speedway now in that category, he is hoping to be in a position to strike when the checkered flag falls on Sunday’s Quaker State 400. The winner of the 2021 Daytona 500 is in the midst of one of his best seasons in recent years, even though he has yet to score a win thus far. Through the first 18 races of the season, McDowell has captured one top-fiveRead More