Front Row Motorsports
Updated: 2010
Tuesday, June 22, 2010
Front Row Motorsports' appeal: On June 22, 2010, the National Stock Car Racing Appeals Panel heard and considered the appeal of Front Row Motorsports regarding the #38 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series car. The appeal concerned two penalties issued by NASCAR stemming from the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series event at Pocono Raceway on June 6, 2010. The penalties concern Section 12-1 of the NASCAR Rule Book "Actions detrimental to stock car racing"; Section 12-4-J: "Any determination by NASCAR Officials that the Race Equipment used in the Event does not conform to NASCAR Rules"; and Section 20-10.7J: "Unapproved modification to valve stem hardware." Originally, a total of 5 penalties were assessed for the infractions, including a deduction of 150 NSCS owner points for Doug Yates; a deduction of 150 NSCS driver points for Travis Kvapil; and a $100,000 fine, 12-race suspension, and probation for crew chief Steven Lane. Subsequently, those 3 penalties were withdrawn from the appeal, and the crew chief has begun serving his suspension. The two remaining penalties were appealed:
-suspension from the next 12 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series racing events; suspension from NASCAR until Sept 15, 2010, and probation until December 31, 2010 for crew member, Richard Bourgeois (car chief)
-suspension from the next 12 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series racing events; suspension from NASCAR until Sept 15, 2010, and probation until December 31, 2010 for crew member, Michael Harrold (tire specialist)
The Appellants requested and were granted a deferral of these suspensions until such time as the hearing could be convened. The Appellants and team representative argued that, unbeknownst to the team management or the Appellants, valve stem caps designed to bleed air were developed by rogue elements of the team; that for some reason this hardware was mistakenly brought to the Pocono event on the team hauler; and that the caps were then accidently placed on the race car just prior to the start of the race. A small hole had been drilled in the top of each of the valve stem caps in question, and a foam material had been added to the interior of each cap. These valve stem caps were located on the left front and both rear tires of the race car upon discovery. The Panel did not find the Appellants explanation to be plausible. The Panel found the penalties to be correct for the nature of the infraction. Therefore, it is the unanimous decision of the National Stock Car Racing Appeals Panel to uphold the original penalties assessed by NASCAR. The periods of suspension shall be adjusted from the date of the hearing. The Appellants have the right under Section 15 of the Rule Book to appeal this decision to the National Stock Car Racing Chief Appellate Officer. The panel who heard the appeal were: Leo Mehl, Waddell Wilson and Humpy Wheeler along with George Silbermann - Appellate Administrator and non-voting member.(NASCAR)
Saturday, June 12, 2010
Front Row Motorsports to appeal penalties: The Front Row Motorsports No. 38 team. Crew chief Steve Lane was fined $100,000 and suspended for 12 weeks, along with car chief Richard Bourgeois and tire specialist Michael Harrold. Driver Travis Kvapil and car owner Doug Yates were docked 150 points each after the infractions [illegal valve stem caps] were discovered at Pocono. Team co-owner Bob Jenkins took responsibility for the "unintentional" mistake and plans to appeal the penalty. The violation was found following a rain delay in last Sunday's race. Kvapil's rear tires were almost flat, and NASCAR discovered that the valve stem caps on the tires had been altered to allow air to gradually leak out -- an act that would help the car with its speed during a long run. Though Jenkins recognizes the need to discipline the team, he believes the penalties were "excessive.""It was obvious to me, and I think to others, that there was no intent," Jenkins said. "Obviously it is a big fine and it is a lot of points. ... I understand there should be a fine, but I felt that 12-week suspensions and that level of points are pretty high." Jenkins pointed to the timing of the infraction, early in the race, as evidence the mistake was innocent. "If you look at the specifics of it, it just doesn't make sense," Jenkins said.(Associated Press)
Friday, June 11, 2010
