Seen here with water in hand, Todd Gilliland shared that he loves to have a cheeseburger and Cool Ranch Doritos on race weekend. Potential sponsor opportunity? (Photo: Blake Ulino | The Podium Finish)
As the 2022 NASCAR Cup Series season winds down, rookie Todd Gilliland is looking more and more ready to finally remove those yellow stripes from his bumper come checkered flag in Phoenix.
So far in 2022, Gilliland has led 11 laps and they have all been in the last 10 races. The Front Row Motorsports driver has also logged two season-best finishes in that time – P4 at the Indy Road Course and P7 at Talladega Superspeedway.
In this next-to-last installment of Terra Talks with Todd Gilliland, we touch on short-track racing, those awesome finishes for the No. 38 team, confidence in the car and on the track, and what he would dish out if he were the FRM team chef!
This ‘first phase’ of Todd Gilliland’s NASCAR Cup Series career has been a series of highs and lows, but the Front Row Motorsports driver always seems to find the positive. (Photo: Dylan Nadwodny | The Podium Finish)
Terra Jones: It’s been a while since our last conversation, so let’s back up and start with the Indy Road Course. You won at COTA in Trucks so you obviously know how to navigate a road course, but did you ever think your first top five in the Cup Series would come not only at a road course but on a track where you had never raced before?
Todd Gilliland: I thought we could run strong at the road courses, but, I think Michael (McDowell) is always looked at as more of the road course expert or the road course guy. So, I’ve looked at that as definitely a really good opportunity to learn from him.
I think I’ve learned a lot just throughout the year from him in all areas, but especially the road course stuff. I think just him having that knowledge kind of excels our setups and brakes and all that stuff on the road course. I think having that is a big advantage and, like you said, this year in general, there’s just so many unknowns that you just have to go to the race track every week, very open-minded. I feel like you just never really know when a good run, or bad run, is coming.
The Indy Road Course “just came a little bit more naturally” to Todd Gilliland. That resulted in a P4 finish for the NASCAR Cup Series Rookie. (Photo: Stephen Conley | The Podium Finish)
Jones: Very true! Now, I assume the answer is the simulator, but how did you prepare for that race with very limited practice time? And you kind of touched on it with Michael’s background, but to what do you attribute such a solid run there?
Gilliland: I don’t really know. I was in the simulator about the same amount as every other race. I don’t know really for what reason or another, it just came a little bit more naturally to me. I would say from our first laps in the sim we were decently fast and just had a few things here and there to work on, where I’m in the sim for the ROVAL right now and I’m in the wrong gear at some places and some other thing here… it just isn’t as natural. So, definitely, some more stuff to work on. But yeah, like you said, just a good setup and good preparation. Those are the two biggest things.
Jones: I was wondering how the Indy Road Course would compare to the ROVAL and if fans could expect another top five, or maybe better this weekend!
Now another awesome race for you was this past Sunday at Talladega. Front Row is known for its superspeedway program. What was your mindset knowing you had a pretty deep hole to climb out of after qualifying 34th?
Gilliland: Yeah! It’s kind of disappointing to qualify 34th, but going into the weekend, there’s a lot of things you can do on these cars to make your suspension move and all this stuff. You can set the car as well as you can, but the ride will be rougher.
For us, I feel like we focused on the race. Like I said, disappointing qualifying 34th. You don’t sleep as good that night and you’re still a little bit worried about it. But, definitely, during the race, I felt really comfortable getting pushed, pushing other people. I think in the end, it all worked out for us there. And you know, our car still seemed to have pretty good speed in the draft. But it’s definitely still in the back of your mind. Like you said, you know there’s a bit of a hole to continually dig out of all day.
(Photo: Riley Thompson | The Podium Finish)
Jones: I went back and looked at your superspeedway finishes from this season and unfortunately, those were DNFs – which isn’t a complete shock considering they have been demolition derbys as of late.
Moving forward and looking at future superspeedway races, how much confidence did Sunday give you knowing you didn’t just finish this one out, but you were in contention through the better part of the day?
Gilliland: Oh yeah! It definitely gave me a lot of confidence. Honestly, it kind of reminded me of how we ran in the Daytona 500. We were there all day in the mix, and that was my first Cup race, so I was like, ‘Man, this stuff isn’t too hard!’ (laughs) Then we got in a wreck at the end of that one.
The next time back at Daytona, we got caught up in a couple of wrecks, and then Talladega, the same thing. Those races are all about positioning yourself. I like to race towards the front to just try and learn as much as I can all day. But like you said recently, the races have seemed to play out the other way where you’re kind of just riding around to get a better finish.
Those things are always kind of changing. It’s kinda luck of the draw. But for me and my team, we definitely like to at least kind of run up front, be around the right guys, and especially for a rookie, you hope to just keep gaining the respect of the veterans of the sport.
Jones: And speaking of rookies, you walked away with Rookie of the Race at Talladega. Congratulations on that! Do you actually get anything for that, or is it just bragging rights for the week? (laughs)
Gilliland: (laughs) I think just bragging rights for the week.
Jones: Gotcha!
(Photo: Sean Folsom | The Podium Finish)
Gilliland: It’s been tough though. Austin has been really good. He actually pushed me there for the last handful of laps. And Harrison Burton too, we’ve talked before about how we’ve raced around each other a lot. It’s been a tight battle sometimes. But with Austin in the playoffs, he’s pretty much got it wrapped up.
