Top Dog: Todd Gilliland
Just a yr in the past, you couldn’t blame Todd Gilliland if he would have questioned his future earlier than the 2023 NASCAR Cup Series season began.
Front Row Motorsports had opted to place Zane Smith within the No. 38 for six races, a seat that was speculated to solely function Gilliland. And for a group that featured a rookie driver for 4 consecutive seasons from 2019-2022, it muddied the image much more for Gilliland’s destiny with the group.
Those questions can be put to relaxation within the late summer season when FRM introduced Gilliland can be returning for this season. Yet there was a standard perception that the strain hadn’t fairly eased on the 23-year-old to carry out.
Following 415 laps within the Cook Out 400 at Martinsville Speedway, Gilliland proved he belongs but once more, scoring a Thirteenth-place end.
After beginning sixteenth, Gilliland completed a caution-free first stage in (you possibly can guess) sixteenth! Shocking, contemplating the “amount of passing,” proper?
A pit cease malfunction pit seemingly put Gilliland in dire straits through the stage break, when he exited pit highway with a wrench nonetheless within the automobile, prompting a penalty for eradicating gear.
However, that didn’t deter Gilliland, who drove again as much as Nineteenth by the top of the stage.
In the ultimate stage, the North Carolinian made a formidable climb into the highest 10, settling in eighth for a big a part of the run. Despite shedding a few spots within the ultimate inexperienced flag pit cease cycle, Gilliland appeared primed to depart Martinsville with a prime 10.
Unfortunately, that each one modified when John Hunter Nemechek introduced out a late yellow, establishing an extra time restart. Gilliland slipped again to Thirteenth within the ultimate two laps, robbing him of what ought to have been at the very least a Tenth-place outcome. Still, he has now completed Thirteenth or higher in three of his previous 4 begins at The Paperclip.
FRM’s third-year driver is quietly discovering a rhythm within the prime half of the sphere early on. Don’t let his 23.5 common end idiot you; he’s been a constant sight in at the very least the highest 20 within the first eight races, outrunning his veteran teammate Michael McDowell on a number of events. And because the season wears on, this group will ultimately be rewarded for its pace.
How Does it Compare?
There’s excellent news and dangerous information for Gilliland’s Thirteenth-place outcome. The dangerous information is that it didn’t prime his underdog friends or essentially the most recent end by the highest canine at Martinsville. The excellent news? That mark was set by him within the fall race final season, the place he scored a Tenth-place end. Gilliland was additionally the highest canine within the fall race of 2022, the place he crossed the beginning/end line in 14th.
In the opposite three races when wanting on the earlier 5 Martinsville occasions, Ricky Stenhouse Jr. scored an eighth-place end on this race final spring, tied for the very best run by an underdog at Martinsville in that stretch. In 2022, prime canine belonged to Ross Chastain in fifth, although he was quickly faraway from the checklist of darkish horses. And in 2021 it was Erik Jones main the underdogs, scoring his lone prime 10 at The Paperclip in eighth.
Notable Underdog Runs
As for who scored the highest spot among the many underdogs on the scoring pylon, that may go to Jones, who closed out the race in Twelfth. Jones’s run was a race-long, methodical piece of labor. The Legacy Motor Club star struggled with heart flip to begin the race, miring him round twentieth. But changes all through the race noticed Jones go to 18th by the top of stage two, fifteenth halfway by means of the ultimate stage and finally Twelfth when the checkered flag flew. It is the Michigan native’s greatest outcome at Martinsville since a Twelfth-place run in 2020.
It in all probability wouldn’t be an excessive amount of of a stretch to say that Carson Hocevar didn’t have this race circled on his calendar. In 4 NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series begins on the Virginia monitor, he recorded a Nineteenth-place common end, by no means scoring a prime 10. And in his lone Cup begin final fall, he completed Thirty first, 4 laps down.
However, the freshman driver left Martinsville as the very best ending rookie in seventeenth. Hocevar ran steadily inside the highest 20 for a lot of the race, dodging a blow through the stage two break when NASCAR initially issued a penalty for automobile interference. The penalty was quickly eliminated, permitting Hocevar to retain his position. However, his race nonetheless didn’t come and not using a shut name coming to the white flag.
