Last day at school for McDowell and Front Row

Yesterday at 10:42 AM

A driver moving on from a race team is a lot like graduating from school. At the year’s end, loaned items need returning and lockers cleaned out. At some point, the open-door policy ends and the keycard access denied.

Front Row Motorsports and Michael McDowell are going through that transition. McDowell spent seven seasons driving for team owner Bob Jenkins and general manager Jerry Freeze, piloting the organization's flagship No. 34 Love's Ford Mustang. But he signed with Spire Motorsports for the 2025 season.

On Friday after the finale at Phoenix, McDowell was making the rounds at the Mooresville, North Carolina shop. There were still some hats and clothes to take from his locker in the hauler. And even a large canvas painting hanging on the wall.

"Oh, this is going to be real bad taking this off," McDowell cracked.

The relationship between Front Row and McDowell remains as strong as ever. Both sides needed each other when they came together in 2018. Front Row needed a driver to help stabilize the program featuring their biggest sponsor. McDowell was at a crossroads in his career after being replaced by Kasey Kahne at Leavine Family Racing.

"When he came along, it was really good timing," Freeze tells RACER. "We were trying to build our program up. He was looking for a home. I knew we were getting more than just a driver when he walked in the door. He wanted to be involved in everything we had going on, which was good. It was nice instead of having the drivers cruise through every Tuesday saying hey to everybody, and then you see them at the racetrack.

"Michael was more engaged than others. He really helped raise the bar at Front Row across the board and really challenged us to improve our processes and get better people when they were available. He really helped push things along."

The team won the Daytona 500 in 2021. It was the first triumph for both the driver and the team in the sport's biggest race, the third win for the organization, and the second time earning a postseason berth. McDowell then had a career year in 2022 with single-season high marks in top-10 finishes (12).

The 2023 season brought a victory on the Indianapolis road course and a career-high 15th-place finish in the championship standings – a career-high for both McDowell and the organization.

Meanwhile, Todd Gilliland grew into his place in the other Front Row car. Gilliland has earned eight top-10 finishes over the last two seasons and finished 22nd in the championship standings.

"I'll always appreciate what he brought to the table," Freeze says of McDowell.

Front Row has known McDowell would be leaving since early spring. Soon after, the same could be said for McDowell's crew chief, Travis Peterson. The balance became wanting the team to succeed the remainder of the year but not have the two walk out the door "with every secret" Front Row has.

Freeze admitted it was challenging. It was business as usual through the summer, but the last part of the season saw isolation start for those who would not return to the organization next year. The meetings about future directions, technologies and partners were off-limits.

On the marketing side, Front Row wanted to be out front with their partners, such as Love's, about the future. Love's has materials with McDowell's likeness that need to be adjusted.

How about fan mail? It turns out that never stops showing up to the race shop, even if a driver leaves. Freeze expects at least 12 to 18 months or longer of collecting McDowell pieces that must be forwarded along.

"We'll get race fans who send stuff for drivers who haven't driven here in over 10 years," Freeze says. "We'll get one or two pieces every year of stuff for Jimmy Means, who Bob was partners with at the very incarnation of Front Row Motorsports in 2005. But I've got Jimmy's address, and I'll send them to him. David Ragan still comes by once or twice a year because we'll have a lot of David Ragan stuff to sign, and he knows people are sending it here."

It's a split between what Front Row owns and will get back from McDowell and what the driver brought. McDowell owns his racing seats and will take those with him. Front Row, however, paid for the seat inserts. But as they have no use for them, they'll be given to McDowell.

Front Row will get back a tablet or laptop, which drivers use for SMT or other data-driven work and study. The Ford program vehicle has already been returned.

But there are no deadlines set on McDowell to get things done.

"It's so familial (with us) that he was telling me when he was going to bring stuff back, so it's like he's still a part of the team," Freeze says. "We're not too heavy-handed. If we need something back, we'll holler.

"I have had to chase down program vehicles and send a repo team to a driver's house to get it because we needed it for somebody else and they hadn't had a chance to get it back to us. I guess if you're really mad at someone, you'd want everything back the Monday after Phoenix, but I don't think we've come across that situation yet."

The vehicle return was something Freeze and McDowell laughed about.

"He said, 'I thought about when I picked up the program vehicle you guys first gave me and the (previous) driver had left some trash bags in the back with some dirty diapers,'" Freeze chuckles. "So, he said he did a better job returning the vehicle than how he got it."

McDowell has since updated his social media profiles and has appeared in Spire Motorsports videos. But he's not done with Front Row Motorsports just yet. Although he's erased his existence from the place, McDowell is expected to attend the organization's Christmas celebration and address the team one last time.

"It's been an amazing journey, and even though this chapter is coming to an end, this is family to me," McDowell says. "It always will be."