On Wednesday morning, a bit of shocking news broke. Through his social media accounts, Michael McDowell put out a statement saying that 2024 will his final season with Front Row Motorsports. Once 2024 is over, it will mark the end of a 7 year partnership between the organization and driver. Through those 7 years, McDowell turned into the face of Front Row Motorsports. Despite some recent rumors of the two splitting, it did not seem too feasible. While the second driver at Front Row has been a revolving door, McDowell had been the constant. Plus, McDowell was the primary driver bringing success to the team. The growth from the 34 team with McDowell has been tremendous. From battling for Top-30s to a legitimate playoff contender, McDowell and Front Row have come a long way. Now, both will start new chapters in 2025.
Front Row Motorsports have been in the silly season rumor mill frequently. In addition to the McDowell rumors, Front Row is linked to the potential sale of the Stewart-Haas Racing charter(s). While Front Row will occasionally run the 36 car, the time for an additional charter for the team seemed to pass. Last year would have been the one to add a charter while Zane Smith was waiting for a seat. However, the rumors for Front Row did not only stop at buying a charter. Rather, there have been some rumblings of a merger between Stewart-Haas Racing and Front Row. SHR would sell 2 charters while combining with Front Row to form a 4-car Ford team. While that is only rumor at this point, the departure of McDowell now has that eyebrow raise even higher.
Front Row/Michael McDowell Reflection
When Michael McDowell joined Front Row Racing in 2018, he was a journeyman driver who never truly found his footing in NASCAR at that point. 2017 was McDowell’s first fulltime season in Cup in his career. Despite driving for Levine Family Racing, McDowell impressed in the underfunded equipment. He ran 99% of the laps, which led the Cup Series, due to only 2 DNFs. Still, his move to Front Row was met with little fanfare due to McDowell’s journeyman status and Front Row being a back of the pack team.
Michael McDowell steadily improved both his craft and the team’s performance. While always competitive on the superspeedways and road courses, the 34 car started improving their results year over year at all tracks. Starting in 2020, McDowell started to average a finish under 21 for the first time in his career. 2021 saw the major highlight of winning the Daytona 500. While that win locked him into the playoffs, McDowell and the 34 team were able to stay within the Top-20 in points through the regular season. 2021 saw a career high in Top-5s, Top-10s, and average finish (20.5).
Despite going winless the following season, 2022 might be considered McDowell’s best year. Paired with crew chief Blake Harris, McDowell rattled off double digit Top-10s, an average finish in the teens for the first time (16.7), and the most lead lap finishes for any Front Row entry. Based on the 2022 season, Hendrick Motorsports poached Harris from Front Row for Alex Bowman. Last year, McDowell entered the season with expectations. While it took some time to get into a rhythm, McDowell found speed when it mattered. Besting Daniel Suarez and Chase Elliott, McDowell picked up his second career win at the Indy GP.
The progression of Front Row Motorsports was something to behold with McDowell. While this season on paper does not look good, McDowell has flashed better speed than his results indicate. He is one late block away from winning Talladega, thus locking him in the playoffs. From journeyman to face of an organization, it will definitely be weird to see McDowell in a different car than the 34.
Report: Michael McDowell to Spire Motorsports
With the announcement, the immediate thought is wondering where Michael McDowell will race next season. According to Bob Pockrass, the expected landing spot for the road course ace will be Spire Motorsports. The assumption is that McDowell will takeover the 71 since Zane Smith is only on loan to Spire from Trackhouse. After spending 7 seasons with Front Row, why would McDowell leave that organization to join Spire Motorsports? Does that not seem like a step backwards?
Well, money surely talks in this situation. Spire Motorsports has not been shy about spending money to invest in their NASCAR endeavors. Last year, the team bought a third charter and Kyle Busch Motorsports. It would not be surprising to hear that Spire offered a lucrative deal to McDowell to draw him away from Front Row. It is understandable why Spire would desire McDowell. He is a veteran driver who helped build one team up into playoff-level performance. Spire is hoping McDowell can do the same for him.
As for whether Spire is step backwards for Michael McDowell, technically Carson Hocevar and the 77 team are ahead of both Front Row cars in points. Granted, 4 DNFs in recent runs for McDowell have tanked his points position. However, Hocevar is proving that the right talent can elevate the current level of Spire equipment. Sure, Zane Smith might only be 7 points ahead of a Rick Ware Racing driver who has missed 2 races. Corey LaJoie has taken a step back this season. But, McDowell will be there to help mitigate those issues. Plus, it is difficult to pin the 71 issues as a Spire, Trackhouse, or driver issue.
What is Next for Front Row Motorsports?
Trying to figure out what happens next for Front Row Motorsports is a bit of a tough ask at this point. Based on rumors, it seems that Front Row might be expanding to at least a 3-car team. If they buy a charter, now they have two seats to fill. Under the assumption that McDowell would remain in the 34, it was a bit perplexing to hear them considering a charter. Layne Riggs is not ready for the Cup Series. Other Ford drivers in the lower series are more tied to Stewart-Haas Racing. Riley Herbst and Kaz Grala have made starts in the 36, but would Front Row spend the money for a charter to bring one of those drivers in fulltime? Now without McDowell, the thought of adding another charter seems farfetched.
With the McDowell departure, this does lead to more credence to the rumblings of that SHR and Front Row merger. Prior to Wednesday’s news, it was curious to ponder who SHR would drop off their roster to fit that 4-car team. According to Bob Pockrass, the feeling was that Chase Briscoe and Josh Berry would be the two drivers kept with SHR if they sold 2 of their charters. However, the performance of Noah Gragson surely would lead to SHR wanting to keep the young driver under their purview. This where that merger now makes more sense. SHR could keep those 3 drivers, slotting Gragson into the 34.
Now, it is too early to tell what exactly will happen with Front Row Motorsports. Currently, the team has an empty seat for 2025. How that seat will be filled depends on whether the organization buys or sells a charter or mergers with Stewart-Haas Racing. After the Ricky Stenhouse Jr and Michael McDowell news, 2024 looks to be an active and intriguing silly season.
