CONCORD, N.C. — Front Row Motorsports is getting closer and closer to the top echelon of NASCAR Cup Series teams.
Starting from the bottom in stock car racing’s premier series, Bob Jenkins has slowly built his team from a start-and-park operation to a solid performing operation. The next step is becoming contender to win races on a regular basis.
Jenkins believes the team took another step up the ladder with Wednesday’s hiring of 25-year-old driver Noah Gragson, who will replace Michael McDowell with the team that will expand to three chartered entries next season.
“Noah is a guy who has been successful on every level of racing he’s ever been in and we’ve just watched him grow over the last couple of years in the Cup Series and we believe he’s just starting to scratch the potential of what he can do,” Jenkins said.
Since getting additional support from Ford Motor Co. during the offseason, Front Row has made great strides. Jenkins and General Manager Jerry Freeze were quick to credit the team’s manufacturer partner.
“To be able to get my feet underneath me with the opportunity at Stewart-Haas, it definitely opened people’s eyes.”
— SPEED SPORT (@SPEEDSPORT) July 10, 2024
Noah Gragson details how a move to Front Row Motorsports came about🗣#NASCAR pic.twitter.com/y3Wm86q7AW
“We’re a Ford team for the foreseeable future and with this alliance with Team Penske it has us in a tier one platform,” Freeze said. “It’s the first time Front Row has been in that place in our 14 years with Ford, so it’s starting to show up on the race track with more consistent speed in our race cars.
“I know in talking to the leadership at Team Penske about Noah joining our team, they’re just as excited about it as we are and what he can bring to the group every Sunday at the race track. I’m really looking forward to 2025.”
While Gragson said he hopes many members of his current team at Stewart-Haas Racing, which is going out of business at the end of the season, will join him at Front Row, Freeze said a lot of details are still being worked out.
“We’ve got some holes to fill still with Noah’s team. We’re pretty close on figuring out who the crew chief is and some of the main parts of it,” Freeze said. “There’s still another driver to be determined at Front Row, but we’re zoning in on that, so we’re leaving it a little loose of who is in what car number and it’s just trying to make all the pieces of the puzzle fit just right, but I think we’ve got a pretty good idea of where it’s all going and we should be able to announce it all real soon.”
Jenkins makes no bones about the fact that Front Row Motorsports is growing for the future.
“Without knowing exactly who is going to be driving our third car, it’s hard for me to say everything, but I think this is what you can expect,” Jenkins said. “I think you’re gonna have three young but experienced drivers who are youthful but they’ve gotten that first couple of years out of the way.
“I think people will look at Front Row Motorsports and say, ‘This is a team that could be together for a long time,’” Jenkins continued. “The thing I’m most excited about with Noah is that he’s not even really hit his ceiling. He’s still growing in this sport and getting better every week and I’m just excited to see where it goes.”