Todd Gilliland is poised to achieve a milestone start in his third full-time season in the NASCAR Cup Series. By competing in this weekend’s Cup Playoff event at Watkins Glen International, the driver of the No. 38 Front Row Motorsports Ford Mustang Dark Horse will make his 100th career start in NASCAR’s premier series.
A third-generation racer from Sherrills Ford, North Carolina, Gilliland made his inaugural presence in the Cup Series at the start of the 2022 season, where he assumed the role of the driver of the No. 38 Ford Mustang for Front Row Motorsports. By then, he had achieved two victories in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series and was a two-time champion of the ARCA Menards Series West.
During the season-opening 64th running of the Daytona 500 at Daytona International Speedway, Gilliland ended up 33rd after being involved in a late multi-car wreck. During his next 20 starts, he notched eight top-20 results with a best finish of 15th at Darlington Raceway in May. He achieved his first career top-five finish at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway Road Course by finishing fourth amid an overtime finish.
Gilliland capped off the regular-season stretch with four consecutive results outside the top 20 and did not make the 2022 Cup Series Playoffs. He managed to notch his second career top-10 result at Talladega Superspeedway with a seventh-place finish and then finished 13th during the penultimate Cup event on the schedule at Martinsville Speedway. Gilliland concluded his first full-time Cup season in 28th place in the final standings. In addition, he settled in third place in the Rookie-of-the-Year battle behind Austin Cindric and Harrison Burton.
This past season, Gilliland competed driving for Front Row Motorsports and Rick Ware Racing for the entire 36-race schedule, 31 of which occurred with FRM. The remaining five occurred with Rick Ware Racing as the reigning Craftsman Truck Series champion Zane Smith piloted Gilliland’s No. 38 entry for six events. Throughout the 36-race schedule, Gilliland achieved a season-best eighth-place finish at the Bristol Motor Speedway Dirt Course in April and earned four top-10 results. With an average-finishing result of 22.0, Gilliland, who did not make the Playoffs for a second consecutive season, ended up in 28th place in the final standings for a second consecutive season.
Returning as a full-time Cup Series competitor for Front Row Motorsports this season, Gilliland commenced his junior season by finishing 35th in the 66th running of the Daytona 500 after being involved in a late multi-car wreck. He would then lead a race-high 58 of 260 laps during the following event at Atlanta Motor Speedway before he was involved in another late multi-car wreck that pinned him four laps down and mired in 26th place in the final running order. After finishing no higher than 13th during his next seven starts, Gilliland notched his first top-10 result of the season by finishing eighth at Talladega Superspeedway in April.
The North Carolinian proceeded to record three top-10 results and seven top-15 results over his next 12 starts before he capped off the regular-season stretch with finishes no higher than 17th twice in four races. By then, he missed the Cup Playoffs for a third consecutive season. Nonetheless, Gilliland has recorded four top-10 results through 27 scheduled events this year, which ties his current record of top-10 results from his previous season. In addition, he has led 126 laps with an average finish of 19.9, both higher than his previous marks over the last two seasons.
Through 99 previous Cup starts, Gilliland, who is set to remain at Front Row Motorsports in 2025, has achieved one top-five result, 10 top-10 results, 137 laps led and an average-finishing result of 21.8 as he continues his pursuit of his first Cup Series career victory. He is currently ranked in 21st place in this year’s standings, which would mark a career-best result for the competitor.
Todd Gilliland is scheduled to make his 100th Cup Series career start at Watkins Glen International for the Go Bowling at The Glen on Sunday, September 15, with the event’s broadcast time set for 3 p.m. ET on USA Network.
