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FRM’s Path to a Tier One Ford Team Evident As Longtime Sponsor Does the Unthinkable

Published 02/18/2024, 9:46 AM EST

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USA Today via Reuters

At the end of qualifying for the Daytona 500, Joey Logano and Michael McDowell driving for Team Penske and Front Row Motorsports respectively, locked out the front row to take away Chevy’s decade-long pole-position record and hand it to Ford, kick-starting the new tier one alliance with a bang! Only recently, Ford announced the extension of their 20-year-old relationship with Front Row Motorsports, creating an alliance for Bob Jenkins’ and Roger Penske’s teams to collaborate on various aspects such as engineering and strategy. Adding to this early 2024 success story, a long-time sponsor for the team also revealed the expansion of their partnership with Front Row Motorsports.

Love’s Travel Stops and Front Row Motorsports take things to the next level

Just like Ford has been involved with Front Row Motorsports since its inception in 2004, Love’s Travel Stops also has a long history of extending its support toward Bob Jenkins’ team. The sponsor first joined hands with Front Row Motorsports in 2013 and has since witnessed David Ragan bringing home FRM’s first win at the Talladega Superspeedway. The sponsor was actively involved in Michael McDowell’s iconic win at the Great American Race in 2021 as well.

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Now that FRM has a close-knit partnership with Ford at a tier-one level, their collaborations with Team Penske ought to help improve the team’s performance. This makes the proposition of a multi-year deal a no-brainer for Love’s Travel Stops, which has already showcased its faith in the team through previous one-year deals.

Taking to X, Adam Stern from SBJ shared, “Loves Travel Stop renewed with Team FRM for multiple years heading into 2024, the first time it extended with the team for more than one year since the sides aligned in 2013. The travel stop chain previously renewed (the contract) with one-year deals every season.”

Compared to the earlier one-year deals, Love’s Travel Stops’ decision to pursue a multi-year deal with Front Row Motorsports for the first time reflects the team’s growth and success in recent years, also showcasing the sponsor’s faith in the team through their years of development. With their longest-term sponsor on board for the foreseeable future, Bob Jenkins also recently reflected on how far FRM and Ford have come together.

After nearly two decades, Ford and FRM’s relationship is still going strong

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While Love’s Travel Stop has undoubtedly shown great faith in the leadership of Bob Jenkins and Jerry Freeze, the team has had no supporter that has stuck around for longer than the American manufacturing giant Ford. Apart from achieving glory at the Daytona 500 with McDowell , Ford and FRM also achieved the 2022 title in the Truck Series with Zane Smith in only their third year of contention.

Reflecting on the past and future of FRM’s relationship with Ford, Bob Jenkins shared in a team statement, “I am proud to wear the blue oval and be associated with an iconic American brand in Ford. Our relationship with Ford has continued to build over the past decade and we’re now showing our success over the past several seasons in the Cup and Truck Series, and that is something that I’m very proud of.”

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It’s safe to say that FRM has come a long way since its inception and Ford has been the literal driving force behind that success. However, Mark Rushbrook, global director at Ford Performance Motorsports, also feels that credit must be given where it’s due.

via Getty

Rushbrook stated, “The way Bob Jenkins and Jerry Freeze have built Front Row Motorsports through the years is a model for how it should be done. We’ve always been proud of our partnership and can’t wait to see how much higher they can go with this new Team Penske alliance.”

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WATCH THIS STORY: Hailie Deegan’s Bold Leap From Trucks to Xfinity Series

With all the stars aligning for Front Row Motorsports and owner Bob Jenkins, Front Row Motorsports is well on its way to becoming one of the leading teams for Ford in the Cup Series. Speaking of which, do you think McDowell can capitalize on his front-row start at the Daytona 500?

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Written by:

Kabir Bajaj Ahmed

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Kabir Bajaj Ahmed is an F1 & NASCAR Writer at EssentiallySports. Known for his storytelling and extensive research skills, he has covered multiple stories on Dale Earnhard Jr and his legendary dad, allowing readers to relive the thunderous days of 'The Intimidator'. Being a racer himself, Kabir can resonate with the motorsport world better than most.
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Edited by:

Ariva Debnath