Jones: This next question, we’re going to do like a band-aid – I’m going to ask it quick, you can answer quick and we’ll move on! Michigan was a really tough race for you and the No. 38 team. What is something positive you can take away from a weekend like that?
Gilliland: Oof. Yeah, Michigan was a really tough weekend for us. I don’t know. There was just something about the middle stretch of the year where we just really, really struggled overall. We got some damage there. But we were able to finish the race. I think that’s the biggest thing for me. It was a positive that we avoided a DNF. Those are the things that hopefully we can fight through as a team and just be better from then on out.
Jones: That is a great takeaway. Thank you for sharing that. And for not hanging up. (laughs)
Gilliland: No! (laughs) It’s alright!
Jones: We’ll do something more light-hearted after that with the quarterly question. If roles were reversed and you were the team chef for FRM, what meal are you making for the team?
Gilliland: It’s hard to beat a good cheeseburger. The guy that does our catering does burgers a lot and that’s probably my favorite thing at the racetrack. You gotta have it with some Cool Ranch Doritos too. That is tough to beat!
Jones: That sounds delicious! Very good choice. Getting back to the track, let’s talk group qualifying. This is something newer to the sport. Typically you and Michael are in opposite groups. So break it down for us. Do you prefer that? And what’s your preference when it comes to which group you’re in?
Gilliland: In a perfect world, I’d prefer to be in group B with Michael in group A every week. That gives us the best chance, for me at least, to be able to look at data and try to be as prepared as we can be. Like I said, the simulation only gets us so close, and especially this year with the Next Gen car, we don’t exactly know what we’re gonna unload like. So, I would definitely prefer to have that like that.
It seems like recently it’s been swapped the other way. I’ve been in Group A. I think that presents a challenge for us, but, a good challenge. One where we need to be as prepared as we can when we hit the racetrack.
Jones: Very true! And then I have noticed while listening in on the scanner over the course of the season that your confidence – both in letting your team know what you feel in the car and what you need – has increased. How conscious have you been of that growth?
Gilliland: That’s obviously something I need to get still a lot, lot better at. And I think all that comes with time. I’m sure it’s kind of been throughout the whole field just learning what changes this car needs and what are the big hitters and what aren’t.
(Photo: Dylan Nadwodny | The Podium Finish)
In the past, in everything I’ve driven before, it was a track bar. That’s your go-to change for pretty much every pit stop. This car doesn’t have that. I think that was the biggest unknown for everyone is ‘How are you gonna tune on this thing during the race?’ I think we’ve definitely gotten a lot better at that, made the car better throughout the races the majority of the time and that’s the biggest thing is gaining that confidence, like, ‘I felt this a couple weeks ago and this [change] helped it. Maybe that’s what we need again.’
Jones: Recently, there has been a big focus on short tracks. There’s been a push to revive older tracks, and thankfully we get North Wilkesboro back next year. We had Dale Jr. hopping in Late Model. Byron did some short-track racing earlier this season. Additionally, SRX has put the spotlight back on short tracks over the past couple of years.
Have you considered jumping in a Late Model or running some short tracks, for fun, more experience, or maybe even as an opportunity to market your partners in a different outlet?
Gilliland: That’s definitely something we always look at. Obviously, with my dad’s team, he’s got so many different types of vehicles. It’s always an interesting opportunity for sure. I grew up racing Late Model Stocks around North Carolina and around these racetracks that all these guys have been racing at this year.
As far as the revival of all the old racetracks, that seems to be going well. You know, they say, “A packed race track is a good race track” right? So we’ll see. Hopefully, it can last. Hopefully, there’s not the same reason it shut down in the first place, right? But as far as short-track racing, I definitely love it and I’d be all for doing more of it.
Jones: Yes. Absolutely! And speaking of short tracks, you’ll race at Martinsville again. You qualified great in the spring but didn’t have the best finish. However, you did win there in Trucks in 2019. Obviously, there’s a difference between the Trucks and a Cup car. So what does translate?
Gilliland: There’s a lot to learn at Martinsville. I think honestly, as the driver, it’s one of the easier tracks when you’re just out by yourself. The curb is on the inside and obviously, the wall is right on the outside, so it doesn’t leave you many options of where you’re gonna run in qualifying.
But, the real challenges come when you get out there with 30-something other cars and there’s still no room. So, the same challenges go as far as racing. You gotta protect the bottom and restarts are aggressive. All that stuff has probably translated from the Trucks more than anything else.
Jones: And to finish up, as we head into the final stretch of the season, where are you most looking forward to racing in the next five weeks, and where are you, maybe not so looking forward to racing?
Gilliland: Yeah, I think I’m looking forward to all of them really! We’re returning to some places like Vegas. We just tested at Homestead. We’ve been to Phoenix and Martinsville too. So, I’d say the ROVAL’s probably the biggest unknown, but I’m honestly really excited for all five that are left. I think we can definitely finish on a strong note and I’m excited about that!
As always a huge thank you goes out to Todd Gilliland (Facebook, Instagram, Twitter) for taking the time to talk with the Podium Finish. Thank you as well to his Public Relations Representative, Chris Murdock, at Front Row Motorsports (Facebook, Instagram, Twitter).
