David Gilliland assumes he's the odd man out at Yates
By Jeff Gluck - Associate Editor
Wednesday, January 14, 2009
David Gilliland finished 27th in the 2008 NASCAR Sprint Cup driver standings, but is uncertain if he'll return to Yates Racing in 2009.
Jerry Markland
Getty Images for NASCAR
David Gilliland appears to be the odd man out at Yates Racing, where the team says it will field three cars following its new partnership agreement with Hall of Fame Racing.
Along with Paul Menard’s No. 98 and Bobby Labonte’s No. 96, Travis Kvapil’s No. 28 team is expected to remain while Gilliland and the No. 38 appear to be out.
“I just heard of the thing today, from the Internet, so that’s what I assume,” Gilliland said Wednesday afternoon. “I haven’t actually had a sit-down with them, but I’m still under contract with them through 2009. So we’re just going to have to work through it, and hopefully, we can get something else going.”
Gilliland said he’s sorting through the contract and seeing what he’s able to do and what the next step could be, but he understands that the current economic climate makes it tough.
He was “a little bit” shocked that he is now likely without a ride just a few weeks before the Daytona 500 and the start of the new Sprint Cup season.
“It’s just kind of a bummer that it’s this late in the [offseason], you know?” he said. “We’ll just have to see what we can come up with and see what we can try and do.”
Gilliland praised Yates as a “great organization that has been very good to me,” adding he hoped some of the sponsorship opportunities would still come through to allow him to remain with the team.
“That’s the main focus right now is just trying to put something together,” he said. “It’s a tough time right now with the economy and everything else.”
Gilliland burst onto the national scene in June 2006, when he stunned the racing world by driving an unsponsored part-time car to victory lane during a race at Kentucky in what is now known as the Nationwide Series.
Cup team owners immediately began expressing their interest, and he signed with Yates to replace the departed Elliott Sadler in the M&Ms-sponsored No. 38 car two months later.
He captured a pole at Talladega that year and then opened 2007 by winning the pole for the Daytona 500 and sparking optimism that Yates could return to prominence.
But aside from one top-five finish and one other top-10, Gilliland struggled along with teammate Ricky Rudd (who had just one top-10), and he finished 28th in points.
Last season, he finished a career-high second place on the road course at Sonoma but again had similar results the remainder of the season as the entire team failed to put together consistent results, leaving him with a 27th-place points finish (teammate Kvapil was 23rd).
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24 responses to "David Gilliland assumes he's the odd man out at Yates". Post a Comment.
mel g said:
Jan 14, 2009 at 3:58 PMI think Gilly might be outta luck with Roush having to cut a team next season. He'll most likely send 'em over to Yates, filling their 4-team quota.
Pat Draper said:
Jan 14, 2009 at 4:16 PMMaybe a good ride for David would be the #8 at DEI i have heard the Aric will not be in it this season. I still say there need to be some kind of dead line on this kind of stuff. Like Dec 31 is the last day for teams to make changes. And don't let a guy hear thing from the internet that is just terrible. If this is true i am really surprised at Doug Yates i thought he was a stand up guy and wouldn't do business this way, I guess we will have to just wait and see.
Arthur Trim said:
Jan 14, 2009 at 4:27 PMIn June od '06, according to all of the broadcast & inter net media sources, David was a miracle just short of the second coming when he won his single Nationwide race! Funny what a difference two and half years makes.
Georgia Ross said:
Jan 14, 2009 at 4:30 PMHang on, David...you'll get a ride.
Betty Stoneman said:
Jan 14, 2009 at 4:31 PMGuess David needs to talk with Elliott's attorney!
Pete Bronson said:
Jan 14, 2009 at 4:32 PMIf David had a Sponsor or Money to bring he would still be in the ride. I would assume the points from the 38 will go to the 98, the 28 points will stay with the 28, and Bobby has the Past Champions Provisional to fall back on if Tony does not need it to make races.
The 5th RoushMobile will undoubtedly end up with Yates or Perhaps the Wood Brothers Team. I would think Ford will do all they can to keep as many Cars with the Blue Oval on the Track as they can especially with Dodge teams closing or moving to Chevys.
Andrew Briscoe said:
Jan 14, 2009 at 5:13 PMI hate to see drivers that assume they're the odd one out, because it shows how much the team they drive for is disorganized. If you don't know whether you're staying or going with a team THIS late in the year, it's not a good sign about the team. I think David would be a better driver than Travis, but it's gotten to a point where you could be better than Richard Petty in his prime and not have a ride: all because it's a matter of who the sponsors want.
