Pure Michigan 400
Michigan International Speedway, Brooklyn, Mich.
Brett Moffitt | No. 34 CSX ‘Play It Safe’ Ford
“The challenge of Michigan is that it’s so aero-dependent. I’m glad we’re going there with the new rules package. I know a lot of people didn’t like it at Indy, but Indy is such a different track having just one lane. Where hopefully at Michigan there will be enough room to move around in the corner and then still get the good pulls down the straightaway. Hopefully, that theory works, and it will be a lot of fun if it does.
“We’ll have CSX back on our No. 34 Ford Fusion, so it’ll be good to have them at the track once again as we continue to spread the message to fans to ‘Play It Safe’ around railroad tracks.”
JUST THE FACTS: Sunday’s Pure Michigan 400 will be Moffitt’s third appearance at Michigan International Speedway … CSX returns as primary sponsor of the No. 34 Ford for the race, promoting the “Play It Safe” railroad safety initiative.
Cole Whitt | No. 35 Dockside Logistics Ford
“I just hope it’s not too hot. That package — without being able to let the air out the back of the cars — was like being in a slow cooker for three or four hours. That’s my biggest concern. But I actually liked that package at Indy as far as the way it raced. If it wasn’t quite so hot, it would probably be my favorite package. I don’t remember getting to a car and not being able to do anything with it.
“At the same time, Indy and Michigan are totally different. At Indy, you’re on straightaways for three-quarters of your lap and in a corner for a quarter of it. At Michigan, you’re probably going to be in a corner for over half your lap. So, the aero sensitivity of what our cars do behind people is going to be really noticeable in those corners. You’re going to definitely see people moving around.”
JUST THE FACTS: Whitt has three Sprint Cup career starts at Michigan International Speedway … His best finish at the two-mile oval is 25th (2014) … Dockside Logistics returns as primary sponsor of the No. 35 Ford … Speed Stick and Rinnai join the team as associate sponsors.
David Gilliland | No. 38 MDS Ford
“I don’t think anybody’s going to be able to take much of what they learned in the spring Michigan race and apply it to this race. There’s a different rules package we’re going to be dealing with. So, I’m kind of anxious to get out there and see how it is. Based on Indy, we had our challenges, but we learned a lot there and that hopefully can transfer over to Michigan. And normally you don’t say you’re going to take something from Indy and apply it to Michigan. But with this package, we’re definitely going to be taking stuff away from Indy.”
JUST THE FACTS: Gilliland has 18 Sprint Cup starts at Michigan International Speedway … His best Michigan finish is 17th (2007) … MDS returns to the No. 38 team as primary sponsor for the race weekend.
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.
