David Gilliland

Gilliland made his Busch Series debut at Phoenix, qualifying 28th.

Gilliland, however, struggled to finish races, earning a best result of 29th in his first four starts of the year.

However, in his next outing, Gilliland scored his first career Busch Series win at Kentucky on June 17.

However, he was involved with an early crash and finished 43rd.

Gilliland made the other Phoenix race later in the year but had the same result.

He was 43rd after ignition troubles.

David Leonard Gilliland (born April 1, 1976) is an American professional stock car racing driver and team owner.

In 1996, he began working on his father's Winston West Series team.

By 1999, Gilliland won the track championship at Perris Auto Speedway (a dirt track).

Then, the following year he began a limited season in the AutoZone West Series.

In 2003, Gilliland won five races in the NASCAR AutoZone Elite Division, Southwest Series, in the No. 11 Centrifugal Technologies-sponsored Chevrolet.

He finished the season with five Top 5's and eight Top 10's and a sixth-place finish in points.

Gilliland made his first attempt at a major NASCAR race in 2003, at the Las Vegas 350 in the Craftsman Truck Series, but failed to qualify.

In 2004, Gilliland announced plans to run the full schedule in the NASCAR AutoZone Elite Division, Southwest Series, in the No. 88 Chevrolet for MRG Motorsports and all non-conflicting NASCAR Grand National Division, West Series (now AutoZone West), races.

He got his first AutoZone West win at Mesa Marin Raceway.

He was then named NASCAR Grand National Division, West Series Rookie of the Year.

He also had two victories in the NASCAR AutoZone Elite Division, Southwest Series.

He announced that Clay Andrews Racing would form in mid-2005.

Meanwhile, Gilliland raced in the Grand National Division in 2005 and won the Toyota All-Star Showdown in 2005 when apparent winner Mike Olsen was disqualified for light wheels wider than regulation.

The win brought Gilliland to the attention of Busch and Cup series team owners.

After competing full-time in the West Series like his father, Gilliland ran part-time in what is now the NASCAR Xfinity Series in 2006, and scored a win at Kentucky Speedway, which is considered one of the biggest upsets in NASCAR history.

Gilliland began running the No. 84 Clay Andrews Chevy part-time in 2006, during which time he was mentored by former Sprint Cup race winner Jerry Nadeau.

Gilliland drove the No. 84 Hype Manufacturing Chevrolet to victory, becoming the first driver of 2006 to win a Busch race who was not also running a full-time Nextel Cup schedule.

FX television announcer Hermie Sadler called the victory "the biggest upset in Busch Series history".

Gilliland made his first attempt to make a Cup race in June 2006 at Infineon Raceway in Sonoma, California, in the No. 72 Dutch Quality Stone Chevy for CJM Racing, qualifying 31st, and finishing 32nd.

In August 2006, Gilliland replaced Elliott Sadler as the driver of the No. 38 M&Ms/Mars Ford in the NEXTEL Cup Series for Yates Racing.

On October 7, he qualified on the pole for the UAW Ford 500 at Talladega Superspeedway, the first pole of his career in the Cup Series.

In his first full season in the Cup Series, Gilliland would win the pole for the 2007 Daytona 500.

Gilliland went full-time in the No. 38 car in 2007 with M&M's and Mars returning as sponsors.

However, Mars decided before the 2007 season to move its 2008 sponsorship to teammate Ricky Rudd’s 2007 ride at Yates, in preparation for moving to Kyle Busch in 2008.

This meant Gilliland needed to impress in 2007 to attract a sponsor for the No. 38.

Gilliland started the season with a bang, winning his second career pole at the 2007 Daytona 500, his first points-paying race at the track.

In the race itself, Gilliland finished 8th.

Gilliland also drove part-time in the Busch Series for Team Rensi Motorsports with sponsorship from FreeCreditReport.com in 2007, splitting the driving duties at Rensi with rookie Richard Johns.

His best finish in Busch was a 10th at Daytona.

Also, he ran the No. 15 Billy Ballew Motorsports Chevy at Las Vegas Motor Speedway in the Craftsman Truck Series with a 22nd-place finish.

Since 2017, he has operated Tricon Garage, a team that races in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series.

They have also competed in the ARCA Menards Series, ARCA Menards Series West and CARS Tour.

Formerly a full-time competitor for a decade in the NASCAR Cup Series, he is now semi-retired and competes part-time in the Truck Series, in the No. 1 Toyota Tundra and the ARCA Menards Series East and West, driving for his team.

Born in Riverside, California, he is the son of former NASCAR Cup and West Series driver Butch Gilliland, and the father of current full-time Cup Series driver Todd Gilliland.