Front Row Motorsports
AAA 400 Race Report
Dover International Speedway, One-mile oval, Dover, Delaware |
 | | David Gilliland |
David Gilliland, No. 34 Front Row Motorsports Ford
Starting Position: 36
Finishing Position: 28
David Gilliland and the No. 34 team finished 28th at Dover International Speedway Sunday after making improvements to their Ford Fusion all afternoon.
The team started the AAA 400 in 36th and quickly learned the "Monster Mile" was going to be challenging as always. With sprinkles misting the speedway on and off all day -- including two caution periods for wet conditions -- Gilliland also had to contend with a wet track and windshield. His most frequent request on the radio was to free up the car to help him through the turns. Adjustments on pit road gradually made the No. 34 car better, and the team was able to stay on the lead lap for most of the first half of the race.
By the midpoint, Gilliland was in the top-25 but still battling a little tightness in his Ford Fusion. He lost a few positions over some long green-flag runs in the second half and narrowly avoided getting collected in a Lap-361 accident. He finished the day in 28th.
"Chase" driver Kurt Busch took the checkered flag for his second win of the season and his first at Dover.
Comments from Front Row Motorsports Ford driver David Gilliland after the Dover race:
"It wasn't as good of a finish as we wanted, but the guys did a good job over the course of the race making the car better. We ended the race the best we were all day, and that's what we really need to focus on each and every week. That's just going to help us the next time we return to a track." |
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J.J. Yeley |
J.J. Yeley, No. 38 "Drive Sober, Arrive Alive" Ford
Starting Position: 43
Finishing Position: 34
J.J. Yeley and the No. 34 "Drive Sober, Arrive Alive" team finished 34th at the "Monster Mile" after overcoming a series of setbacks over the course of the 400-lap race.
The team started in the 43rd position, and Yeley reported in the early laps that his Ford Fusion was a little loose exiting the turns. By the race's first weather-related caution on Lap 18, he had advanced to 35th but reported the motor might have lost a cylinder. During the ensuing yellow-flag pit stop, the team fixed a loose spark-plug wire but could not get the hood secured due to an issue with a hoodpin. Yeley was not able to get ahead of the pace car as he exited pit road and restarted a lap down in 41st.
The "Drive Sober" Ford was handling fairly well for Yeley as he fought to get back on the lead lap, but he was tagged with a pass-through penalty for a commitment-line violation on a Lap-111 green-flag pit stop. That put him two laps down in 36th.
The team was in 35th at the midpoint of the race and was looking to make up some ground with the car still driving well for Yeley. But on Lap 300, the No. 38 Ford blew a tire and brushed the wall, bringing out the race's eighth caution flag. The team was able to pick up an additional position over the final 100 laps to cross the line in 34th.
Comments from "Drive Sober, Arrive Alive" Ford team driver J.J. Yeley after the Dover race:
"You know the saying, 'If it weren't for bad luck, I wouldn't have any luck at all'? Unfortunately, that's the kind of day we had in our No. 38 'Drive Sober' Ford Fusion today. It started with a loose plug wire and then we had a setback with a penalty for a pit road violation and then we blew a tire and got into the wall. Not the day we were hoping for with the 'Drive Sober' campaign. Our Ford Fusion actually was pretty good. We just had all these other things trip us up." |
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About Front Row Motorsports:
Front Row Motorsports is a Statesville, N.C.-based race team in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series. Formed in 2005 by restaurant entrepreneur Bob Jenkins, the team has competed in NASCAR racing in each year since its inception, expanding full-time to the premier Sprint Cup Series in 2009. The team partners with Ford Racing and Roush-Yates Racing Engines to field the No. 34 Taco Bell Ford driven by David Gilliland, the No. 38 Long John Silver's Ford driven by Travis Kvapil and the No. 55 Front Row Motorsports Ford driven by J.J. Yeley.
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