Rising Star Fills Ragan’s Seat for Las Vegas, Phoenix, Fontana
STATESVILLE, N.C. (March 4, 2015) – Twenty-two-year-old up-and-coming driver Brett Moffitt will pilot Front Row Motorsports’ No. 34 Ford Fusion for the next three NASCAR Sprint Cup Series races. The young driver, who finished eighth in Sunday’s race at Atlanta (Ga.) Motor Speedway, will drive the No. 34 Shaw’s Southern Belle Seafood Ford this week at Las Vegas (Nev.) Motor Speedway. He will also be behind the wheel of the No. 34 at Phoenix (Ariz.) International Raceway on March 15 and Auto Club Speedway in Fontana, Calif., on March 22.
Brett Moffitt
The Grimes, Iowa, native fills the seat temporarily vacated by Front Row Motorsports veteran David Ragan, who is subbing for the injured Kyle Busch in the No. 18 car. Moffitt turned heads in Sunday’s 500-mile race in Atlanta, earning a top-10 finish in just his eighth Sprint Cup Series start.
The young driver is a nine-time winner in K&N Pro Series East competition and currently serves as a test driver for Toyota Racing Development (TRD) and Michael Waltrip Racing. He made starts in the NASCAR XFINITY (2012) and Camping World Truck (2013) series before making his Sprint Cup Series debut last June at Dover International Speedway.
Sunday’s Kobalt 400 will be Moffitt’s ninth Sprint Cup Series start and his second of 2015.
“I’m excited about the opportunity to run some races for Front Row,” Moffitt said. “After last weekend, I’m obviously eager to get back into a car and keep racing. I’m grateful to Bob Jenkins and his team for giving me the chance to do that. I’ll do my best to get some good finishes for them. I’m also thankful that Michael Waltrip Racing is allowing me to pursue this opportunity. I think it’s going to benefit everyone in the end.”
Team owner Bob Jenkins believes Moffitt brings valuable experience — plus an eagerness to continue learning — to the No. 34 team.
“We know Brett doesn’t have a ton of Sprint Cup experience, but he’s got a lot of hours behind the wheel in testing time, and he was certainly impressive Sunday in Atlanta,” Jenkins said. “For only his eighth start, he showed a lot of poise, patience and maturity that you don’t often see in drivers that age.”
Michael Waltrip Racing co-owner Rob Kauffman is supportive of the arrangement.
“As we anticipated, there has been heightened interest for Brett Moffitt’s services after his solid performance last weekend in Atlanta,” Kauffman said. “While he is committed to MWR, we are happy for him to gain further valuable experience and help Bob Jenkins, Jerry Freeze and the team at Front Row Motorsports over the next few races. Bob and Front Row were very gracious with our Toyota teammates at Joe Gibbs Racing after Kyle Busch’s unfortunate injuries by allowing David Ragan to vacate the No. 34 to drive the No. 18. We will continue to work on future opportunities for Brett.”
Shaw’s Southern Belle Seafood joins Moffitt as a first-time partner with Front Row Motorsports for the Las Vegas event. The Jacksonville, Fla.-based, “Made in the USA” premium seafood company makes award-winning crab cakes and stuffed crabs, sold in fine supermarkets across the country. The Shaw family has owned and operated the business, using recipes from original Southern Belle “Mama Shaw,” since 1934.
All three races will air live on FOX. Sunday’s Kobalt 400 begins live from Las Vegas at 3:30 p.m. ET.
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.
