The Gilliland name has long been associated with stock car racing.
It all started on the West Coast during the late 1980s with Butch Gilliland eventually winning 13 races and the 1997 championship in what is now the ARCA Menards Series West. It continued with his son, David, who made 411 starts across NASCAR’s trio of national series between 2005 and 2023.
Now, the torch has been passed to the next generation as David Gilliland’s 24-year-old son, Todd, is in his third season of NASCAR Cup Series competition. He drives the No. 38 Ford Mustang for Front Row Motorsports.
Obviously, Todd Gilliland was born into a racing family, but his parents allowed him to chart his own career path.
“Growing up around the sport was definitely huge for developing my love for it and all that stuff,” Gilliland shared with SPEED SPORT. “One of the things that I really appreciate about my family and all that is, I don’t feel like I was ever pushed to do racing.
“Even when I was younger, I really had to stay on my parents to keep trying to get into different race cars,” Gilliland continued. “It’s definitely amazing and super cool, and I’m very lucky for sure to have grown up around racing, to have a good understanding of it all.”
Gilliland dabbled in other sports such as basketball and soccer, but he admittedly didn’t have the talent or desire to do much with either beyond school grounds.
“I mean, honestly, I was just really, really bad and pretty unathletic,” Gilliland laughed. “So that put quite a damper on things. But I was kind of a normal kid – playing other sports and hanging out with friends, all that fun stuff.
“Then, once I started racing, I definitely knew that was it. That’s what I wanted to pursue and continue doing.”
Thus, Gilliland pushed his parents to start his racing career. It was during this same time that David Gilliland was contesting the 36-race Cup Series schedule, which meant father and son were rarely together at the same track.
“A lot of times it was me and my mom, and my crew chief, or whoever it was at the time,” Gilliland explained. “To me, it was definitely a lot of fun to travel around, and obviously see a lot of the country at that point.
“Whether it was quarter midgets, late model racing, pretty much all along the way, that part was always fun, just hanging out with family. Definitely made a lot of good friends over the times of racing with people my age.”
Gilliland quickly rose through the stock car ranks.
He won back-to-back ARCA Menards Series West championships in 2016-’17 with Bill McAnally Racing before graduating to the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series.
Two part-time schedules in the Truck Series were followed by three full-time seasons as Gilliland won twice and finished as high as seventh in the series standings.
After running Front Row Motorsports’ No. 38 truck for two years, Gilliland was called up to the Cup Series in 2022 by team owner Bob Jenkins. It was a full circle moment for Gilliland who grew up watching his father compete from the Front Row Motorsports pit box.
“Growing up around the team was super fun,” Gilliland recalled. “Obviously, my dad was here for probably five or so years around that time. I was probably 12-ish to 15, 16. At that time, I was really deep into racing and pretty much knew that’s what I was trying to pursue.
“Just having him in the Cup Series was fun. Sitting on the pit box, doing all the things that kind of give you more of an appreciation and love for the behind-the-scenes stuff.
“Then on the other side too, getting to know Bob Jenkins, Jerry Freeze (FRM general manager), all the guys that run the shop on a day-to-day basis,” Gilliland continued. “It was a great opportunity and I definitely have a really good relationship with everybody.”
The relationships Gilliland forged with the employees at Front Row Motorsports turned out to be a difference-maker in his transition to the NASCAR Cup Series.
“I don’t think it’s ever really an easy transition,” he said. “But definitely knowing Bob, and like I said, knowing everybody here, maybe made it just one step easier. But it’s definitely never easy. That’s for sure.”
A rookie effort headlined by a pair of top-10 finishes and a 28th -place result in the standings showed plenty of room for improvement as Gilliland adjusted to the nuances of Cup Series racing.
“I think for me, the schedule first off, I think in my first year, it was almost just a blur,” Gilliland said. “It’s just so many races. Good or bad, the weeks roll on super quickly and you’re into the next race almost immediately it feels like.”
Overall, Front Row Motorsports showed signs of significant improvement during Gilliland’s sophomore season. Teammate Michael McDowell went to victory lane at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway road course, while Gilliland ended the 2023 campaign with four top-10 finishes.
Through 18 races this year, Gilliland had seven top-15 results with a best finish of eighth at Talladega (Ala.) Superspeedway, and his No. 38 car had led 120 laps. For a team that struggled to scratch the top 30 in points for many years, FRM’s upward trajectory has put the Cup Series garage on notice.
“We’re on a decent little streak here of getting better finishes in the teens, kind of consistently over the last month or two,” Gilliland noted. “It’s hard man, it’s not just one thing. I think I’ve definitely made steady progress – getting better and better, being more consistent with my feedback, my inputs, all that stuff.
“I’ve definitely made steps in the right direction. I think our team is stronger than it’s ever been. As far as Ryan Bergenty (crew chief), he’s been doing a really good job and just getting more experience on his end, too.
“He’s not a crew chief that’s been doing it for 20 years,” Gilliland continued. “This is his second year. He’s just gonna continue to get better. Our road crew is stronger than ever. Our new relationship with Penske this year was a really big step. I think all those things. It’s not a huge jump, but just a slow and steady progression that has been really cool to see.”
THIS ARTICLE IS REPOSTED FROM THE July 3 EDITION OF SPEED SPORT INSIDER
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