Two Cup Series teams are part of a big battle this year. In what could be a rebellious landmark in NASCAR’s history, 23XI Racing and Front Row Motorsports got involved. They refused to sign the 2025 charter deal in September and then launched a NASCAR lawsuit in October. Until a week ago, the case seemed tilting in the sport’s favor, with the two teams slated for an open team schedule. Now that threat has been overturned, and FRM’s future looks as strong as ever.

The Cup Series team owns only four Cup Series victories. Michael McDowell owns two of these victories – the 2021 Daytona 500 and the 2023 Indianapolis Cup race. Although he has signed off from FRM, the team’s preparations for 2025 make it a legitimate threat.

Front Row Motorsports on a trail to success?

The team started as a part-time entry in 2005 and scaled up to a full-time presence four years later. Back then, Front Row Motorsports did not make much of a dent in the Cup Series scene. Veteran David Ragan provided Front Row with its first victory at Talladega Superspeedway in 2013. Then Chris Buescher added another tally as a rookie winner three years later at Pocono Raceway. Now, the team is on a rapid rise. In 2023, it strengthened its commitment to Ford in the offseason, while forging a technical alliance with Team Penske.

The 2024 developments look equally promising for a happening 2025 season, despite the shadow of the NASCAR lawsuit. In a recent video, Eric Estepp outlined the challenges that Front Row Motorsports overcame until this point. “They’ve lost good people to bigger teams. Blake Harris, crew chief, left for Hendrick Motorsports. Michael McDowell left for Spire. Zane Smith, even, left for Trackhouse a year ago. Despite these setbacks, FRM has strengthened their alliance with Ford, Team Penske. They signed Truck Series driver Layne Riggs who in the second half of last year looked incredible, couple of wins. On the Cup side, suddenly Todd Gilliland looks like a consistent top-20 threat… he’s still only 24 years old.” 

Todd Gilliland clinched a career-high 4 top-ten finishes and also led for 130 laps this year. Besides his promising presence, Front Row Motorsports might dazzle with its other entries as well. “Now they’ve added Noah Gragson who has a ton of potential. Chandler Smith… I believe is one of the top five prospects in the lower series. They’ve purchased or are attempting to purchase a third Cup charter.” Gragson clinched 7 top-tens and 1 top-five under Stewart-Haas Racing, while Smith won three races in the Xfinity Series. Besides, a former Truck Series champion will also join: “They might bring Zane Smith back, who won a Truck Series championship with this team two years ago.”

Moreover, the team is ready to do a makeover with its extremely young line-up of drivers.

Dedicated to expansion

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The will to thrive is far from dying out. Despite its drab progress through two decades, Front Row Motorsports is coming back as strong as ever. This youthful passion to start over and try again was evident when FRM joined 23XI Racing for the lawsuit. Refusing to sign the charter deal – which is the foundation of financial support for race teams – takes a lot of courage. And FRM’s owner Bob Jenkins and General Manager Jerry Freeze have that. Quite like their youthful drive to survive, the team executives are also focusing on a young driver line-up. Estepp highlighted, “Their driver line-up is incredibly young… Assuming they sign Zane Smith, FRM’s average age next year of their drivers will be 23.8. Very young but all with extremely high ceilings.”

This furthermore boosts the possibility of a bright future for Front Row Motorsports. The team is dedicated to hard work, and its young speedsters can carry forward that dedication for years to come. When the team announced earlier in 2024 about its 3-car expansion, Jenkins outlined its trajectory for growth. “We have a very positive outlook on the future of NASCAR and as the sport plans for success, so do we. Today that means having a plan for expanding back to three cars in the NASCAR Cup Series. I always have the vision to continue to grow and improve our team and that commitment and desire never changes. I am committed to the sport and its passionate fans and partners.”

Evidently, FRM is on a fast track to soaring success. As the NASCAR lawsuit has tilted in its favor, let us see how the team performs in 2025.