Brian Burns named interim crew chief at Front Row Motorsports: Front Row Motorsports named Brian Burns interim crew chief for the #38 team for the race weekend at Michigan International Speedway. He has served as the team's engineer since the beginning of the 2009 season. Burns takes the place of Steven Lane, who is serving a NASCAR-imposed suspension for rule infractions at last weekend's Sprint Cup Series event at Pocono Raceway.(Breaking Limits)
Wednesday, June 9, 2010
NASCAR likely to levy record fine against Front Row Motorsports after discovery of illegal bleeder valves: When NASCAR makes the announcement later today or tomorrow, expect the penalty to include a $250,000 fine and 300 driver and owner points for Travis Kvapil and owner Bob Jenkins. A suspension for crew chief Steven Lane will also be included. This penalty tops the sanctions handed down last season to Carl Long's team after his engine was discovered to be too large at Charlotte. No word yet on how this will affect the team's status moving forward. Expect the team to appeal the decision. (NASCAR Insiders)
Tuesday, June 8, 2010
NASCAR discovers illegal bleeder valves on No. 38: Front Row Motorsports could be facing penalties from NASCAR after illegal bleeder mechanisms were discovered on the #38 car prior to Sunday’s race. The rain delay appears to have played a role in the discovery of the issue. As Kvapil exited pit road following the delay, NASCAR backed him up because of two flat rear tires. NASCAR officials escorted the team’s tire specialist and the two tires in question to the NASCAR hauler. We are hearing bleeder mechanisms were responsible for the flat tires. (TheNASCARinsider.com)
Wednesday, May 5, 2010
Front Row Motorsports to partner with Rainier Ice: Beginning this weekend, Front Row Motorsports and race fans across the country will learn a little more about the Pacific Northwest's best-kept secret. The Stratford Bottling Company, with its bottled water brand Rainier Ice, is the newest partner of the team and drivers Travis Kvapil and David Gilliland. The Yakima, Washington-based company will provide its premium all-natural artesian water to the team for the rest of the 2010 NASCAR Sprint Cup season. The Rainier Ice logo will be featured on both the No. 34 A&W All American Food/Long John Silver's Ford driven by Kvapil and the No. 37/38 Taco Bell Ford driven by David Gilliland. Both drivers will also feature the logo on their uniforms.(Breaking Limits PR)
Thursday, March 4, 2010
Charter Air Transport to sponsor Gilliland at Atlanta: Welcoming sponsorship from Charter Air Transport this weekend, David Gilliland and the No. 38 Charter Air/Taco Bell Ford team head to Atlanta Motor Speedway for Sunday's Kobalt Tools 500. Charter Air will adorn the lower hood and upper-rear quarter panels. This will be Charter Air Transport's second time being a sponsor in the sport. The company is headquartered in Cleveland, Ohio, specializing in 30-passenger turbo prop planes. They have been a carrier of teams in NASCAR for the past five years. They also service collegiate athletic teams and business professionals with their fleet of turbo props and jets. The company takes pride in being environmentally friendly, with its fleet of EMB-120 aircraft burning only 150 gallons of fuel an hour. For more information, visit www.charterairtransport.com (Breaking Limits/FRM
Front Row Racing's cars now being built by RCR: Furniture Row Racing's technical relationship with Richard Childress Racing is more than just having use of the #07 owner points for the first five races of the 2010 season. Furniture Row now is getting cars built by RCR and also has access to RCR data. The technical alliance is similar to the Stewart-Haas relationship with Hendrick Motorsports, but Furniture Row still has a contract through the end of this year to lease engines from Hendrick. "A lot of the initial part of working together is literally learning how to work together and how we're going to do that," Furniture Row general manager Joe Garone said. "That's what we're going through right now." In the past, Furniture Row has gotten chassis from Laughlin Racing Products/Ortec Racing and still has a contract with the company for a few more cars. Garone said that the move to RCR will allow Furniture Row to have a little more control over the chassis as well as the access to RCR's information. "For us, as a single-car team, some of the tools that it takes with simulation programs and chassis measurement and having control of your tolerances for your modeling simulation is very difficult when you're not building your own chassis," Garone said. "Being on their chassis gets us on the same page, and it also gives them another person that's on their chassis that is sharing information back to them through all the different facets of testing and simulation." The team will continue to use its own pit crew. The Furniture Row pit crew is the same pit crew that does Kevin Harvick Inc.'s Nationwide Series car.(SceneDaily)
