NASCAR: Another seat has been filled for the 2022 season

As expected, Front Row Motorsports have confirmed the return of 2021 Daytona 500 winner Michael McDowell for the 2022 NASCAR Cup Series season.

Just a few days after the 2021 NASCAR Cup Series season ended at Phoenix Raceway, another seat has been filled for the 2022 season.

As pretty much everybody expected, Michael McDowell is set to return for a fifth season behind the wheel of the #34 Ford at Front Row Motorsports.

The 36-year-old Phoenix, Arizona native is coming off of a career year during which he won the season-opening Daytona 500 at Daytona International Speedway back in February by leading only the final lap, and because of that win, he qualified for the playoffs for the first time in his career.

After failing to advance past the opening round of the postseason, he finished in a career-high 16th place in the championship standings with a career-best average finish of 20.5 and a career-high five top 10 finishes, including two top three finishes.

His other top three result was a third place finish at Talladega Superspeedway in April, the second best finish of his career. Prior to his Daytona 500 win, he had no wins in 357 starts. His 358 starts were the second most in Cup Series history for a first-time winner.

This news comes as Front Row Motorsports confirm that they will remain a two-car effort for 2022.

However, it was also confirmed that they will remain a two-car team with somebody other than Anthony Alfredo behind the wheel of the #38 Ford. Alfredo competed alongside McDowell as a rookie in 2021.

There had been rumors of the Bob Jenkins-owned team selling one of their two charters to 23XI Racing after the Denny Hamlin and Michael Jordan-owned team confirmed the addition of a second car with Kurt Busch as the driver, but that deal ultimately fell through.

McDowell was expected back either way, though who his teammate ends up being for next year remains to be seen.

The 2022 season is scheduled to get underway with the 64th annual Daytona 500 at Daytona International Speedway on Sunday, February 20. Will the reigning race winner prevail once more?