SpongeBob SquarePants 400
Kansas Speedway, Kansas City, Kan.
Brett Moffitt | No. 34 Dockside Logistics Ford
“I’m excited to be back at Front Row Motorsports and back in the car. Sitting on my couch was not very fun last weekend, so I’m excited about going to Kansas. The biggest thing for me is just getting more experience, and this week will be my first time ever on the track at Kansas. It’s close to home for me, so I went to a few races there growing up, but I’ve never actually ran on the surface. We were pretty good at Vegas, so if it’s anything like Vegas, we’ll be good there as well.
“We’ll be going to Lakeside Speedway with the Steve King Foundation on Thursday night, and the foundation will be on the car on Saturday for the race. It’s a really great cause, helping to look out for the dirt racing community. That’s what I grew up doing, so it really hits close to home. I’m looking forward to getting out there and enjoying some short-track dirt racing.”
JUST THE FACTS: Saturday night’s SpongeBob SquarePants 400 will be Moffitt’s first appearance at Kansas Speedway … The race will be the 22-year-old’s third race with Front Row Motorsports this season … The No. 34 team will carry a decal promoting the Steve King Foundation, named after a Kansas sprint car driver who died in a racing accident in 2006 … The foundation comes to the aid of community racing families in need … Moffitt will sign autographs at the Steve King Foundation trailer at Lakeside Speedway on Thursday from 7 to 8 p.m.
Cole Whitt | No. 35 Front Row Motorsports Ford
“The Kansas track is aging now after the repave. It’s opened up a little bit, kind of like Michigan. I feel like Kansas and Michigan are actually pretty similar. I don’t expect to see amazing passing, but it’s definitely going to be fast. It still has that speed. The thing with these new tapered spacers is we’re so wide open for so long. I bet qualifying we’ll be wide open.
“It felt really good to get a top-15 finish at Talladega last weekend, and run in the lead. If we’d had a little help, we could’ve stayed there and had a shot at a win. But I’m proud of our effort and our finish, and happy we were able to have a good day for our partner Speed Stick.”
JUST THE FACTS: Whitt has three Sprint Cup career starts at Kansas Speedway … His best finish is 23rd (2014) … Whitt is coming off his best Cup career finish, a 13th-place result on Sunday at Talladega Superspeedway.
David Gilliland | No. 38 MDS Transport Ford
“Kansas is still extremely fast. It’s one of those tracks that feels really fast and feels like it doesn’t have enough banking to be going that fast. Last year we had a huge wreck there with Justin Allgaier and A.J. Allmendinger. That was probably one of the hardest hits I’ve ever had.
“But we’re looking forward to going back. I feel like we’ve made some traction on the mile-and-a-halfs and hopefully it will transfer over and we’ll have some good speed there.”
JUST THE FACTS: Gilliland has 12 Sprint Cup starts at Kansas Speedway … His best finish is 22nd (2006, 2008) … MDS Transport returns as primary sponsor of the No. 38 at the 1.5-mile oval.
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.
