NASCAR: Michael McDowell returning to Front Row Motorsports

One of the most uplifting stories of the 2021 NASCAR Cup Series season was that of journeyman driver Michael McDowell, whose career-long perseverance paid off when he earned his first career win in the Daytona 500. With the title of Daytona 500 Champion forever his, McDowell will have a chance to defend his crown in 2022 with the same race team.

Front Row Motorsports has announced their driver lineup for the 2022 season, confirming that Michael McDowell will return as the driver of the team’s flagship No. 34 Ford. McDowell, who will be 37 at the start of next season, returns for a fifth-straight year with Front Row.

McDowell will be joined by a new teammate in Todd Gilliland, 21, who moves up from Front Row’s Camping World Truck Series team to run for Rookie of the Year as the new driver of the No. 38 Ford. Gilliland follows in the footsteps of father David Gilliland, who drove for Front Row from 2010 to 2015, mostly in the No. 38.

“I’m really looking forward to 2022 and the fresh start it brings across the sport,” McDowell said in a statement released by the team. “It’s an exciting time for the NASCAR Cup Series and for us at FRM. We have proven that we can win and now we want to find that consistency throughout the season to be even better.”