Tuesday, February 23, 2010
Planet Hollwood Resort & Casino on Front Row Motorsports cars at Las Vegas: The glitz of the Las Vegas strip is coming to the cars of Front Row Motorsports with Yates Racing. The NASCAR Sprint Cup team will showcase Planet Hollywood Resort & Casino Las Vegas with associate sponsorships on Travis Kvapil's No. 34 and David Gilliland's No. 38 Ford Fusions during this weekend's Shelby American 500 at Las Vegas Motor Speedway. Fans will see the resort and casino's logo on the lower-rear quarter panels of the teams' Fords at the 1.5-mile tri-oval in the Nevada desert.(Front Row Motorsports)
Thursday, February 18, 2010
Conway to attempt first Cup race at Auto Club: Kevin Conway will begin his bid for the 2010 Rookie of the Year honor behind the No. 37 ExtenZe Racing Ford this weekend at the two-mile California Speedway. For Conway, the event will also be his first Sprint Cup start and it comes with Front Row Motorsports with Yates Racing. Conway has a fifth-place finish at California in the West Series in 2004 and an 18th-place finish in the Nationwide Series last fall. The No. 37 ExtenZe Racing team finished 29th in Sunday's Daytona 500 with Travis Kvapil behind the wheel. Conway will race this machine the rest of the season.(Front Row Motorsports)
Wednesday, February 17, 2010
Gilliland to make Front Row Motorsports debut: Preparing for his first event of the 2010 season, David Gilliland will step into the No. 38 Taco Bell Ford for his debut with Front Row Motorsports with Yates Racing this weekend during the Auto Club 500 at the two-mile Auto Club Speedway. Gilliland competed with another team during the season-opener in Daytona and failed to make the Daytona 500. Gilliland will race the majority of the season behind the No. 38 Taco Bell Ford owned by Bob Jenkins. This will also be the first time that Gilliland will work in race conditions with crew chief Randy Seals, who leads the No. 38 crew. Seals worked with Sprint Cup rookie Robert Richardson Jr. during the Daytona 500, finishing 31st. This week the No. 38 car will also carry an associate sponsorship from Metal Jeans for the Auto Club 500.(Front Row Motorsports/Breaking Limits)
Wednesday, February 3, 2010
Front Row Motorsports announces partnership with Doug Yates: Solidifying an ownership alliance with Doug Yates and Yates Racing, Front Row Motorsports owner Bob Jenkins announces a name change to the organization. With the addition of Yates, the team will now officially be titled Front Row Motorsports with Yates Racing. Doug Yates will be the listed owner of the No. 37 and No. 38 Ford Fusions, with Bob Jenkins remaining the listed owner of the No. 34 Ford Fusion. The team will remain headquartered in Statesville, N.C. The alliance secures all three entries into the top 35 in owner points heading into the opening weekend of the 2010 NASCAR Sprint Cup season. It also reunites Yates with his former drivers David Gilliland and Travis Kvapil. "There has been a lot of movement this past off-season inside the sport," said Yates. "The opportunity came up with Bob (Jenkins) and to continue in the ownership role. I didn't have to think long about making this decision. Bob is really putting together a strong team this season and has done so over the past few seasons. He's been smart and making all the right moves as an owner. He's capitalized on the changes in the sports landscape and has built a solid team with great factory support and drivers. That's what excited me about making this move. I had already learned a lot about Bob and the Front Row team over the past two months with their involvement with Ford Racing and leasing engines from Roush/Yates Engines. They are a fast-improving team and this move allows me to carry on the Yates Racing legacy created by my father over 20 years ago." "There has been so much that has happened for us in the past two months," said Jenkins. "But, having Doug come on board is a big piece of our puzzle coming together heading into this season. He brings such a family tradition of winning and a lot of confidence to everyone here. His relationships with Ford Racing, Roush/Yates Engines, David and Travis immediately make us a stronger team."(Front Row Motorsports/Breaking Limits)
Tuesday, February 2, 2010
