18 Days to Daytona: Front Row Motorsports #34

Round 2 of the Front Row Motorsports flurry hits today. After the departure of longtime lead driver Michael McDowell, FRM swapped Todd Gilliland out of the 38 and into the 34. Unofficially, Gilliland is now the face of the team. 2024 was another step in the right direction for the young driver. Will 2025 turn into a big leap? Sitting 18 Days to Daytona right now, time to preview the season for the Front Row Motorsports #34 team.

The #34 Team

Front Row Motorsports #34 - Team — Photo by Logan Riely/Getty Images

Driver: Todd Gilliland

Crew Chief: Chris Lawson

Sponsors: Love’s Travel Stops, A&W Restaurants, Grillo’s Pickles, Ruedebusch

2024 Statistics: 4 Top-10s, 130 Laps Led, 24 Lead Lap Finishes, 20.9 Average Finish

2025 Season Preview

Front Row Motorsports #34 - Gilliland — Photo by Meg Oliphant/Getty Images

Lead Driver Expectations

Front Row Motorsports still finds themselves in the “B-tier” of the Cup Series. Granted, that is tremendous progress from where they were a few seasons ago. However, a big reason for that progression was Michael McDowell. McDowell transformed the 34 team into semi-playoff contenders. While Todd Gilliland has performed better in each of Cup seasons, his role as lead driver will need to see him take that jump. To his credit, Gilliland did finish ahead of McDowell in points last year. With the organization behind him, the big question for FRM this year (other than the lawsuit) will be Gilliland’s performance.

Superspeedway Win Brewing

Last year, Todd Gilliland made a name for himself early in the season at Daytona and Atlanta. Between the first two races of the year, the driver of the 38 led 74 laps and found himself upfront frequently. Those 74 laps led were almost 7 times as many laps as he had led in his career up to that point (and 57% of his season total). With the same two races leading off the 2025 season, Todd Gilliland is certainly not one to sleep on. The addition of a third entry helps add numbers for the support late in races. Gilliland might be able to pick up his first career Cup win at one of the superspeedways.

Reunited with Truck Series Crew Chief

The 34 team not only lost their driver to Spire Motorsports, but also crew chief Travis Peterson. Replacing Peterson will be Chris Lawson, Gilliland’s and Zane Smith’s Truck Series crew chief. After a rookie season with Rick Ware Racing’s 51 team, Lawson returns to Front Row to reunite with Gilliland. During their two seasons in the Truck Series, Lawson and Gilliland managed to win once while averaging a 13.25 average finish. More success for Lawson came with Smith, but Gilliland’s growth under Lawson’s tutelage foreshadows good things for the 34 team. Additionally, Lawson helped lead Justin Haley picking up Rick Ware Racing’s first non-superspeedway Top-10.

Daytona 500 Outlook

Todd Gilliland Daytona — Photo by Jeff Robinson/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images

As mentioned above, Todd Gilliland could be a great dark horse pick for the Daytona 500. He runs the superspeedways well, especially last year where he led in both Daytona races. Also, Gilliland managed to finally finish a Daytona race, although that was the summer race and he was 2 laps down by the race’s end. Still, that is some progress.

The most notable thing from FRM last year was their quick pace during superspeedway qualifying. McDowell scored the pole in 5 of the 6 superspeedway races. Plus, the 34 sat on the front row for the Great American Race. Gilliland did not slouch on his end, as he averaged a 4.3 spot in one-lap qualifying on superspeedways. The alliance with Team Penske certainly did wonders for the team’s qualifying efforts. That should not change with the departure of McDowell and Peterson. Could it be back to back seasons where Front Row’s #34 is featured on the front row of the Daytona 500?