Front Row considering complete overhaul for 2018

Front Row Motorsports general manager Jerry Freeze said the organization is being looked at from top to bottom ahead of the 2018 season.

Landon Cassill was informed last week he would not drive the No. 34 car next season. It was a decision Freeze said was based in both performance and business as Front Row looks at opportunities to improve the program overall.

"It was looking like there wasn't going to be an opportunity for Landon for next year, so we wanted to be fair to him and let him know that as soon as we could," Freeze said.

"'Radical' was his word, not mine. ... Bob [Jenkins, team owner] has really challenged us since the start of the year that he wants to be better than a 30th to 32nd-place race team, so we're looking at the whole thing to try to improve it. I could see a lot of things staying the same with some tweaks here and there or I could see some possibly other changes throughout our organization.

"There's a lot of cards still left to be dealt and try to figure out what's going to put us in the best place competitively as an organization. So, I don't know. There may be more changes to come with some of the folks we got around our program, and hopefully partners. Some coming on board, new ones, and stuff that we're talking about that I think is going to be really exciting."

Currently 32nd in points, Cassill has led 12 laps but failed to score a top-10 finish this season. He has driven for the team for the last two years. Since the announcement, Freeze said the phone has rang with interested drivers they didn't originally have their eyes on.

"We're trying to put a package together that improves the overall performance of Front Row, and I think there's a few people out there that could help us and so that's really what we're trying to do," Freeze said. "Not to pick on Landon that he was the problem, because it's not Landon Cassill. But if we're going to pursue some opportunities that's going to help our program, we want to be able to go pursue those opportunities.

"We're 32nd second in points with the 34 car. We made a lot of changes the middle part of this year with the crew chief, engineer, upgraded some cars. We haven't really seen a lot of improvement on the race track, performance wasn't where we wanted it to be and it's not where we want it to be on the 38 car [of David Ragan] either, in all fairness. So, part of it is performance-based, but part of it is business opportunity."

Love's Travel Stops and CSX have been two of the primary sponsors on the No. 34 car this year. However, CSX is not signed for next year although Freeze said there continues to be positive dialogue with the company. The same goes for Ford, with which Freeze said there have been "great talks" about how to improve with the manufacturer Front Row has been partnered with since 2010.

"It all goes back to Bob's really wanting to take the next step with Front Row to not just be a middle-tier team that only has a chance to win on the plate tracks, but a team that's a threat to win more consistently," he said. "It's just so hard to do for a small team competing against those big major teams out there. So, if there's something you can do to have a good quality driver that comes along with a partnership and it helps you upgrade the engine program or whatever it is, you really have to look at that."

As for Ragan, who drives the No. 38 car, Freeze said he is not currently signed for next season, and discussions are ongoing with regard to whether the team should re-sign him or let him move on. Freeze did commend the job Ragan has done, earning top-10 finishes in both Talladega races and at Daytona in the summer.

And another piece of the puzzle is Front Row's third charter. This year, Front Row leased the charter to Tri-Star Motorsports and the No. 72 team. The hope is for Front Row to one day expand to three cars, but Freeze said while there are still things to work through for next year, he does not see fielding three cars being one of them.

"We'd like to at some point race that third charter or expand to a third team. I don't see a scenario where we're going to expand to a third team next year right now, unless a lot of fantastic stuff happened really fast," Freeze said. "We leased a charter this year to Tri-Star, we got two other charters, too. Technically we could lease one of those charters next year and remain a two-car team.

"I'd say that's probably the likely scenario, and we'd like to do it with Tri-Star again if they're looking to do that next year. We will more than likely lease a charter next year with hopes we're in position to race three cars in the future. We bought it for the sole reason to become a three-car team at some point."