Front Row Motorsports and Yates in talks to transfer points: Sirius NASCAR Radio's Sirius Speedway with Dave Moody has learned that talks are underway between Yates Racing and Front Row Motorsports to enable a transfer of owner's points that would lock all three Front Row Motorsports Fords into the first five races of the 2010 season. Reliable sources say Front Row Motorsports will assume the owner's points accrued last season by Yates' No. 96 and No. 98 Fords, which finished 31st and 33rd respectively in the final 2009 owner's standings. Talks are reportedly in their preliminary stages, but are progressing rapidly with an eye toward completing the deal by midweek. It is expected that in order for the dagreement to pass muster with NASCAR, Yates Racing owner Doug Yates will have to assume a minority ownership stake in Front Row Motorsports. Front Row's No. 34 car is already a guaranteed starter in the first five races after finishing 35th in owner's points a year ago.(Sirius Speedway)
Monday, February 1, 2010
Window World Cares to sponsor Andretti in Daytona 500: Coming off a successful debut in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series beginning in last season's Daytona 500, Window World Inc. announced it will return as the primary sponsor of the No. 34 Window World Cares Ford driven by John Andretti in this year's "Great American Race." Window World and Andretti will again team with Front Row Motorsports. The No. 34 Ford will feature Window World's foundation, Window World Cares, and its charitable beneficiary, St. Jude Children's Research Hospital.(Breaking Limits PR)
Andretti in the No. 34 during Speedweeks: John Andretti will drive the No. 34 Front Row Motorsports Ford as one of three entries from the newly expanded team in the 2010 Daytona 500. Andretti will also race in the Budweiser Shootout. Andretti's eligible for the season-opening special event due to winning Daytona's 1997 mid-summer Cup race, the Pepsi 400. Travis Kvapil, who's signed to wheel the No. 34 the rest of the season, will drive FRM's No. 37 at Daytona in place of rookie Kevin Conway, who NASCAR wouldn't approve to race on the 2.5-mile superspeedway. Robert Richardson Jr. will drive the team's third full-time car, the No. 38. A Nationwide Series regular, Richardson will drive the season's first three restrictor-plate races for FRM. Kvapil will switch to the No. 34 at Fontana the second week of the season; Conway will drive the No. 37; and David Gilliland will step into the No. 38, which he'll drive in the majority of this season's races. Team owner Bob Jenkins said Andretti, who secured the No. 34's locked-in spot in the top 35 to start this season in the 34 races he ran for FRM in 2009, will also do a handful of other races this season in the No. 38.(NASCAR.com)
Tuesday, January 26, 2010
Front Row Racing announces crew chief: Randy Seals will crew chief the No.38 Front Row Racing Ford for David Gilliland. Seals returns to Front Row after a short stint as crew chief on the No. 61 car with Chad Chaffin in 2006. Seals worked as a crew chief for Bobby Hamilton Racing for five years prior to moving to the Sprint Cup Series. For the last two seasons, he worked in the research and development as validation manager at Richard Petty Motorsports. "I think it's a really good opportunity," Seals said. "When Ray hired me in 2007, he wanted me to start a second group for Pete Rondeau in the R&D department. We shifted and became a separate component but the leadership skills that Pete taught me will make me better prepared for the crew chief's role this time around. I'm really happy to be a crew chief again and have an opportunity to work with David Gilliland. It's a great opportunity to get back up on the pit box." GIlliland, who just returned from Costa Rica, met Seals for the first time Monday morning. "He's eager to get back in there," Gilliland said. "He's had a couple of years of being home on the weekends, and I think he's ready to go again. He feels he's recharged his batteries. We both know it's going to take a little bit of time to get up to speed with having three teams, but I think we can get where we need to be."(FOXSports.com)
Wednesday, January 20, 2010
