Heading to Phoenix: Texas is behind them and now they have a weekend off to get ready for Phoenix. The 34 & 92 cars are going to Richmond at the end of the week to test. (4-11-06) PR-FRMF

Both FRM cars miss the show at Texas: Its a shame, Blount had a good car it just looked like he couldnt get through turns 3-4 good. Everyone was bottoming out there, espically Blount. Chaffin had handling problems.  Mike said the car was good in practice just a tick tight, so they loosened it up a little for qualifying. Chad went out and drove the car way off in the corner before he lifted. When the car took a set to turn it just pushed up the track. It did not push, it "PLOWED." The second lap was his fastest, but he just basically ran what he did in practice. If he had done what most of the guys had done and picked up a couple of tenths then he would of been in the show. He just drove way harder qualifying then he did in practice. It is hard to predict what the car will do under those curcumstances. At least FOX Collison got some air time with help from Mike Joy and Larry Mac. (4-11-06)

#34 Chad Chaffin and Mike:
Well if you thought that Blount and Teddy's day was wild, you haven’t heard anything. Chaffin and Mike were excited from the get go but race day quickly became more like a day in Denver, North Carolina. After the green flag dropped Chaffin had moved up 2 spots before lap 2 when a huge pile up sent Chaffin into the rear of #8 Earnhardt Jr. Here is the conversation.

Chad- "I got some front end damage here guys so take a look at me here."
Mike- "Leaking anything Chad?"
Chad- "No I don’t see anything."
Spotter-"Everything looks good Mike"
Chad- "Yeah guys we got some kind of problem I am starting to spray water, son of a bitch"
Mike- Ok Chad just bring it around.
Chad- "Ok well the pits are closed so Ill pit next time by.
Mike- "Yeah that’s fine, it doesn’t matter we got to go behind the wall anyway but that’s ok."
Chad- "10-4"
Mike- "Go to the hauler Chad. Ok guys we need a radiator from the truck, my tool box over there that’s got the yellow drill on it."

So Chad brought the car in and the crew went to work. Unfortunately the hood also popped up while he was coming around and he did a great job to pilot it to pit road safely. Brad Jenkins was helping along with truck driver Ron. Chad made the best of things. This is what he had to say while the work was going on. "Mike are you taking a piss up there or is that the water draining from the radiator tube.” Before long the team had Chad back out running. He didn’t stay out but 1 lap when he said he thought he either had a tire down or some liquid was leaking. Turns out the radiator top where water is put in was not tight . They sent him back out where Chad was the quickest car for 2 laps straight. He then ran quite a few laps before his water temperature started going up. It got up to 276 when Chad came in for the team to hook the car up to some kind of machine that was supposed to cool the car down. They also did something else to the radiator. Chaffin wasn’t happy with Stanton Barrett, who got into him it seemed not to hard but Chad said the car was way off. Chad also said something I thought was interesting since I saw this thing on speed about this particular item. Here is what Chad said.

Chad- "I tell you what you guys need, I had one of these on my truck team, its called a bug sprayer. You shot that ting in the radiator it will cool it down at least 20 degrees. I mean i know that this would be about the only situation you would need it but its a great item. So Ron, truck driver of the #34 Front Row Motorsports team, put bug sprayer down on your list."

This work took a while and when they returned to the track he came back end for the team to adjust the hood to let more air in. For the rest of the day Chad rode around missing wrecks, taking the advantage of peoples misfortunes, and even singing at one point in the race! He finished the race RUNNING (unbelievable) in 36th. (4-3-06) PR-FRMF

MAKOTO Ginger Dressings to sponsor both FRM cars at Martinsville: MAKOTO Ginger Dressings, which appeard on the Front Row Motorsports cars at Las Vegas earlier this year, and a few races in 2005 is once again teaming up with the team at Martinsville. MAKOTO will appear on the hood of #92 Chad Blount, and B-Pillars of #34 Chad Chaffin. Both whom will race on Sunday. (4-2-06) PR-PRMF

Both FRM teams Qualify for Direct TV 500 at Martinsville!: Wow! Chad Blount laid down a lap just good enough to get him into the field, that was awesome. What was even better is how awesome Chad Chaffin ran. I think he was like the fastest non-top-35 driver. Either way this is awesome. (4-1-06) PR-FRMF

