MOORESVILLE, N.C. (September 7, 2021) – The NASCAR Cup Series Playoffs did not begin how Michael McDowell and the No. 34 Love’s Travel Stops team had wanted. After an early race crash, McDowell and the team are now 20 points behind the cutoff to advance to the second round.
But, with other championship contenders also having accidents, the deficit is not too difficult for the team. McDowell knows he can be right back into the championship chase with two good races at Richmond this Saturday night and Bristol after that.
“Immediately after our accident on Sunday night, we were thinking that we had to win,” said McDowell. “That may still be true, but with how things unfolded, and other guys having trouble, we’re not in a huge hole. We just need to be smart and get these points back in both races. We need two top-10 finishes and just see how it plays out. We don’t need to get everything at once on Saturday night in Richmond.
“Our team is used to fighting back,” continued McDowell. “We’ve had some rough patches that we’ve worked through. Darlington was a bad race, but the car was fast. So, we take that positive and move forward to these next two weeks. We don’t need to get it all back this Saturday night, but it’s where we start our comeback.”
McDowell heads into Richmond Raceway with 20 previous Cup starts and best finishes of 12th and 16th. Saturday night’s race will be televised live on NBCSN at 7:30 p.m. ET.
ABOUT LOVE’S TRAVEL STOPS
Love’s Travel Stops & Country Stores is the nation’s leading travel stop network with more than 540 locations in 41 states. Founded in 1964 and headquartered in Oklahoma City, the company remains family-owned and operated and employs more than 29,000 people. Love’s provides professional truck drivers and motorists with 24-hour access to clean and safe places to purchase gasoline, diesel fuel, fresh coffee, restaurant offerings and more. Love’s has over 400 truck service centers, which include Speedco and Love’s Truck Care locations. Love’s and Speedco combined is the largest oil change, preventive maintenance and total truck care nationwide network. Love’s is committed to providing customers with “Clean Places, Friendly Faces” at every stop. To learn more, visit loves.com.
ABOUT FRONT ROW MOTORSPORTS
Front Row Motorsports (FRM) is a winning organization in the NASCAR Cup and Camping World Truck Series and the 2021 Daytona 500 champions. The team was founded in 2004 and is owned by successful entrepreneur, Bob Jenkins. FRM fields the No. 34 and the No. 38 NASCAR Cup Series teams along with the No. 38 NASCAR Camping World Truck Series team– from its Mooresville, N.C. headquarters. Visit teamfrm.com and follow FRM on social media: Twitter at @Team_FRM, Instagram at @team_frm and Facebook at facebook.com/FrontRowMotorsports.