Front Row Motorsports to have three cars in top-35? Front Row Motorsports General Manager Jerry Freeze told Sirius NASCAR Radio's Sirius Speedway with Dave Moody Tuesday that negotiations are underway to give all three of the team's Fords guaranteed start status for the first five races of 2010. "We've been working on this for several weeks," he said. "There are still some details to be ironed out, but we have a really close relationship with (Yates Racing owner) Doug Yates and Ford. This is something we've been working on with them, and I hope to have things buttoned up and ready to announce in a couple of days." Freeze said driver Robert Richardson, III, will attempt to qualify FRR's new No. 38 Ford for the Daytona 500 as part of a three-race sponsorship with Mahindra Tractors that includes both Daytona races and the spring race at Talladaga. David Gilliland will run a majority of the schedule for the team with sponsorship from Taco Bell, and Freeze said "a couple of races" have been left open for a possible limited return by the team's 2009 No. 34 driver, John Andretti.(Sirius Speedway)
Tuesday, January 19, 2010
Front Row Motorsports adds third Daytona 500 entry: Front Row Motorsports announced during the Charlotte Motor Speedway Media Tour that they will enter a third full-time Ford Fusion in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series. The team will enter the No 38 Ford for drivers David Gilliland and Robert Richardson Jr. Gilliland will drive the Ford Fusion for the majority of the season with Taco Bell colors. A crew chief for the car will be named soon. Richardson Jr. will race the No. 38 Mahindra USA Tractors Ford in the Daytona 500, the Aaron's 499 in April at Talladega Superspeedway and the Coke Zero 400 at Daytona International Speedway in July. Richardson Jr. will be making his second start at the Sprint Cup level, but first at Daytona. In October 2009, the 27-year-old native of McKinney, Texas, finished 18th in his NSCS debut at Talladega Superspeedway. He has more than 45 Nationwide Series starts and 20 Camping World Truck Series starts to his credit as well. Gilliland comes to the team with four years of Sprint Cup experience having raced at Yates Racing, TRG Motorsports and Joe Gibbs Racing. This is the first season Front Row Motorsports, based in Statesville, N.C., will field three full-time programs. The teams will be supported by Ford Racing and Roush/Yates Engines. "This is the result of a lot of hard work during the off-season," said Bob Jenkins, team owner. "We feel really good about building our program with veteran leadership and some young talent, too. The final piece is to find additional major sponsorship. We feel we've built a strong base and this season we're looking to continue our momentum with a solid program."(Front Row Motorsports PR)
Monday, January 18, 2010
Both Front Row Motorsports teams locked in top 35: Kevin Conway has only 25 career Nationwide Series starts and a career-best finish of 15th, but he's going to find himself on the starting grid of the Daytona 500. The 31-year-old North Carolina native will drive for Front Row Motorsports in 2010, and he said Saturday that his team is locked into the first five races of the season thanks to the points earned by John Andretti last year. Conway's teammate, Travis Kvapil, is also expected to be locked in to the first five races after obtaining owner points from another top-35 team. Conway will bring sponsor Extenze to the team and also will have other sponsors to announce Tuesday. Peter Sospenzo will be his crew chief. Conway hopes manufacturers support from Ford and having Kvapil as a teammate will help him drive well enough to crack the top 35 in owners points and not have to qualify for races on speed. Conway, how has been racing since he was 6 years old, comes from a racing background as his uncle was an engineer at Robert Yates Racing and Penske Racing.(SceneDaily)
Friday, Aug. 14, 2009
CARFAX to sponsor Andretti at Michigan: Carfax announced it will sponsor the No. 34 Front Row Motorsports Chevy and driver John Andretti for the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series CARFAX 400 at Michigan International Speedway. The No. 34 Carfax Chevy will make its debut at MIS during the first-ever 'Show Me the CARFAX Race Weekend'.(Carfax PR)
Monday, March 30, 2009
Andretti picks up Texas sponsor: myAutoloan.com will be the primary sponsor of the No. 34 Front Row Motorsports entry driven by John Andretti at Texas Motor Speedway, for NASCAR’s Sprint Cup race, the Samsung 500. "I look forward to driving the No. 34 myAutoloan.com Chevrolet Impala at Texas Motor Speedway," commented driver John Andretti. "The guys in the shop have spent a lot of time the last couple of weeks getting the car ready for the race and branding it for myAutoloan.com this weekend. Texas is a fast track and we have a great car, I’m confident we will put together a superior effort." For more information about myAutoloan.com please visit myAutoloan.com. "We are grateful for the support of myAutoloan.com for the Texas race," said Front Row Motorsports team owner Bob Jenkins. "There is no doubt the Sprint Cup Series is as tough as it has ever been, but great partners like myAutoloan.com, make it possible for us to go to the track week after week."(PR Leap)