Despite the chaos on the finish, Hocevar not solely scored Spire Motorsports’ greatest end at Martinsville, it was additionally the organization’s first prime 20 there.
He additionally received in on the Martinsville sizzling canine antics through the weekend.
While some drivers fared effectively, others are prepared to depart the brief monitor stretch within the rearview mirror. Daniel Hemric kicked off his return to Cup with three consecutive prime 20s to start the yr. Since then, he hasn’t completed higher than twenty eighth, ending Sunday in that spot for the third time previously 5 races.
After his greatest season since becoming a member of JTG Daugherty Racing a yr in the past, Stenhouse has not discovered his footing to begin 2024. Stenhouse’s day grew to become a headache shortly when he was turned on pit highway after the conclusion of stage one, then hit with a dashing penalty to rub salt within the wound.
Stenhouse by no means recovered from the early setback, ending twenty ninth. The 2023 Daytona 500 champion has now completed exterior the highest 20 in 5 consecutive races.
While Hocevar discovered success inside the highest 20, his teammates at Spire definitely didn’t. Smith’s struggles continued with a Thirty first-place run, which was not helped by a free wheel through the stage one break. Corey LaJoie has additionally had a wheel almost come off early within the race, setting him again a number of laps from the get go. He completed thirty second, his sixth consecutive race exterior the highest 20.
To wrap up drivers who’re on the lookout for a rabbit’s foot proper now, Harrison Burton left with a battered automobile and a Thirty third-place end. Burton struggled from the inexperienced flag, falling a lap down early and by no means wanting comfy with the dealing with. At one level, his automobile grew to become a life-sized pinball.
In a yr the place the 23-year-old must carry out to remain off the new seat, that seat’s solely gotten hotter. He has two finishes higher than thirtieth in eight races, combining for a 29.5 common end, greater than 5 spots behind his 24.7 mark from 2023.
What They’re Saying
Josh Williams (twenty seventh): “We survived today and got to complete all the laps. Overall, it was an up-and-down day, but thankfully we gained a few spots during the green-white-checkered there at the end. Really proud of everyone at Kaulig Racing, as I continue to learn and compete at the highest level.” (through Kaulig’s race recap)
Hemric (twenty eighth): “Today was a hard-fought one. We started out super tight, and I felt like I just killed the right-side tires early on. Trent [Owens] made some great calls, and we continued to get the No. 31 Cirkul Chevy close to where it needed to be during the second stage. We tried gambling a little and running long during the final stage, but unfortunately, we never caught a caution. I’m definitely proud of the hard work this team put in this weekend that we can bring back here in the fall. We definitely made the car more competitive and are going in the right direction.” (through Kaulig’s race recap)
Underdog Bracket Challenge
With the NCAA Women’s Basketball Tournament accomplished and the Men’s champion but to be topped (go Boilermakers), the ultimate of the Underdog Bracket Challenge additionally took place. Unfortunately, the 2 opponents didn’t set the world on hearth.
The match-up pitted Williams towards Nemechek, however a proper entrance rotor failure on Nemechek’s automobile sealed the honors of the inaugural underdog event for Kaulig Racing’s No. 16 entry. Williams completed twenty seventh, whereas the crash relegated Nemechek to thirty sixth.
Small Team Scheme of the Week
Whether it’s on Josh Berry‘s No. 4 or with Stenhouse, the Sunny D colours by no means stop to fail. The juice model returned in its longtime partnership with Stenhouse, giving followers one thing to thirst for to go along with a well-known Martinsville sizzling canine.
Luken Glover joined the Frontstretch group in 2020 as a contributor, furthering a love for racing that traces again to his earliest reminiscences. Glover inherited his ardour for racing from his grandfather, who used to assist former NASCAR group proprietor Junie Donlavey in his Richmond, Va. storage. A 2023 graduate from the University of the Cumberlands, Glover is the creator of “The Underdog House,” contributes to commentary items, and does occasional at-track reporting. Additionally, Glover enjoys working in ministry, teaching basketball, enjoying sports activities, and karting.
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