Next Up...Martinsville: Chris Edwards stopped by the shop this morning and saw the guys. Mike and the #34 team are getting "Harry" ready for Martinsville. They were working on another '06 car and just put another one in the body shop. They will soon have three '06 cars and old "Harry". Teddy and the #92 team were working on the Intrepid getting it ready. Hopefully they will have a good weekend, there are 48 cars entered. (3-25-06) PR-FRMF

Mother Nature Keeps FRM Out of Bristol: Mother nature won today. I can not believe that both cars are coming home again. This doesn't make any sense. NASCAR used the top 35 in points from '05, and number of attempts and points from 06 for the non-top-35 spots. That is wrong. NASCAR wanted the 10 car in the show, and it would have made Evernham Motorsports and NASCAR look bad to send a long standing sponsor home on a weather issue. If they went by '05 points, like they are supposed to, then the 00,10 would not make it and put the 92 and 34 in the race. It is tough going home on a technicality. (3-24-06) PR-FRMF

 Heading to Bristol: So after a very disappointing Atlanta race weekend, the FRM team heads to Bristol. Mike is taking the '05 car to Bristol nicknamed "Harry". Teddy is taking the Intrepid he bought from Petty's. I don't understand what is wrong with the Charger. It is the car that Reed Sorenson qualified 18th at Homestead last year. Can't explain why it is so slow. Even with Blount in the car. (3-18-06) PR-FRMF

Both FRM teams FTQ at Atlanta: Qualifying is over and to the disappointment of the FRM team, neither car or driver will be in Sunday's race. Chad Chaffin seemed to have a decent car. It wasn’t on the top of the charts but at least he was quicker than a lot of non-top 35 cars and almost made the field. Blount and the 92 team were not up to speed at all, which goes to show you the equipment that both he and Randy were running with were the same. As Chris Edwards stated it was the same car from Vegas. I know a lot of people are still upset that Randy is no longer with FRM, believe me I am to. But I don’t believe it was Bob's doing. I know Randy has had several other deals ran by him and I am sure that after not making a race yet he wanted out. Anyway good luck to him in the future. Bellow is the list of drivers that went home, so you decide what our performance was this week. I am assuming that the #92 had a problem, because that’s a really disappointing lap. (3-17-06) PR-FRMF

DNQ 51 Mike Garvey Chevy 186.975
DNQ 95 Stanton Barrett Chevy 185.654
DNQ 34 Chad Chaffin # Dodge 185.449
DNQ 74 Derrike Cope Dodge 185.430
DNQ 78 Kenny Wallace Chevy 185.424
DNQ 32 Travis Kvapil Chevy 184.923
DNQ 37 Mike Skinner Dodge 184.560
DNQ 13 Greg Sacks Ford 184.125
DNQ 92 Chad Blount Chevy 179.307
WD 89 Morgan Shepherd Dodge x

Chaffin and FRM Bring Home 42nd Place Finish After a Rough Day In Vegas: Chad Chaffin started the UAW DiamlerChrysler 500 from the final row and battled his car from there on out. Chaffin came in early to change tires for a unknown vibration, then was penalized for being too fast entering pit road, and in addition lost a couple of laps. While trying to regain lost time on pit road, on lap 24, Chaffin got loose and slid up the track, just missing the wall. Chad pulled his car into pit again and made several adjustments. From then on out it was a quite day for FRM. It appeared the team had some type of engine problem late in the going, and when the fourth caution hit the speedway on lap 157 for debris in turn two, Chad came down pit road and the team did a quick survey of the car. They sent Chad back out but the #34 Oak Glove/MAKOTO Ginger Dressing Chevy only made several more laps under caution before Mike and Brad called it a day. The team ended up with a 42nd place finish, and although not what the team would have liked to have finished, at least they had finally gotten a well deserved starting position in the field. Next up for FRM is Atlanta. (3-13-06) PR-FRMF

Chaffin 43rd quickest during Happy Hour at Vegas: Not much to report from Happy Hour but the fact that the guys are still making progress. Chaffin was 43rd quickest. Full Happy Hour Results Here. (3-12-06) PR-FRMF

