Toyota/SaveMart 350
Sonoma Raceway, Sonoma, Calif.
Justin Marks | No. 34 Dockside Logistics Ford
“I’m really excited about the opportunity to drive the No. 34 car at Sonoma for Front Row Motorsports. I have a road-racing background, so this is my kind of track. And the fact that it’s my home track makes it even better. My friends and family get to come out and have a good time, which makes it even more special for me. Road races are great opportunities for teams like Front Row to get up there and mix it up with the leaders, and I think we can do that this weekend. I appreciate all the work the 34 team is putting into the Dockside Logistics Ford for the race.”
JUST THE FACTS: Sunday’s 350-kilometer race will be Marks’ first with Front Row Motorsports and his second Sprint Cup career start at Sonoma Raceway … Marks is a Northern California native, hailing from Rocklin, 90 miles northeast of Sonoma … The Dockside Logistics paint scheme returns to the No. 34 Ford for the road course race in California wine country.
Cole Whitt | No. 35 Uponor Ford
“Sonoma is still pretty new to me. I’ve only raced there once. I’ve been to Watkins Glen a handful of times, so I’m a little more comfortable on that one. But, I definitely got more and more comfortable and faster as the weekend went on last year at Sonoma. I love the road courses and I think they’re a great equalizer for smaller teams like ours. It takes a lot of the aero side out of it. It just depends on how good of a car you can put together and how good the driver can hit his marks, be smooth and put a good race together. We’ll have a new sponsor with us at Sonoma — Uponor — so I’m excited to go back there and see if I can improve from where I was last year.”
JUST THE FACTS: Whitt has one prior Sprint Cup career start at Sonoma Raceway, finishing 27th last season … Uponor joins the No. 35 team as primary sponsor for the road course race … Uponor is an award-winning provider of plumbing, fire safety, radiant heating/cooling, hydronic piping and pre-insulated piping systems for residential and commercial applications.
David Gilliland | No. 38 Love’s Travel Stops Ford
“We’ve done well at Sonoma, and it’s one of my favorite racetracks. I’ve won a lot of races there in other series. I got my top finish of second in the Cup series there, so I’m definitely looking forward to racing there. Road racing is something I really enjoy doing. Sonoma is a fun, technical racetrack. And it’s a place where we can definitely bring home a good finish for Love’s Travel Stops. My wife and I are going to go out to California early and having a little mini vacation before the race, so we’re looking forward to that, too.”
JUST THE FACTS: Gilliland has nine Sprint Cup starts at Sonoma Raceway … The 10-turn, 1.99-mile road course is the site of his best Cup career finish — a second-place result in 2008 … The California native also has two wins in the K&N Pro Series West and one win in the NASCAR Southwest Series at Sonoma … Love’s Travel Stops returns as primary sponsor of the No. 38 for Sunday’s race.
About Front Row Motorsports
Front Row Motorsports is a race-winning organization competing in NASCAR’s premier Sprint Cup Series, fielding the No. 34, the No. 35 and the No. 38 Fords. The team is owned by Bob Jenkins and is headquartered just outside of Charlotte, N.C. FRM was named to INC Magazine’s “INC 5000” list in 2012, recognizing the 5,000 fastest-growing private companies in the U.S. The team’s partnership base is representative of more than $200 billion of the U.S. economy and includes organizations such as Ford Motor Company, Love’s Travel Stops, Colgate-Palmolive, CSX Transportation, Taco Bell and Long John Silver’s. Visit teamfrm.com.