Tuesday, March 24, 2009
John Andretti to attempt full Cup season: Front Row Motorsports has hired Steve Lane from Earnhardt Ganassi Racing to be its crew chief and is still focused on running the entire season, team owner Bob Jenkins said. Driver John Andretti is 33rd in driver points and the team is 33rd in owner points for Jenkins, whose team, prior to this year, had qualified for 34 of 135 Cup races it attempted from 2005 through 2008. The team started 2009 locked into the first five races with the points from the Dale Earnhardt Inc. No. 15 car as part of an alliance with Earnhardt Ganassi Racing. That brought Lane and other EGR crewmen over to work with the team, and some have now become permanent employees. The team bought some cars from EGR but also has raced its own cars this year. It also has been using Pro Motors, except for the races at Daytona and Atlanta, where it used Earnhardt Childress Racing Technologies engines. “When we started this deal, we did a technical alliance with them [at EGR] and shared information both ways,” Jenkins said. “We don’t get full-blown engineering support. We have our own folks to do that. “But there has been information-sharing. I think it has helped us and also maybe has helped them. It gives them a chance to test some things at a lower risk [than] if they were doing it on the 1 [of Martin Truex Jr.] or 42 car [of Juan Pablo Montoya].” (SceneDaily.com)
Monday, March 16, 2009
Front Row Motorsports announces revised Cup schedule: No. 78- Racing announced today a revision of its 2009 NASCAR Sprint Cup schedule. The Colorado-based team has added one race to its original 12-race Cup schedule and has revised three of its upcoming race locations. The April 5th race at Texas Motor Speedway in Fort Worth is the recent addition, bringing the current team's schedule to 13 events. The team is dropping the two road races -- at Sonoma, Calif (June 21) and Watkins Glen (Aug. 9) plus the May 31st race at Dover. Those three races are being replaced with Darlington (May 9), Pocono (June 7) and Indianapolis (July 26). The No. 78 team with driver Regan Smith entered two of the first four Cup races with Smith finishing 21st in the Daytona 500 and 20th in Las Vegas. The team's next race will be at Texas. "We all sat down and re-evaluated our schedule to see what suits our racing program the best," said Joe Garone, Racing's general manager. "Since we're a sponsor-owned team we have the flexibility to move in and move out of race markets. We will most likely make additional changes as the season progresses. We're happy about adding the race in Texas and hope that we will continue to make more additions, but that is dependent on the economic climate and attaining additional sponsorship. We're looking for a partner and feel that we have plenty to offer a company from a marketing standpoint with 's more than 330 store locations in 31 states." To prepare for the Texas race next month, the No. 78 team has scheduled a two-day test session on Wednesday and Thursday of this week at Pikes Peak International Raceway in Fountain, CO.(DMF/ Racing PR)
Friday, January 30, 2009
Front Row Motorsports partners with Earnhardt-Ganassi Racing: Front Row Motorsports and driver John Andretti have formed a partnership with Earnhardt Ganassi Racing that will put Andretti behind the wheel of the No. 34 Sprint Cup car in the Daytona 500, Front Row Motorsports announced today. The team will be guaranteed a spot in the Daytona 500 because it will have top-35 owners points from last year, although it was unclear whose points it will have. The Dale Earnhardt Inc.-Chip Ganassi Racing merger had resulted in six full-time teams being folded into three full-time teams. “Anytime you get the opportunity to race in the Daytona 500, it’s a privilege," said Andretti, who has 358 career Sprint Cup starts. "I am honored to be able to do that this year through a relationship with Earnhardt Ganassi and Front Row Motorsports." The team will have sponsorship from Window World. Steve Lane, who was crew chief for Dario Franchitti until Ganassi parked the Franchitti car for financial reasons midway through last season, will be Andretti’s crew chief for the Daytona 500. (SceneDaily.com)
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