Chaffin 38th, LaJoie 49th after Vegas Qualifying! FRM will make first start of 2006 Sunday!: Chad Chaffin put the #34 Oak Glove Chevy in the field for Sundays race at Vegas. Chaffin, who had came so close to making the Daytona 500 before losing a right front tire with just a few laps to go, will start his and FRM's season off Sunday as they compete in there first NASCAR Nextel Cup Series race of 2006. What was good for Chad was bad for Randy LaJoie, as he was the slowest car in qualifying placing his #34 MAKOTO Ginger Dressings Dodge 49th. Mike Steruer and the guys are getting the #34 Oak Glove Chevy ready for Practice tomorrow. Good luck guys! Full Qualifying Results Here. (3-11-06) PR-FRMF

Vegas Qualifying Order; LaJoie 25th Out, Chaffin 28th: The Qualifying Order is set for the NASCAR Nextel Cup Series. First out is #66 Jeff Green and last is #89 Morgan Shepherd. Both FRM cars will go out about half way through qualifying. LaJoie 25th, Chaffin 28th. Full Qualifying Order Here. (3-10-06) PR-FRMF

Chaffin 41rst, LaJoie 48th after 1rst Practice at Las Vegas: Chad Chaffin and Randy LaJoie both competed in practice today. Chaffin ended up a respectable 41rst, while LaJoie couldn’t find speed in his Charger, and ended up 48th. Full Practice Results Here. Both teams are getting ready for qualifying. Chaffin just needs to be faster than one more non-top-35 team to make the show. (3-10-06) PR-FRMF

UAW DiamlerChrysler 400 Entry List; 49 Drivers [for 43 spots]: Entry List for the UAW DiamlerChrysler 400 is up to 49 drivers [for 43 spots]. Full Entry List Here.(3-6-06) PR-FRMF

Equipment Problems keep FRM out of Auto Club 500: Bad luck struck FRM last weekend at Daytona, and appears to have struck again. Randy LaJoie was not fast enough to make the field. However the team had problems on both the #34 & #92, which kept them out of the field . Randy was in a newly purchased Dodge Charger which was bought from James Finch with an Ernie Elliott motor. It looked like a real hot-rod. Like Randy LaJoie always says "cool beans". In qualifying the #34 hood had bumps in it. Both Darrel Waltrip and Larry McReynolds on the Speed Channel mentioned the 'bumps' on the car hood being bad for the aero, which can decrease the top speed of the car a lot. Hopefully the team will get a little more out of that engine horse power wise to get up in the mix, being 10 mph off the pace is hard to make up. We're all keeping our fingers crossed for the team to get into the race at Las Vegas. It did not have enough support at the base next to the cowl area. They have it off and are fixing the situation right now. Chris Edwards asked where they had the anchor hid, but nobody thought it was very funny but agreed they had some problems. Mike Steruer (crew chief) told us what happened to the 92. Of all things the body location was off. The company that hung the body put the roof in the wrong location and that throws everything off. They put the roof on as if it were a NASCAR Busch Series car, one inch to far back. This really puts them behind the eight ball if they weren’t there all ready. They only have one other car ready, and it's the 05 car from last year. Chris Edwards told Mike it was good thing that they have this weekend off so it does give you a couple of days to find some more cars if your lucky. Hopefully the team will get a little more out of that engine horse power wise to get up in the mix, as being 10 mph off the pace is hard to make up. We're all keeping our fingers crossed for the team to get into the race at Las Vegas. (2-26-06) PR-FRMF

#92 Front Row Motorsports Entry Withdrawn: Hearing that the #92 FRM Chevy and driver Chad Chaffin have been removed from the entry list. No idea why. The team did get a chance to make a lap at all during practice. (2-24-06) PR-FRMF

Auto Club 500 Qualifying Order: The Qualifying Order for NASCAR Nextel Cup Series Qualifying this evening is posted. Ken Schrader (#21) is the first car out, and Dale Jarrett (#88) is the last car out. Chad Chaffin is the 20th car to hit the track, and not to far behind is Randy LaJoie who will be the 25th driver to take time. Full Qualifying Order Here. (2-24-06) PR-FRMF

LaJoie 47th after California 1rst Practice: Practice is over for the Nascar Nextel Cup Series at California. This is the first and final practice before qualifying. Randy LaJoie, in a brand new Dodge Charger was only 47th quickest. Chad Chaffin, who did not make a practice run, was 50th quickest. Both teams will have to find some speed in order to make the field. Full Practice Results Here. (2-24-06) PR-FRMF

