2025 Cup Series Team Preview: Front Row Motorsports

MOORESVILLE, N.C. – Front Row Motorsports is a team that retooled during the NASCAR Cup Series off-season instead of implementing a full scale rebuild.

In 2025, the organization that has grown each season targeted a youthful trio filled with potential star-power and prodigious talent – Noah Gragson, Todd Gilliland, and Zane Smith.

The team’s rise to relevancy all started with Michael McDowell winning the 2021 Daytona 500. Then, it was McDowell who also added a marquee Indianapolis road course win in 2023.

Beyond that point, it became more than just one driver performing at Front Row. Todd Gilliland came along later in 2023, showing promise just like McDowell on superspeedways and road courses.

Last season was a breakout, however. Though they didn’t get back to victory lane, FRM did collect six poles in 2024, five on superspeedways and one at World Wide Technology Raceway in Madison, Ill.

Additionally, the duo of McDowell and Gilliland led 386 laps combined.

Entering 2025, times have changed. McDowell, the face of the franchise since 2018, moved on to Spire Motorsports and gave the team a chance to evolve into a different appearance.

Gilliland now becomes the new lead driver at the organization, with Zane Smith reuniting with the team after winning a Truck Series championship with FRM in 2022, and Noah Gragson coming over from the now-closed Stewart-Haas Racing.

All three drivers have had success contending and winning in the lower tiers of NASCAR. Now, having scratched the surface of success in the Cup Series, Front Row Motorsports has the potential to blossom.

Tale of the Tape I:

Driver: Todd Gilliland

Age: 24

Experience: Enters fourth full-time season

Crew Chief: Chris Lawson

2024 season: 22nd in Cup Series standings with four top 10s

Gilliland showed poise and potential to become the lead driver at FRM last season. Having learned from McDowell and now taking his seat in the flagship No. 34, the time is now to take that next step.

That next step could be contending for wins on superspeedways and road courses and finishing within the top 20 in points, if not making the playoffs as McDowell did twice in his FRM tenure.

Potential Tracks of Contention: 

• Talladega Superspeedway: (Three top 10s in six career Cup Series starts)
• Indianapolis Motor Speedway: (Finished sixth last season in the Brickyard 400)
• Iowa Speedway: (Finished 12th in June at the seven-eighths-mile oval)

This is Gilliand’s time. Seeing what he’ll be able to do with the opportunity will be a lot of fun this year.

Tale of the Tape II:

Driver: Noah Gragson

Age: 26

Experience: Enters third full-time season

Crew Chief: Drew Blickensderfer

2024 season: 24th in Cup Series standings: 1 top five and 7 top 10s.

Coming out of the NASCAR Xfinity Series after the 2022 season, it was never in question the talent Gragson has behind the wheel.

The issue has been finding the correct situation for him to grow, develop and thrive in.

When joining Legacy Motor Club, the organization was still figuring out its identity prior to its move to Toyota. Then at Stewart-Haas Racing, while in better equipment, the franchise was on its way out of the sport, causing distractions and uncertainty within the organization, on top of struggles in performance.

Now, Gragson has the chance to succeed with a youthful team ready to take steps toward contention.

Potential Tracks of Contention: 

• Watkins Glen Int’l: (Finished 11th last September)
• Las Vegas Motor Speedway: (Finished sixth in March)
• Phoenix Raceway: (Had two 12th place finishes with SHR)

Gragson nearly won an Xfinity Series championship when he was at JR Motorsports and won multiple races to cement himself as a potential Cup Series standout. With the best Cup Series opportunity of his career ahead of him, 2025 will be about finding what Gragson needs to maximize his potential.

Tale of the Tape III:

Driver: Zane Smith

Age: 25

Experience: Enters second full-time season

Crew Chief: Ryan Bergenty

2024 season: 30th in final Cup Series standings: two top fives, four top 10s

Smith had a rough 2024 season until a second-place finish at Nashville (Tenn.) Superspeedway during the summer. Then, the Huntington Beach, Calif., native started to find success, with four top 10s in the season’s final _ races.

Transitioning back to Front Row after giving them a Truck Series title three years ago, Smith has the opportunity to put together a full season competing within the top 25 of points versus waiting until June to show competitive strides.

Potential Tracks of Contention: 

• Watkins Glen Int’l: (Finished fifth last September with Spire)
• Michigan Int’l Speedway: (Finished seventh in August)
• Nashville Superspeedway: (This track holds his best Cup Series finish of second)

Smith has the skills to grow and succeed at Front Row. He already is a NASCAR champion, and with the right building blocks around him, may be able to contend for a title at the premier level over the long haul.

As a whole, Front Row Motorsports is young and talented, and an equalizer in Daytona to open the season provides a great opportunity to get up front, lead laps, and gain experience as a group.

The 2025 Cup Series season begins with the non-points Cook Out Clash at Bowman Gray Stadium in Winston-Salem, N.C., on Feb. 2, followed by the 67th annual Daytona 500 at Daytona (Fla.) Int’l Speedway on Sunday, Feb. 16.

Coverage of both races will air on FOX, the Motor Racing Network, and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio, channel 90.