“All of the pieces are there for them”: Influencer confident about NASCAR team’s ‘next leap’ amid big alliance with Roger Penske

NASCAR influencer Eric Estepp has expressed confidence in Front Row Motorsport's Cup Series future amid a big alliance with Team Penske. This comes after FRM earned a landmark victory against NASCAR, finalizing itself as a three-car chartered Cup Series team.

Before the 2024 Cup season kicked off, Ford Performance upgraded FRM to a Tier 1 program. The Bob Jenkins-owned outfit has been a part of Ford since 2004 but got their big break this past season. With that, FRM secured Roger Penske's team's technical alliance for aerodynamics, race setup, engineering, pit crew development, and race strategies.

Moreover, with FRM's recent preliminary injunction win and the finalization of charter transfer from Stewart-Haas Racing, they have expanded to a three-car team, with a third driver to be decided.

Amid the win and the current deal with Ford and Penske, NASCAR influencer Eric Estepp expressed that all the pieces of the puzzle are there for FRM to capitalize on.

"Front Row Motorsports though is about to enter its second year since becoming a Tier 1 Ford Program. They have an alliance with Team Penske, who's looking to win their fourth Cup championship in a row. All of the pieces are there for Front Row to take that next leap," Estepp said (6:05).

Estepp added that if FRM fields number 4 and 14, it could become the next Stewart-Haas Racing. The notion stemmed from rumors indicating that Gragson might pilot #4, previously fielded by Josh Berry at SHR.

"If they end up running the 4 and the 14, it'd be fitting because they may become the new Stewart-Haas Racing, hopefully the new Prime SHR."

It's worth mentioning that Front Row Motorsports showed promising performance in the 36-race slate. Even though Michael McDowell, who will drive for Spire Motorsports in 2025, couldn't emerge victorious, he exhibited a strong pace, claiming six poles.

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Front Row Motorsports issues a statement after finalizing the NASCAR charter purchase from SHR

After FRM and 23XI Racing dragged NASCAR to the federal court for exploiting its monopoly, the sanctioning body froze the charter sale from SHR. Despite the plaintiff's appeal to let the deal pass, Judge Frank Whitney ruled in favor of the defendants.

However, both teams appealed against the order with new circumstances. They submitted emails from their drivers who reminded the organizations of their capability to exit the team, if not provided with a chartered ride, something which is duly mentioned in their contract. The list includes Tyler Reddick, Noah Gragson, Riley Herbst, and more.

Thus, the situation posed the risk of immediate and irreparable harm, following which the new Judge, Kenneth Bell, overruled the past verdict, granting a preliminary injunction to FRM and 23XI. Moreover, he ordered NASCAR to allow the completion of the SHR transfer to FRM.

Thus, after finalizing the purchase, FRM provided an update on the status on X (formerly Twitter).

Notably, 23XI Racing didn't get the charter purchase grant because they didn't file for it in the original motion. However, NASCAR understood the ball wasn't in their court and thus, granted the transfer to 23XI Racing without a separate motion.