Auto Club 500 Entry List; 50 drivers [for 43 spots]: So far 50 drivers [for 43 spots] are scheduled to attempt to qualify for this weekend's Auto Club 500 at California. Among the 50 drivers are Chad Chaffin and Randy LaJoie who both hope to rebound after hard luck at Daytona. Full Entry List Here. (2-20-06) PR-FRMF

Heartbreak at Daytona for both FRM teams; Heading to California: Both Randy LaJoie and Chad Chaffin had problems not of there making which kept them and FRM out of the Daytona 500 starting field. Chaffin and also Randy had flat tires which took them out of the race. Both teams will head to California for the Auto Club 500, the second race in the NASCAR Nextel Cup Series. (2-16-06) PR-FRMF

Chaffin 9th, LaJoie 37th after Daytona 500 Practice #4: The final practice session before tomorrows big races is over. Talk about FAST, you were describing Chad Chaffin's #92 Chevy. Chaffin ran a super lap to put the Front Row Motorsports team in the top 10 for the first time during Daytona Speed weeks. Chad was 9th quickest at 47.427 secs. But that wasn’t all that excited the FRM team as Randy LaJoie had great pickup to which put him 37th with lap of 47.806 secs. Full Practice Results Here. The Gatorade Duels @ Daytona start at 2:00 on TNT. Both Randy & Chad will be in race one. Randy starts 21rst, Chaffin starts 25th. Full Starting Line Up Here. (2-15-06) PR-FRMF

Chaffin 42nd, LaJoie 52nd after Daytona 500 Practice #3: Todays first of two practices are over. Chad Chaffin wound up 42nd at a respectable time of 47.810 secs, while Randy LaJoie also had a decent time of 48.070 secs which put him 52nd. Full Practice Results Here. Next practice session begins soon. (2-15-06) PR-FRMF

Qualifying Results; LaJoie 42nd, Chaffin 50th: Qualifying for the Daytona 500 is over. Although neither FRM team put themselves in the field, both teams seem very convinced that they can race there way into the field Thursday during the Gatorade Duels @ Daytona. At the end of qualifying LaJoie found himself 42nd at a speed of 184.540 mph, while Chaffin wound up 50th at 181.763 mph. Complete Qualifying Results Here. Finishing positions in Thursday's Gatorade Duel races will determine starting positions in the Daytona 500. First the front-row qualifiers will be removed from the equation. The remaining eligible highest ranked 35 in car owner points, plus the two highest finishing non-top 35 teams from each Duel and the fastest drivers not among those 35 (by time from Daytona 500 qualifying) or a past champion will make up the field for the 2005 Daytona 500. (2-12-06) PR-FRMF

Daytona 500 Qualifying Order List: Qualifying Order List for the Daytona 500 at Daytona International Speedway is up, 58 drivers [for 43 spots] are listed. #80-Carl Long is due out first on Sunday, Feb 12th at 12:00pm/et on NBC, and the last driver scheduled out is #19-Jeremy Mayfield. Front Row Motorsports #92-Chad Chaffin is the third car scheduled to qualify, and #64-LaJoie is the 31rst car to go out. (2-11-06) PR-FRMF

LaJoie 42nd & Chaffin 48th after Daytona 500 Practice #2: The second and final practice session before tomorrows qualifying for the Daytona 500 is over. Randy LaJoie was 42nd quickest car running a total of two laps with a best time of 49.167 secs. at 183.050 mph. Chaffin was 48th with a best time of 49.398 secs. at 182.194 mph. Chaffin also completed a toal of two laps. Full Practice Sheet Here. (2-11-06) PR-FRMF

LaJoie 44th & Chaffin 46th after Daytona 500 Practice #1: The first practice session for the Daytona 500 is over. Randy LaJoie posted the 44th quickest car running a total of six laps with a best time of 49.223 secs. at 182.841 mph. Not to far behind was Chad Chaffin in 46th with a total of five laps at a best speed of 49.266 secs. at 182.682 mph. Full Practice Sheet Here. The next practice session begins shortly. (2-11-06) PR-FRMF

