Ironically, Michael McDowell’s Cup career is only 4 years younger than the inception of the race team that he currently drives for. Some would even rightfully call the 39-year-old Arizona native Front Row Motorsports ‘senior statesman’. But come next season, 26-YO Noah Gragson might be soon vying for McDowell’s statute once the latter settles into his new seat at Spire Motorsports.

Now, competing with Noah for that position, by default, will be Front Row Motorsports’ three-year veteran, driver #38 Todd Gilliland. That is if the management doesn’t pull out another silly season blinder by announcing someone older than both Gragson & Gilliland for that third full-time car in 2025. So are we soon to see a turf war for influence between these two, potentially three, future teammates? We’re not sure, but Freddie Kraft recently posed the question to Todd Gilliland himself on Door Bumper Clear. And Gilliland? Well, he certainly appeared confident of his chances.

FRM will face a leadership vacuum post-Michael McDowell

Since the Olympics have put a damper on NASCAR’s brand of stock-car festivities for two weeks, the spotter cast of Door Bumper Clear and their mediator Casey Boat sat down with a few drivers to talk about the most raging issues plaguing the sport on episode 341 of their podcast. RCR’s Xfinity star Jesse Love made an appearance alongside Trackhouse Racing prodigy Conor Zilisch. However, the man who spilled some premier-tier beans was Todd Gilliland.

To gain some context first, Gilliland will be pairing up with his former Kyle Busch Motorsports teammate, Noah Gragson at FRM in 2025. The duo spent a good part of two years alongside each other at Rowdy’s former Truck Series team in 2017-18. Ironically, KBM has since been sold to Spire Motorsports, the team Michael McDowell will be driving the #71 for next year in the Cup Series. But more importantly, McDowell’s absence creates a leadership vacuum, one which both Gragson & Gilliland will be hoping to fill. It is also important to note that Noah Gragson is 26, and Todd Gilliland is 24 years of age. They’re both still winless in the Cup Series and will be eager to make their mark once NASCAR racing returns to TV screens worldwide.

2025, on the other hand, will be a different story at FRM. Freddie Kraft makes a solid comparison between Kevin Harvick’s retirement and Michael McDowell’s Spire departure to kickstart the conversations with Gilliland. “You know, Stewart-Haas last year had Kevin. And that was Kevin’s the benchmark, and this is where we need to be. You kind have that now with Michael. Obviously, Michael’s moving on…” Handing over the background, Kraft then asked the NC native, “Obviously Noah and rumoured to be a younger guy getting in the third car… Where do you know, ‘Alright, our sh*t is good enough.’ You’re gonna be the benchmark essentially. You and Noah, I would assume are the guys that are going to be competing for the top dog over there… How does that play into your preparation every week?”

Faced with a tough question, Gilliland replied, “As far as a benchmark it’s going to be hard but I think maybe with three cars I think you might see one or another hit it better on on any given weekend. But yeah, it has been tough, right…? From my side I definitely think we can fill that spot and hopefully be the guy to beat.”

He admitted, “It’ll definitely be different… Michael has always been the benchmark and was before I got there honestly. So it’s going to be tough. At the same time, we still have glimmers of like what our cars can achieve and do.” But as he rolled out his response, Gilliland also gave props to McDowell’s soon-to-be-replaced #34 car operations with a few takeaways. “And I think the biggest thing for Michael is just how well he always qualifies, right? It doesn’t matter what race track we go to, I feel like he always qualifies so good, you know, to whereas for us I feel like we always race really well. And we always end up right by each other. We kind of just meet in the middle…” – emphasized Todd Gilliland.

In fairness, replacing Michael McDowell’s calming veteran’s presence it takes more than just race wins; it takes experience. Additionally, according to Bob Pockrass, Spire has been looking at someone as young as Gilliland or Gragson for their 3rd full-time Cup ride. Possibly Zane Smith or Sam Mayer, even Justin Haley’s name has been thrown in the hat by a few sources. Hence, it would appear that whosoever takes up that role from Michael McDowell will certainly have his hands full, be it Gragson or Gilliland.

Regardless, now that we know how Todd Gilliland feels about the whole issue, let’s also consider Noah Gragson’s perspective heading into his 4th organizational switch in just as many years.

Next-Gen showdown: Todd Gilliland and Noah Gragson eye top spot at FRM

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In his short 5 or so-year-long NASCAR career, Noah Gragson has driven for Hendrick Motorsports, Kaulig Racing, Legacy Motor Club & Stewart-Haas Racing. That does look like a journeyman’s career, but by no means is the Nevada native just your average NASCAR driver. If anything, Noah’s luck has played him worse than his actual talent for wheeling race cars. Moreover, besides a flurry of top-10s, the #10 driver also scored his first career Cup podium earlier this year at Talladega. Todd Gilliland has also been excellent this year, faced with a tumultuous Silly Season, brought much in part by SHR’s sudden foreclosure.

Nevertheless, a certain Noah Gragson felt the impact more than he did. When asked by Bob Pockrass of FOX in a recent interview regarding his uncertainty in options for a potential landing spot, Gragson made a thought-provoking counter to Gilliland’s desires. “This year, the goal was to find somewhere where I feel like I can make a difference, feel somewhere where I could grow as a leader, feel somewhere where I can bring energy to the building and make a change. The opportunity with [FRM owner] Bob Jenkins and Front Row Motorsports was high on my list. It was a spot that I felt like that checked all those boxes. And so once I really found them and could see where their values and their vision lied, it was kind of a no-brainer for me…” explained the disgruntled Stewart-Haas driver.

As for his still-existent friendship with Gilliland from their KBM days, this is what Noah had to say: “Being able to be teammates with Todd back at Kyle Busch Motorsports, we’ve been buddies ever since. And when I told him, ‘Hey, I’m thinking about coming over here’, he had a lot of positive stuff to say. Nonetheless, there are challenging times, no doubt, but that’s anywhere in the Cup Series. It’s a grind to be able to race 38 weekends of the year and be on the top of your game each and every weekend and go to the racetrack and be in contention. But with his support, he was pretty pumped up to be able to have the support from Bob and [GM] Jerry [Freeze] and everybody else included at Front Row… It added some extra optimism.”

Albeit a promising partnership, this Noah Gragson experiment at Front Row Motorsports could very well birth some divided results. But to focus on the negatives would mean to neglect any grounds for change. Yet, the big question remains: will either Gragson or Gillland find themselves in victory lane at a brand new FRM next season? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below!