As a third-generation driver and son of former Cup competitor David Gilliland, Todd Gilliland jumped a rung on the ladder and went straight from the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series to the Cup Series in 2022, much like Carson Hocevar, by way of the Xfinity Series.
He had already made noise in ARCA, winning back-to-back titles in the ARCA West ranks in 2016 and 2017, and had notched three victories in Trucks. So far, in four seasons at Cup level, he has yet to visit Victory Lane.
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In many ways, his truck results paved the way for the Cup. During his six seasons in trucks, Gilliland split his time between Kyle Busch Motorsports for three years and Front Row Motorsports for two years, and even raced part-time (one race) for his father’s team. He had a win with KBM in his first full season in 2019, but when it came to his connection with team owner Kyle Busch, the fit never seemed to come together.
Thinking back to a conversation with Jeff Gluck during the 12 Questions segment, Gilliland remembered what it was like. “When I was at Trucks at (Kyle Busch Motorsports), I really wish I had some time back at the end of my time there. (Actually) kind of all the time at KBM. It was obviously very exciting to go there and have a great opportunity, but I didn’t make the most of it.”
“I learned a ton of different lessons over that time. I feel like if you do everything right, you go to the next level, and then you make more bad mistakes and learn in other ways. So it’s hard to say. But I wish I handled things differently over those two years,” he added.
But the whole situation with Gilliland happened because KBM was a successful Truck Series team. The team had racked up 85 truck wins and notched 14 in a single season in 2014. It also won seven owners’ championships and helped shape champions like Erik Jones in 2015 and Christopher Bell in 2017. And with that bar set, anything short of a trip to Victory Lane felt like it was coming up short.
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So when Gilliland went winless until 2019, his final year with KBM, Busch didn’t hold back the criticism. With three races remaining in the season, Gilliland broke through and took the checkered flag at Martinsville Speedway. After months of biting his tongue, he shot on the radio,“Stay in your f *king motorhome. »* It was a gunshot heard around the garage.
But he knew the situation shouldn’t be handled that way. That’s why, in Victory Lane, Gilliland backtracked, calling it a surge of emotion in the heat of the moment. He admitted that Busch’s words were true and that he should have run better. Yet in that moment, with support feeling thin, he let his composure slip away. Gilliland later even issued a public apology to put the genie back in the bottle.
Last year, Gilliland admitted he could have played this hand differently. But at the same time, he also admitted that his stretching at Kyle Busch Motorsports in Trucks tested it more than anything else. Yet walking through fire can temper steel, and he believes these trials have hardened him, leaving him stronger and wiser as he continues to chase that first Cup victory.
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