FORBES estimates that Front Row generated $15 million in revenue last season. Though Front Row has been trending in the right direction, its seat is still far from the head of the table. I mean, we're all friends, but I figured out real quick that the way to do this is go in and make your own way. "I always felt you just had to make your own place at the table," he says. "This sport will just eat you up, because everything you do is at the expense of what someone else could do. And then in 2013 came the surprising one-two result at Talladega, which was later followed by a six-seven finish at the track's fall race.įor Jenkins, it's been a matter of the team carving out its own success despite relentless competition. 34 in 2012 and posted top-ten finishes at both Talladega races Gilliland, who moved to the No.
Some modest success arrived two years later in 2011 when Gilliland, a restrictor-plate specialist, took a third-place finish at the Daytona 500 and ninth at Talladega's spring race. That year driver John Andretti had just three top-20 finishes and never once finished above 16th.
That full commitment finally came in 2009, the first season that Front Row's No. 34 car ran in every event. It was an inauspicious start, but not enough to scare off Jenkins, who proceeded with a slow-and-steady approach. "We sort of migrated from just hoping to make a race to making some races to then making more than we missed and then finally got to the point where we were locked in," Jenkins explains. "I just jumped right into the Cup series, and in our first race we blew an engine even before we got on the track." Turns out the team was using a show car, and the newcomers never thought to check that the engine lines were properly connected when it was time to drive. "I was one of those guys that didn't know what I didn't know," says Jenkins of his start in the sport. He says he first picked up a truck, trailer and some support equipment on the cheap, paying so little that he no longer remembers how much he spent. That may be true - FORBES estimates the team is now worth $22 million, tenth-highest among Nascar teams - but it wasn't easy getting there. Jenkins, who made his money as a Yum! Brands franchisee operating restaurants like Taco Bell and Long John Silver's, entered the sport in 2004. Argues team owner Bob Jenkins: "We are probably the team that does the most with the least." Entering 2015, Front Row aims to be one of just six teams running three full-time cars. “Hopefully, we’ve taken all of our experiences and things we’ve done good or bad from the season and we’ve put all that together and we’re prepared as we possibly can be for Sunday.That's not to say that the team hasn't been successful, particularly given its financial situation. “We know there’s so many things that can happen with tires or cautions falling at the wrong time that can completely just change the outcome of that race. “We got to go out and execute,” Andrews said. While Elliot, Larson and Hamlin combined to 469 laps, it was Bowman – who led just nine laps – who came away with the victory. Our approach is to go into Phoenix, keep our focus on being better than we were in Martinsville, being better than we were at our last 1-mile track, so to speak, and focus on our race teams, focus on our pit stops – just making sure that we go in and execute and check all the boxes on our end that we’re supposed to do.”Īndrews doesn’t have to look any further than this past Sunday to prove his point – a race where Elliott led 289 of the 501 laps but never recovered once he got spun out from the lead by Brad Keselowski on Lap 455. “Our approach is not having the advantage. From ourselves and how we’re approaching it, we’re going out there to race with Joe Gibbs Racing, one of the best teams in the history of this sport. “Maybe statistically you could make that argument. “As far as us going in with the advantage, personally I don’t see it that way,” Andrews said. That’s part of the reason Jeff Andrews, executive vice president and general manager of Hendrick Motorsports, doesn’t buy into Brown’s “underdog” claim. 11 Toyota team has still shown it’s had the speed to lead laps and contend for wins while going toe-to-toe with Larson in the points race for the regular season championship.Įven this past Sunday, Hamlin – not Larson – was in excellent position in the closing laps to win at Martinsville (Va.) Speedway, until Hamlin was spun out by eventual winner Alex Bowman. While Hamlin may not have earned a large number of victories, his No.
In addition, while Larson has racked up nearly 10 wins – and been in contention for several others – the battle for the regular season title still went down to the wire with Hamlin, who has two wins on the season. Photo by: Nigel Kinrade / NKP / Motorsport Images Kyle Larson, Hendrick Motorsports, Chevrolet Camaro
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