As the NASCAR Cup Series season approaches its conclusion, most attention typically shifts toward the battle for the championship. Storylines about teams that do not make it to the playoffs tend to get lost in the shuffle. But before 2025 wraps up, it is worth examining what happened with Front Row Motorsports this season, and why a team that appeared to be poised for a breakout has mostly struggled.
Front Row Motorsports had reason to be optimistic going into 2025. Although the team lost its veteran leader in Michael McDowell, its other driver, Todd Gilliland, showed good improvement in 2024, advancing to 22nd in points after finishing 28th the previous two seasons. Gilliland was not flashy, but on a typical day he was able to fight for and often earn top 20s instead of top 30s, indicating that his development was moving in the right direction. Gilliland took McDowell’s old No. 34 car for 2025, while Zane Smith moved into the No. 38. Smith’s relationship with Spire Motorsports and Trackhouse Racing ended last year after a difficult rookie season. Yet Smith’s best performances of 2024, particularly his four top 10s, all came in the second half of the season. Smith’s return to FRM, where he won a NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series championship, made sense for both parties.
FRM also added a third team for 2025 with Noah Gragson as the driver. The organization has periodically tried running three full-time teams with little success. However, FRM’s growing partnership with Ford, as well as the closure of former Ford heavyweight Stewart-Haas Racing, signaled that the time was ripe for another attempt. Gragson himself came over from SHR and was still viewed by many as an unknown quantity who could perhaps make a splash in the Cup Series if given a chance with a stable team.
Unfortunately, the predictions of a more competitive FRM have not come to fruition. If anything, the team has regressed in 2025. With three races to go in the season, the organization has a combined two top fives, 10 top 10s and only 37 laps led. Gilliland is 30th in overall points. Gragson has fared even worse at 33rd. Smith is doing the best of the trio in 27th, but that is not much comfort for a team that had bigger aspirations for 2025.
To put things in perspective, every other Cup Series organization with multiple chartered cars has at least one driver ahead of all three FRM drivers in points. Comparable teams to FRM like Spire, Legacy Motor Club and Kaulig Racing have all either improved or held station from their 2024 level of performance. Plus, while RFK Racing has not had a great season, all three of its Fords are ahead of the FRM cars, so it is not like FRM has moved up the Blue Oval pecking order either. None of the organization’s hopes for growth and greater competitiveness have come to pass in 2025.
Why has FRM not been successful this season? The most obvious reason is the ongoing anti-trust lawsuit against NASCAR. It is true that 23XI Racing has been more publicly addressing the proceedings of the lawsuit, and Denny Hamlin has dominated the bully pulpit regarding the teams’ stance. Yet FRM has been there from the beginning, and the time and energy that team owner Bob Jenkins has put in behind the scenes is likely taking its toll.
To make matters worse, FRM’s cars lost their charter status earlier this year because of the lawsuit, along with the bonus money that comes with the charters. FRM has never been a well-heeled team, and Jenkins certainly does not have the deep pockets of Michael Jordan. Although FRM has admirably soldiered on, how long it can last as an open team is questionable, especially if it does not get its charters back.
It is also worth wondering if losing McDowell hurt FRM more than many would have predicted. McDowell is responsible for two of the team’s four wins, including the Daytona 500 in 2021 and the Indianapolis Motor Speedway road course in 2023, FRM’s most recent win. That 2023 season is significant because, going into the Indianapolis race, McDowell was contending for a postseason spot on points, something that an FRM driver has never done before or since. The Indianapolis victory sealed the deal for the No. 34 team, and it symbolized how McDowell was able to get a high level of performance out of the FRM cars.
FRM also had some personnel changes in the offseason. When McDowell left the organization to go to Spire Motorsports, crew chief Travis Peterson went with him. So, when Gilliland moved to the No. 34, he got a new crew chief in Chris Lawson. Gilliland’s previous crew chief, Ryan Bergenty, stayed on the No. 38 with Smith. Gragson’s No. 4 team includes a lot of the same individuals who were with him at SHR, including crew chief Drew Blickensderfer. However, that was still an entirely new team to take on from FRM’s perspective. Picking up some of SHR’s former employees seemed like a good move at the time, but expansion has not elevated FRM to a new level just yet.
Due to all these factors, the future for FRM looks a lot less rosy than it did a year ago. It is not impossible that the team could have a turnaround in 2026. After all, it is relying on three young drivers who need time to grow. However, if FRM does not survive the lawsuit, its drivers may not be afforded more time and the organization could shut down. It would be a sad ending for a team that has survived the fickle world of the Cup Series for 20 years. Hopefully, FRM can avoid the worst-case scenario, put 2025 behind ’em, and try again for a better outcome next season.
Bryan began writing for Frontstretch in 2016. He has penned Up to Speed for the past eight years. A lifelong student of auto racing, Bryan is a published author and automotive historian. He is a native of Columbus, Ohio and currently resides in Southern Kentucky.