Front Row Motorsports’ vote of confidence in Todd Gilliland has paid sizable results since the organization announced a new multi-year contract for the 24-year-old driver on June 5.
While more than a few other racers face the pressure associated with a wild silly season, Gilliland is free to concentrate on his craft.
In the month following FRM re-signing the third-generation racer, Gilliland has posted three top-15 results and an average finish of 12.75—nearly seven positions better than his overall performance for 2024.
“For me, I think it’s really cool to know what my future is,” Gilliland said. “We all know in this sport that regardless of your status, you have to continue to audition every single day in every single race. And I don’t expect to change my mindset, whatsoever, as far as pushing hard every week.
“But just to feel the belief from Front Row, Bob Jenkins, all our management it’s really cool. There are tons of positives, but at the same time, we’re not letting up. We’re not going to be happy with just sticking around the Cup Series. We want to win races and contend quite a bit better than we are now.”
For the first time since Gilliland joined FRM in 2022, he’s consistently running in the top 20. Under the direction of crew chief Ryan Bergenty, he has led a career-best 120 laps and completed 99.3 percent of laps raced. Gilliland’s average finish of 19.5 is a two-and-a-half position gain over last year.
Certainly, his first two seasons were far from ideal.
NASCAR introduced a new car in 2022. Gilliland had no opportunity to test and Front Row didn’t have the resources to acclimate quickly. When FRM tested the Cup waters with Zane Smith last year, it forced Gilliland to set up rides with Rick Ware Racing in order to complete the 36-race schedule.
“All of last year was a huge learning opportunity—and it could have gone either way,” Gilliland said. “It’s not what you want to do. It’s not fun taking seats back and forth to different race teams.”
No, it wasn’t easy racing with a different organization with different cars and a different crew, but Gilliland stayed the course. His flexibility paid off.
“I think that’s what made me grow up so much last year and be ready for now. It’s not just about being the bigger person but doing the right thing.
“We listen to (Martin) Truex (Jr.) saying that. And I think it’s super important in this sport because you see a lot of the same people. When one door closes, another usually opens in the future.
“With Front Row, I felt the writing was semi-on the wall. I was either going to be out or losing a few races. To be able to push through that, keep a good mindset, I proved a lot to myself.”
Over his first two seasons, Gilliland could only claim 17 lead-lap finishes in 36 starts. In 2024, he has finished 15 of 19 races on the lead lap and has been running at the finish of every event except for the Daytona 500.
Front Row’s technical alliance with Team Penske and its improved status as a Tier 1 Ford Performance partner cannot be overlooked. Gilliland recently enjoyed his first Goodyear tire test at Indianapolis Motor Speedway—an exercise he had not experienced previously since graduating to Cup.
Following Michael McDowell’s announcement that he will depart Front Row after seven seasons, Gilliland will have to step up again as the lead driver when teams roll into Daytona Speedweeks.
“Change is never really a fun thing, right,” Gilliland said. “It’s been really comfortable having Michael McDowell as my teammate. He’s been there a long time. He’s been through so much in the Cup Series—good and bad. He’s really been through it all.
“Having someone with that much experience, that much leadership, when he talks, people listen—and I feel like throughout the industry. So big shoes to fill. It might be uncomfortable at times but I’m really excited about it.
“If this opportunity was a couple of years ago, I might have said, ‘Meh, I’m not ready for it.’ But we’ve brought in a lot of good people at Front Row Motorsports that are more than capable of building fast Fords every week.”
With three-career top 10s on road courses—including last month at Sonoma Raceway—Gilliland is looking forward to tackling the Chicago Street Course this weekend.
“That was one of the most fun experiences I’ve gotten to do in a really long time,” Gilliland said. “I’m really hoping the rain stays away this year. That will make the total fan experience a whole lot better. I was disappointed that everything got washed out.
“That was none of our doing but there’s the potential for the event to be really, really cool.”
Follow Lee Spencer on Twitter @CandiceSpencer or email her at: [email protected].
