 | | David Gilliland |
David Gilliland, No. 34 Taco Bell Ford
Starting Position: 29
Finishing Position: 12
David Gilliland and the No. 34 Taco Bell team earned their third top-15 finish of the season with a 12th-place run at Infineon Raceway Sunday. Gilliland spent a good part of the Toyota/Save Mart 350 in the top-10 and even led a lap before transmission issues and changing tire pressures slowed him down in the event's closing laps.
The No. 34 Ford was strong from the green flag, starting the race in 29th and moving into the top-20 by Lap 17. Working with a three-stop strategy, the team was among the final cars to make their first stop, which they did on Lap 23 after climbing to fourth position. Gilliland was happy with his car, getting just an air-pressure adjustment with his tires and fuel.
Crew chief Peter Sospenzo worked the yellow-flag periods to the team's advantage, staying out under multiple cautions to gain track position without giving up much in the car's performance. When Gilliland did pit, the Taco Bell team turned quick pit stops to get the car back on track fast.
The team held off on making its third and final stop of the day until Lap 77 of 110, giving Gilliland the chance to lead a lap and pick up a bonus point before entering the pits. He re-entered the field in 20th, ready to make his final climb up the leaderboard. The race saw one more caution on Lap 87, and with others deciding to pit, Gilliland was able to get back into the top-5. But in the final 20 laps of the race, he reported he was losing grip and was having trouble getting the car into second gear.
Even though the car wasn't as strong as it was earlier in the race, Gilliland hung tough against other cars in the top-15 battling for position. He crossed the line in 12th, giving Front Row Motorsports its best-ever finish at Sonoma.
Comments from Taco Bell Ford team driver David Gilliland after the Sonoma race:
"I am really proud of our team today. Peter (Sospenzo) and the guys gave me a really great Taco Bell Ford Fusion this weekend. We had an issue with second gear toward the end of the race there, so we lost a few spots, but I had a lot of fun running up front all day. I asked the guys on the radio during the race if there was an award for passing the most cars 'cause, man, it sure seemed like I was passing cars all day. Great day for our team and now we get to go back to Daytona."
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