 FRM 12th quickest during Jan 18th PM Drafting Testing: WOW!!! That’s what the Front Row Motorsports crew said after the final test session was over this afternoon at Daytona. Chad Chaffin drove the #92a Monte Carlo SS to the 12th best ranked speed of 188.996 mph. Chris Edwards commented on the teams performance. "The test went real well. They found a few things that worked well on Wednesday, especially for the drafting practice. Mike told me that they were running with the #88, #99 and the #25 in a pack and Chad could run with those guys. The car drove well and sucked up to the car in front of it. Ted told me that Chad even worked his way to the front and stayed there. It was a group of about six cars on a 20 lap run and they really could hold their own. They really felt good about the runs and were looking forward to Speedweeks." (1-18-06) PR-FRMF

FRM 45th quickest during Jan. 18th AM Drafting Testing: Chad and the guys had a very solid run in today’s morning drafting test session at Daytona. The #92a Monte Carlo SS ranked 45th at the end of testing, at a speed of 184.498 mph. The car ran very well in the draft and the team looks for even more improvement in this afternoons test session. (1-18-06) PR- FRMF

FRM 51rst and 58th quickest during Jan. 17th PM Testing: Crew Chief Mike Steruer and the whole Front Row Motorsports team were working hard to get Chad Chaffin speed during this afternoons testing at Daytona. While they nailed the setup on the #92a Monte Carlo SS, which was ranked 51rst with a speed of 182.020 mph at the end of testing, the #92b Monte Carlo struggled and was only 58th quickest at 180.639 mph. (1-17-06) PR-FRMF

FRM 51rst and 52nd quickest during Jan. 17th AM Testing: After this morning's test session both cars seem to be up to about the same speed. The #92a Monte Carlo SS timed in 51rst with a speed of 180.825 mph, but the #92b Monte Carlo was right behind it, ranking 52nd at a top speed of 180.716 mph. (1-17-06) PR-FRMF

FRM 54th and 60th quickest during Jan. 16th PM Testing: Chad Chaffin was able to find a little more speed this afternoon at Daytona in his #92a Monte Carlo SS. However the extra speed didn’t improve his ranking. FRM sits 54th quickest with a best speed of 182.726. There was no speed for the #92b Monte Carlo, as the driveshaft broke, so it wound up 60th.

Update- Want to note that Chad Chaffin and Mike Wallace ran an identical best lap of 182.726. However Wallace was scored 53rd, and Chaffin 54th.

***Update***-Hearing it wasn’t the driveshaft but the pinon that broke on the car. Hear John Tenney's interview with Chad Chaffin. (1-16-05) PR-FRMF

FRM 52nd quickest during Jan. 16th AM Testing: Chad Chaffin and the Front Row Motorsports team struggled to find speed during the first test session with there #92b Monte Carlo. The team ended up 52nd out of 58th during this mornings session, with a best speed of 182.101 mph. (1-16-06) PR-FRMF

Daytona Jackson-Hewitt Preseason Thunder Starts Jan. 9th: Testing at Daytona sponsored by Jackson Hewitt begins Jan. 9th. Front Row Motorsports and driver Chad Chaffin will test Jan. 16th-18th. I have been told that the team will take both a new 2006 Monte Carlo SS and a 2005 Monte Carlo. (1-4-06) PR-FRMF

FRM gets new crew chief for '06: Have been by told a rep. at Front Row Motorsports that Mike Steurer is the crew chief of the #92 team, and will be in 2006 also.(12-2-2005) PR-jayski.com

FRM retains crew & Chad Chaffin for '06 : Veteran car chief Ted Kennedy announced Friday afternoon that his plans are to continue to serve as the car chief on the #92 Front Row Motorsports Nextel Cup Series team for the 2006 season with driver Chad Chaffin despite rumors flowing that Kennedy will join Michael Waltrip Racing in association with FitzBradshaw Racing next year in the Busch Series. "I'm not sure how the rumor was started, but I plan on staying with Front Row Motorsports and driver Chad Chaffin as we intend to put together a competitive package for the Nextel Cup Series in 2006." Kennedy, who spent the latter part of the 2005 Nextel Cup Series season with Front Row Motorsports, owned by Bob Jenkins also stated "At this time, I don't foresee me heading to another organization. (12-2-2005) PR-jayski.com

Chaffin hopes to stay with FRM: Chad Chaffin said there is a chance he could drive for the team full-time next year. He also plans to run a limited Busch Series schedule for #16 Wayne Day Racing. (11-19-2005) PR-jayski.com