MARTINSVILLE, Va. – David Gilliland will have two chances of unwrapping an early Birthday gift, as the Riverside, California native will compete in both the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series and NASCAR Sprint Cup Series events this weekend at the famed Martinsville (Va.) Speedway.
Realistically, the challenge will be tough for Gilliland to win his first Sprint Cup race in Sunday’s STP 500 driving for Front Row Motorsports, but Saturday’s Kroger 250 is a little more realistic.
Gilliland will turn 39 on April 1 and said because everything went so well in his return to the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series last month at Daytona International Speedway, when Ricky Benton asked him to drive again, Gilliland quickly obliged.
“The people at Ricky Benton Racing were absolutely awesome to work with at Daytona,” said Gilliland. “We had a ton of fun and the opportunity came up to do some more races.”
Making his return to truck for the first time since 2009, Gilliland gave independent owner Ricky Benton just his fifth career top-10 finish in 48 starts and first since former NASCAR K&N Pro Series standout Corey Lajoie finished 10th at Bristol (Tenn.) Motor Speedway last August.
“I think any laps you can do around Martinsville are good. I’m thankful to Ricky Benton for the opportunity to drive the No. 92 Black’s Tire and Wheel Ford F-150.”
Gilliland’s chances of duplicating his sixth place finish from Daytona are pragmatic.
Last year at the 0.526-mile paperclip track, Ricky Benton Racing had solid performances.
Ross Chastain finished a respectable 13th in his final race with the organization last March. NASCAR Next driver Austin Hill made his series debut in the Kroger 200 last October and was heading towards an impressive top-10 finish before mechanical gremlins sidelined the Cerro Gordo, North Carolina-based team with a 26th-place finish.
In the lone practice session for the series Friday afternoon, Gilliland proved that the team could easily be a sleeper for the third race of the season. After climbing to as high as fourth fastest, the No. 92 Black’s Tire and Wheel Ford F-150 wound up 12th quickest overall.
With 17 prior Cup Series starts on deck at Martinsville, Gilliland’s savvy experience can award the solo team with consecutive top-10 finishes for the first time in the team’s history. And when push comes to shove in the closing laps, a passionate driver like the former XFINITY Series standout could become the second first-time winner of the season.
Scott Riggs holds the best short-track finish for the organization, a fifth at Martinsville in October 2012.
Gilliland added it’s unclear how many races he’ll do in the No. 92 Ford, but will make himself available as needed.
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