Gilliland starting again with Front Row Motorsports

MARTINSVILLE — A lot has changed for David Gilliland since he landed his first full-time Sprint Cup Series ride with Robert Yates Racing in August 2006.

When he debuted in the No. 38 M&M’s Ford, RYR was a powerhouse team. Although Gilliland came in toward the end of their reign as one of the top teams in NASCAR, the team had already won a championship in 1999 with Dale Jarrett and had accumulated 58 wins in 18 years on the circuit. It was the former home of Ernie Irvan and Davey Allison and boasted the best motors in the business.

But after the team merged with Richard Petty Motorsports after the 2008 season, David Gilliland had to start again. After spending part of the 2009 season with TRG Motorsports, he is back in 2010 with Front Row Motorsports, a team that was created in 2004 by restaurant entrepreneur Bob Jenkins that added two additional cars after the 2009 season.

“Robert Yates Racing gave me my break in the Cup series and did a lot for my career,” Gilliland said. “Now, we’re Front Row Motorsports and we’re helping to try and build this program and take it to the next level. It started out as a single car Sprint Cup team and now we’re a three-car team. Everybody just has to work together and it is more like racing the way it used to be for me. Everybody that is here is a big part of the organization. It is a lot of fun.”

Since the Cup Series is dominated by super teams like Joe Gibbs Racing, Hendrick Motorsports and Richard Childress Racing, it is difficult for a young team like Front Row to get a foothold.

“It’s definitely not easy. I give Bob Jenkins a lot of credit for doing all he has done to expand to three teams,” Gilliland said.

“There is an old saying that has been around forever and that is that ‘money buys speed,’” Gilliland said. “Gibbs and Hendrick and those guys definitely have more resources to go and test things out and try different things. It is tough to compete with them, but when you do and you have good runs and good finishes it just makes it that much more gratifying.”

Though it may be tougher for a smaller team to compete, according to Gilliland it has gotten a lot easier to be competitive due to some NASCAR rules changes. One of the biggest things to help upstart programs in the last few years has been the elimination of open testing at NASCAR-sanctioned tracks. Gilliland feels that this was a key change for teams like Front Row to be competitive.

“It has brought us one step closer. It has definitely brought us a step closer," Gilliland said. "If the testing policy was wide open right now then teams like Hendricks, Gibbs, RCR they could go test weekly just because of their budget. So it definitely does help us stay a little closer.”

Gilliland’s No. 37 team only came together a few weeks before the teams arrived in Daytona. He says it is quite a task for a team to come together on such short notice, but there was a familiar face there to help along the way.

At the beginning of the 2010 season, Doug Yates, the son of Robert Yates and a renowned engine builder, signed on to become a co-owner of Front Row Racing.

“He brings a lot of knowledge and experience and great horsepower,” Gilliland said. “He has been around racing his whole life and he is a great guy.

“Doug has done a lot for me and my career - probably more than anyone,” he said. “Doug is a great guy with great experience and great motors. It feels good to come to the racetrack with a good solid motor program and you don’t have to worry about not having the power to be competitive during the race. That is a big thing to put behind you and not have to worry about.”

After last week’s race at Bristol, all three Front Row cars were situated in the top 35 in the standings, locking them into the field for today's Goody’s 500 at Martinsville. Gilliland feels this quite a feat for two teams that are only a few months old and they have met their goals far this season.

“That is what we work for, and what Bob has worked for and that is what he has put his heart and soul into trying to make happen,” Gilliland said. “That is our goal - to keep all three cars in the top 35 and just race as competitively as we can every week. My personal goal is just to get better each and every week. Our particular team, the third team, got put together just a few weeks before Daytona and it has been a challenge to get a lot of people used to each other kind of fast and I really feel like they’ve done a great job.

“I’m just looking to make the most of every week and help this team progress as a team and as an organization,” Gilliland said.