Jim Dedmon-USA TODAY Sports
Front Row Motorsports has entered into what it calls a Tier 1 alliance with Ford Performance and Team Penske for the 2024 NASCAR Cup Series season.
“I am proud to wear the blue oval and be associated with an iconic American brand in Ford,” said team owner Bob Jenkins in a release. “Our relationship with Ford has continued to build over the past decade, and we’re now showing our success over the past several seasons in the Cup and Truck Series, and that is something that I’m very proud of.”
So, what does all of this mean? For one, it means a closer bond with Ford Performance, who the team has raced with since the 2004 season. The manufacturer will also include Truck Series driver Layne Riggs into a formal development program while also providing additional resources and data to its organization.
The team, a longtime underfunded underdog, has won four times at the highest level and most recently with Michael McDowell last summer at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway Road Course. McDowell also claimed the Daytona 500 in 2021.
McDowell, crew chief Travis Peterson and the No. 34 team also scored the outside pole for the Great American Race this year.
The team has long taken a steady methodical approach to contention and Ford believes it is on the cusp.
“A racer’s mindset isn’t suited to be patient,” said Mark Rushbrook, global director of Ford Performance Motorsports. “We all want results immediately, but the way Bob Jenkins and Jerry Freeze have built Front Row Motorsports through the years is a model for how it should be done. We’ve always been proud of our partnership and can’t wait to see how much higher they can go with this new Team Penske alliance.”
Matt Weaver is a Motorsports Insider for Sportsnaut. Follow him on Twitter.