“He Took the Risk” – Michael McDowell’s Win Was a Result of Front Row Motorsports Owner’s Faith

NASCAR is one of the most competitive sports in the world today and not just for the athletes. Teams also have a lot on the line, going into each season financially. It is imperative for any team to win races and championships for financial purposes, otherwise, it can be quite difficult to be profitable. For newer teams, this is one of the biggest issues. A sport like NASCAR can be extremely tough to navigate financially if you’re not winning races and turning a profit.

Yes, sponsorship deals go a long way in helping out a team’s finances but they tend to leave after a certain period if they do not see a notable improvement in the results. This often leads to teams going out of business and a number of people losing their jobs. So to have an owner who is willing to bear the financial risks up until a time the team is able to compete at the highest level is a blessing.

And that is what Front Row Motorsports have in Bob Jenkins.

Dale Earnhardt Jr Hails Front Row Motorsports Boss for ‘Sticking It Out’

At Indianapolis, FRM had a day to remember when Michael McDowell handed the team their fourth-ever Cup Series victory. The team was founded in 2004 and wins have been hard to come by. However, Bob Jenkins’ faith in those working for him paid off last Sunday, and Dale Earnhardt Jr believes that the FRM owner should be celebrated for taking the necessary risks and sticking to what he believed in.

On a recent episode of The Dale Jr. Download podcast, Dale Earnhardt Jr sang Bob Jenkins’ praises and hailed him for not giving up on his team no matter how bad things got in the last two decades.

“Bob Jenkins ought to be commended just for sticking it out and, you know you have an owner who is doing everything he could financially to put a team out on the race track. They have had success, they won races, Pocono a couple of years back with Buescher, a win with David Ragan at Talladega, I’m trying to rack my brain, get all this right but, and the Michael’s Daytona 500 win, so they’ve had these moments and Bob has spent a lot of his own money,” Junior said.

“You know, me and Kelley (Earnhardt Miller) were investigating the sport as a whole in terms of charters and how to get involved and how to get to the Cup level and it was one of the conversations we had, and he’s, he oughta be celebrated man because it’s hard,” he added.

The former Cup Series driver went on to explain how difficult it is to sustain a team in a sport like NASCAR, the costs involved, the profitability, and how, despite having a long period of uncertainty, Bob Jenkins took the risks.

“They always how do you wanna make a small fortune in motorsports, you start with a big one, you know, and it’s expensive and costly and a lot of times not profitable. You can certainly make tons of mistakes financially and it not be profitable. If you’re smart and you have a good business mind you can make money in this sport.” 

“I’m not saying that it’s a place you can’t succeed financially, but he had to put up a lot of the money himself to get in. He took the risk,” Earnhardt Jr. added.

Front Row Motorsports seems to be on the up ever since Michael McDowell shocked the world and took an inspirational victory at Indianapolis, beating out the likes of Chase Elliott and Daniel Suarez.

Read More: Michael McDowell Feels Indy Win Could Protect Them From NASCAR Shrewdness

Bob Jenkins ‘Oughta Be Celebrated’, Says Junior

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The team will celebrate its 20th year in NASCAR in 2024 and Dale Earnhardt Jr believes that FRM’s story is incredible and that Bob Jenkins is the man to be credited for that.

“So, he oughta be celebrated and he just re-signed both his drivers the week before, McDowell and Gilliland. So he decides, ‘Hey man, I’m sticking with my guns here, we’re moving forward, we’re growing, we’re improving.’ Pretty incredible story,” he said.

A victory at a place like Indianapolis this close to the playoffs can do wonders for a team’s and a driver’s confidence. There is no doubt that everyone involved at FRM will go into the remainder of the season with a lot of enthusiasm and they might even edge out a shock victory again.

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