Todd Gilliland is familiar with the revolving door of the NASCAR Cup Series.
Drivers often come and go, with the next-best talent waiting to pounce around the corner.
Despite the uncertainty, the Cup Series sophomore claims it doesn’t make him race any different. Instead, he simply continues to devote “110 percent” to his efforts behind the wheel of whatever race car he’s driving on any given weekend.
In reality, it was only a few months ago that Gilliland was served a tough reminder of how fleeting a sense of security can be.
In February, Front Row Motorsports (FRM) informed him that his full-time schedule with the team would be cut by six races — giving him a 30-date calendar with the No. 38 entry. The removed races would be delegated to defending NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series champion Zane Smith.
Gilliland, currently in his second season in the Cup Series, handled the situation with a veteran’s maturity and set out on a quest to fill in the gaps in his season.
A week after the initial announcement, the 22-year-old had signed with Rick Ware Racing to drive the No. 15 Ford in five races. Then, in early March, Gilliland completed his schedule with FRM’s No. 36 entry, due to support from sponsor Ruedebusch Development.
Now, with the details sorted and the season in full swing, the North Carolina native is beyond the point of feeling urgency about his situation.
“I feel like there was as much pressure last year as there is this year. I guess this year, it’s just more publicized,” Gilliland said. “Maybe subconsciously I’ve been a little more focused, but honestly, I feel like I’ve been doing a lot of the same stuff.”
Whether it’s motivation from losing part of his ride or the experience he’s been able to apply from his rookie year, it seems Gilliland has found a missing piece.
While the opening stretch of races, including the Daytona 500 and West Coast swing, weren’t the best showing for FRM, the team has been on a bit of a hot streak since the series’ visit to Atlanta (Ga.) Motor Speedway in mid-March.
Gilliland has finished inside the top-15 the last four races, including a top-10 at Circuit of the Americas in Texas and an eighth-place finish at Bristol (Tenn.) Motor Speedway last weekend. With the string of strong performances, he’s already close to matching his best results from last season — and there’s still 28 races to go.
Admittedly, Gilliland’s quite satisfied with the progress he’s made with FRM.
“Last year, when we got those finishes, it was kind of random. One week we’d show up and be good, and the next week, we’d be really bad. So to do it over four weeks with this kind of competition, definitely shows a little bit of improvement,” Gilliland said.
He attributes much of the team’s growth to crew chief Ryan Bergenty, who recently moved up from his position as car chief on FRM’s No. 34 (Michael McDowell) crew to lead the No. 38 operation.
Bergenty’s “intense” personality has lent itself to creating firm expectations and operational standards for the team, according to Gilliland — a process that the driver has found “really cool to watch.”
But at the end of the day, what matters most is that Gilliland believes the two have attained the defining element of a driver/crew chief relationship: Trust.
“It’s really hard to fake trusting each other,” Gilliland said. “I’m thankful we’ve had this stretch of races where I feel confident in him and, hopefully, he feels the same in me. That’s really hard to get.”
On Sunday, the pair will attempt to continue gaining ground during the NOCO 400 at Martinsville (Va.) Speedway. Coming off his eighth-place finish at Bristol, Gilliland is particularly enthused by the idea of cracking the top-five.
“I was just joking with my crew chief (Bergenty) of how fast my expectations have changed. I was actually a little disappointed after Bristol, cause I felt like we were a few changes away from contending in the top-five, top-three area,” Gilliland said. “I see no reason why we can’t keep this momentum rolling.”