Top Dog: Todd Gilliland
Todd Gilliland’s welcome to Martinsville Speedway in April was less than optimal.
The rookie was one of the lone highlights during an otherwise uneventful race when he hit the turn 3 wall late in the race. Due to the incident and damage, he finished his debut at the track in 30th.
But as is important in rookie seasons, you have to shake it off and move on. And when rookies make a second trip to the same track, an uptick in performance is anticipated. That is exactly what Gilliland did in the Xfinity 500 at Martinsville (Oct. 30) with a stout 14th-place finish.
Martinsville provided a mixed bag of results for Gilliland in seven NASCAR Camping World Truck Series starts at the half-mile track. He recorded two top fives, including his first career win in 2019. Outside of that, his best finish was 12th.
In what has been an underrated rookie season for the 22-year-old, stability has aided him. It did once again in Martinsville.
After qualifying inside the top 20 in 19th, Gilliland improved to 16th in a caution-free stage one. Despite entering the top 15 in stage two, the No. 38 driver fell victim to attrition and went a lap down to 15th by the end of the stage.
Gilliland was stuck one lap down for most of the final stage but held strong inside the top 20 in an otherwise impressive run. When a caution flew for Austin Dillon, the No. 38 opted to take the wave around.
The Sherrills Ford, N.C. native fell a lap down once again but received the free pass during a caution with just over 100 laps to go.
Martinsville finally showed the character fans have grown accustomed to in the closing laps with drivers trading paint and using the chrome horn to move people. That allowed Gilliland to drive from 17th to 14th and close the 500-lap event with a top 15.
That’s it from the second-to-last race of the season. We can’t believe it is almost over. On to Phoenix!@fr8auctions | @brave_wyatt | #MojiSushi pic.twitter.com/DtmVSsYNUW
— Front Row Motorsports (@Team_FRM) October 30, 2022
The top 15 is only Gilliland’s second such result in the past 13 races following a career-best fourth at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway road course in July. However, that overshadows strong runs from the rookie that have been derailed due to incidents not of his own doing. With only one race to go, Gilliland will look to end his inaugural Cup season on a high note at Phoenix Raceway, where he finished 19th in the spring.
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