Brett Moffitt opened eyes with his run at Atlanta, and now he will have three races to show his extended shot in a Sprint Cup car wasn't a fluke.
Front Row Motorsports filled its No. 34 car for the next several weeks on Wednesday, making the expected announcement it would have Moffitt in place while David Ragan drives for Joe Gibbs Racing.
The season's third race is Sunday at Las Vegas. The following races are at Phoenix on March 15 and Auto Club Speedway in Fontana, Calif., on March 22.
MORE: Photos from Vegas races | Odds; thank you, thank you very much | Sprint Cup schedule
While Moffitt, 22, attempts to duplicate his eighth-place finish of last week, Ragan will make a second run in the No. 18 Gibbs car in place of Kyle Busch.
Team owner Joe Gibbs on Sunday offered no firm estimate on when Busch would return to the No. 18. Best guess would be at least two months after surgery on a broken leg and broken foot bone.
Regan Smith will drive a third race in the No. 41 car for Stewart-Haas Racing, replacing Kurt Busch, who remains under indefinite suspension.
MORE: Atlanta winners and losers | Jimmie Johnson | Dale Earnhardt Jr. | Images from Atlanta
Kudos to Michael Waltrip Racing for letting Moffitt, a developmental driver for the team, get his Cup ride. Moffitt would have been out of a ride this week with the return of Brian Vickers from offseason heart surgery. Team owner Michael Waltrip drove Vickers' No. 55 car at the Daytona 500 before handing the keys to Moffitt.
After starting 22nd at Atlanta, Moffitt finished eighth.
Joe Nemecheck was in the No. 34 last week.
“As we anticipated, there has been heightened interest for Brett Moffitt’s services after his solid performance last weekend in Atlanta,” MWR co-owner Rob Kauffman said.
The key here: Moffitt will get experience Front Row he wouldn't have gained with MWR. And since there is no timeline on Busch's return, it could be a while for Ragan in the No. 18 and thus Moffitt in the No. 34. It's quality stuff he won't have gotten in the NASCAR K&N Pro Series East series.
What you don't know about Moffitt:
— Driving at Atlanta was he only scheduled Sprint Cup race. After it, MWR exec Ty Norris was among the astounded. "This has got to be the story of the race," Norris said.
— Moffitt drove the No. 34 seven times last season, his only Cup races before Atlanta. He finished five races, saw a blown engine end one and a crash take him out of another. He didn't qualify at Indianapolis.
Moffitt's best finish last season was 22nd at Dover.
"I want to be in the car the whole year," Moffitt said after his run at Atlanta. "That's the goal, but these guys did an awesome job. I know Brian's going to continue to do well the rest of the season."
But MWR didn't have a third car to go with the 55 and Clint Bowyer's No. 15, so it was a one-shot run for Moffitt until Front Row stepped up.
— Moffitt will be driving a Ford this week after handling a Toyota at Atlanta.
— In addition to being a test driver for Toyota Racing Development, Moffitt is a nine-time winner in K&N Pro Series East, a NASCAR regional circuit. He is from Grimes, Iowa. His Xfinity Series debut came at Iowa Speedway in 2012. He also has two Truck Series races, both in 2103.