Werner Boehmert said:
Jan 14, 2009 at 5:17 PMi'm going to check out all the stories before i comment...nothing against David, but i thought it surprised the heck out of me when Yates picked him up...yes he won that Busch race...but....
Bernadette Motherway said:
Jan 14, 2009 at 5:30 PMAh...3 articles on the same subject. No wonder some of us are confused.
ed gordon said:
Jan 14, 2009 at 8:02 PMNice post Andrew.
I hope that they are able to find funding for David to continue on in the # 38,because despite 8dnf's,7 of which were not of his doing,David still managed to finish 27th in the standings despite being only partailly sponsored for much of the year.There is real upside with David.Beleive it.The reality is that the 2 cars that are fully funded at Yates,the #98 and the #96 are funded because one driver brought full sponsorship and the other because a sponsor,new to the sport,ask.com,wanted a past champion and Bobby was available,this isn't about lack of performance,it's about lack of sponsorship and if they don't find it soon for the #28 TK will be the next one to go.
Bernadette Motherway said:
Jan 14, 2009 at 9:36 PMI guess Menard and LaBonte are in. Kvapil and Gilliland are in limbo. More to come on Monday.
m m said:
Jan 14, 2009 at 10:37 PMWhat would give him that idea?
http://cache.daylife.com/imageserve/01TP3C2fAobPj/610x.jpg
As predicted he wont return. Ha ha.
MS said:
Jan 15, 2009 at 12:44 AMYeah MM, Scott Speed will be short-lived, if he keeps pile driving people like that. Andrew was right on in his post. It is all about the $$$$. If David doesn't keep his ride for now, he needs to keep up with the face time in the garage. There are a few mid-level drivers in the garage now that will be yanked out of their cars if they don't perform immediately. David needs to be right there, ready and able to jump in! I support David wherever his future leads!
Fast Lane said:
Jan 15, 2009 at 1:20 AMMikey Waltrip signed Scott Speed to run a limited number of Nationwide races. I think you might be wrong here MS.
Fast Lane said:
Jan 15, 2009 at 1:20 AMThe link wont work MM post again.
Jim Bayliss said:
Jan 15, 2009 at 1:25 AMSO far it is all rumors. I for one will wait, till it is for sure one way or the other. David is pretty good, but yes it is real tough right now, so there will probably be a lot of changes this year from week to week, month to month. Who knows? Maybe Junior will go back to driving the #8.
LOL.
MS said:
Jan 15, 2009 at 1:27 AMFast Lane, the link is of the picture of Speed and Gilliland's car after Speed ran into David so hard the car was up on top of the 84. (I can't see how some think that was David's fault!)
Fast Lane said:
Jan 15, 2009 at 1:35 AMThat was Gillilands fault how could you say it wasn't. That's where Scott Speed talk came from I couldn't figure out why we got on his subject.
ed gordon said:
Jan 15, 2009 at 9:11 AMFast lane,are you kidding?Scott Speed is windshield deep under Gilliland car,how could that even remotely be Gilliland fault.
That picture is the aftermath of a wreck that the #42 caused in the fall race at PIR when the 42 punted Casey Mears coming out of the dogleg on the backstretch.The wreck took out 6-8 cars,Glliland had checked up and Speed,blinded by tire smoke ran underneath Gililland as they picture would suggest.
MS said:
Jan 15, 2009 at 10:01 AMDavid had stopped for the wreck that was being caused by Juan Pablo Montoya. Speed plowed right into David. Speed was giggling and laughing about it afterwards, saying he acted like it was like Days of Thunder and sped up to get through the smoke. Unfortunately, real life is nothing like that stupid movie, and Speed plowed David hard!
And don't forget Speed and the ARCA championship! Yeah, he got punted, but he came back into the race and punted Stenhouse, just to keep him from winning.
Speed is going to be a loose cannon this year.
dave ginger said:
Jan 15, 2009 at 2:47 PMNA$CAR NEEDS MORE LOOSE CANNONS! Just to make it interesting.
Fast Lane said:
Jan 15, 2009 at 4:36 PMLOL. Making things up shows desperation.
Fast Lane said:
Jan 15, 2009 at 4:36 PMLOL. Making things up shows desperation.
Bernadette Motherway said:
Jan 15, 2009 at 7:46 PMThis year we don't need loose canons or caution kings. Drivers need to be analytical, instinctual, have intestinal fortitude, be hungry for the win, and most of all, not argue with their crew chiefs. If they don't argue, maybe the bad crew chiefs will come to the surface, we can get rid of them and move on.