This past Wednesday, May 8, 2024, it was announced by Front Row Motorsports (FRM) that their long time veteran driver, Michael McDowell, would not be returning for an eighth season with them next year. Not long after, Spire Motorsports, which is currently competing in their sixth season, announced McDowell had signed a “multi-year” contract with them to drive their #71 Chevrolet Camaro in the NASCAR Cup Series. This leaves multiple questions without answers; where will current #71 driver, Zane Smith go? Who replaces McDowell at FRM? With Stewart Haas Racing possibly selling two charters (Charter=NASCAR’s version of a Franchise), could an alliance with FRM be in the works? We will go into hypotheticals and possibilities in today’s editorial.
Where could Zane Smith go?
Zane Smith signed a development deal with Trackhouse Racing last year, which led to the team loaning Smith to Spire Motorsports for the season. Upon the purchase of a charter for $40M, Spire has become more competitive in its five years of existence, which is a huge reason for McDowell securing his future with them. When you take all of this into consideration, it’s not hard to believe that Kaulig Racing could lease or sell a charter to Trackhouse, as Shane van Gisbergen, another Trackhouse development driver, drives for Kaulig Racing in the NASCAR Xfinity Series. Kaulig has struggled in the Cup Series this season, so it would make sense for them to scale back to one full-time Cup entry, to focus on getting that car fast again, which could allow Trackhouse to bring Smith in full-time next year.
Who takes over the #34?
There are several prospects in the Ford development camp would love to go full-time in the Cup Series. Riley Herbst, a long time NASCAR Xfinity Series regular, has run select Cup races this season and last season. He’s had strong runs driving FRM’s #36 entry last year in the second Daytona and Talladega races, running up front in the lead pack. It might not come as a surprise to some if Front Row signs him on as their new driver, knowing they have speed at the Superspeedways and Herbst has proven that he could possibly seal the deal. Other prospects include Matt DiBenedetto, who recently announced he will be running the rest of the Xfinity Schedule for Viking Motorsports, a Ford team with factory support. DiBenedetto proved years ago, while driving for Wood Brothers Racing that he can make the NASCAR playoffs on consistency. Ford could also do what they did years ago with Harrison Burton, Wood Brothers Racing’s driver who jumped ship from Toyota to go Cup racing with Ford. Toyota has plenty of prospects and so does Chevrolet.
The possibility of a Stewart-Haas Racing/Front Row Motorsports merger.
Racing is a business and at the end of the day, a team will do whatever makes the most logical business sense. Stewart-Haas Racing, which has struggled in more ways than one since 2021, is in talks with various teams about selling two of their charters. There is also a possibility for SHR to merge with FRM, as co-owners, Gene Haas and Tony Stewart, have always done things differently in their business and do not always see eye-to-eye. With the possibility of FRM acquiring 2 more teams after a merge, there is a possibility that SHR brings two drivers with them as well. If a merger occurs, this will essentially shift FRM from a Ford team that can occasionally run up front on a good week into a quick championship contender.
With all of that being said, there are a lot of questions that might not be answered until the end of the season, or even during the off season. But with the announcement of McDowell vacating a seat being set in stone, there’ll be a lot of speculating for the foreseeable future regarding where home will be for a lot of those in the garage.
Every Man on Every Crew 