Cassill, Front Row Motorsports a partnership long in the making

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. — Landon Cassill may have signed with Front Row Motorsports in January, but the relationship the Cedar Rapids native has with the Bob Jenkins-owned team didn't begin with contract talks.

Over the last handful of years, Cassill had a ride, and FRM had drivers, so the timing never really worked out for the two to get together. But this off-season, when Jenkins and FRM General Manager Jerry Freeze got their plans together, and Cassill was looking for a ride, the planets aligned. FRM could've gone with drivers who brought more sponsorship, but an organization mantra of performance-first won out.

Enter Cassill — a guy who Freeze always admired, but has earned an even higher respect for since they all got to Daytona for Speedweeks.

'I feel like I've known him for a long time, but not really worked with him close, day-to-day. It's been really interesting listening to him,' Freeze said. 'I don't think I gave him enough credit in the feedback he's capable of giving a team. Being able to hear his thoughts as he's giving them in practice (tells me) he's way more switched on with that than I was giving him credit for.

'We've watched him, regardless of who he drove for, and he always seemed to overachieve for whatever equipment he had. He's someone we've always had our eye on.'

Through the Can-Am Duel qualifying race and practices on Friday and Saturday, Cassill and the team have worked hard to gel as quickly as possible. Headed into Sunday's Daytona 500, the communication still is a work in progress, but it's been all positive reviews from crew chief Donnie Wingo, Freeze and Cassill.

The No. 38 team made a few short runs in final practice on Saturday, and ended the session 11th. Afterward, Cassill and Wingo had a lengthy conversation that ranged beyond Sunday's Great American Race and into next week's race at Atlanta. Taking whatever down time they can to get to know each other as best they can is invaluable.

'We started talking about practice, then we started talking about Atlanta next week, then Vegas the following week — just a little about my driving style and setup stuff. The more time we can spend talking about that kind of stuff, the better,' Cassill said. 'I (have been) really comfortable, and it's been a few years now I've known Jerry and been talking to him. The other thing, too, that's really helped with the relationship-building over the last few years is being parked next to them in the garage and seeing familiar faces. Even though I never worked with them, there's plenty of times I walked through the garage area and had to squeeze by a guy and pat him on the back. It's nice to get to know (the team).'

Like Freeze, Wingo has watched Cassill and was happy to get the chance to work with him when FRM paired the two.

Wingo has long been in the Roush network of crew chiefs and crew members — formerly working as a crew chief for Roush Racing in the mid-2000s — and with the technical alliance, his move to FRM made sense. Working with Cassill matches a young driver with an old-school crew chief, but an old-school crew chief who is more than willing to explore new technologies.

Freeze said he and Cassill have talked about racing simulation at length, and the whole group is excited about what working with that might bring. Ultimately, their communication still has room to grow, but Wingo had nothing but praise for the 26-year-old driver so far.

'It's something that takes time. It doesn't happen in one weekend. It's crazy you have your Super Bowl, your biggest race of the year, and you've got a lot of people working together that hadn't worked together,' Wingo said. 'and I feel like he's a real good racer. He takes what he's got and makes the best out of it that day. That's what you've got to have. He doesn't try to get more than what the car will give him, and put himself in a bad position. I've seen what he's done with what he's had, and I think he's done a good job.

'He gives really good feedback. He made some good comments the other night (in the Duels) about the car and we've adjusted on it since.'

What comes of the Cassill-FRM partnership is a long ways from being clear, but FRM management, the man charged with leading the team and its driver all said they've made a commitment to performance.

Cassill's old school ladder-climbing and FRM's doubling-down on performance over simply focusing on the bottom line merged into what is the No. 38 Ford. Sunday's Daytona 500 is the first in what both sides hope is a fruitful partnership.

'We just decided we've got to do what's best competitive-wise for our organization — whether it's the technical alliance we have or manufacturer we have, whatever drivers we have. It's got to be about performance,' Freeze said. 'If you invest in performance, the whole then can snowball with support into the team. … We want to invest in the product on the track and hopefully it comes back with partners wanting to be on board.

'(Cassill) was without a doubt the guy. If we were just going to hire the best driver as far as ability and what we thought with marketability, he was that guy.'

l Comments: (319) 368-8884; jeremiah.davis@thegazette.com