David Gilliland

David Gilliland, No. 34 Ford

Starting Position: 34

Finishing Position: 25
 

David Gilliland earned a top-25 finish at New Hampshire Motor Speedway Sunday despite a battle with a tough-handling car all afternoon.  Gilliland's No. 34 team started in the 34th position after trying to hit on a good set-up throughout the weekend's practice sessions.  

Once the race began, the driver reported the team had made some good adjustments to improve his Ford Fusion.  But Gilliland said his car was still tough to turn throughout the afternoon.  Crew chief Peter Sospenzo ordered various chassis and air-pressure adjustments throughout the first half of the race, and the team got up as high as 27th by Lap 148 of the 301-lap event.

The latter part of the race saw fuel strategies begin to kick in, and Sospenzo tried to gain some positions through pit strategy, putting the team as high as 18th on a Lap-229 restart.  But the No. 34 Ford was still tough to turn and lost positions over the next green-flag run.  

Gilliland started the last stint of the race in 28th, and Sospenzo's fuel strategy had his driver in a good position -- with plenty of fuel to spare -- when cars started running out and dropping off in the closing laps.  He picked up three positions to finish in 25th after running the entire race on the lead lap.
 
Comments from driver David Gilliland after the Loudon race:

"That was a long day. We were tight, since we have been here really and never could get it out. We made a lot of changes on the car but never could roll the center like we needed to.  We salvaged a 25th-place finish which is actually a lot better finish than the car should have been."

J.J. Yeley

J.J. Yeley, No. 38 Long John Silver's Ford

Starting Position: 38

Finishing Position: 23

J.J. Yeley brought home a hard-fought top-25 finish in the Lenox Industrial Tools 301, crossing the line in 23rd in his first race with Front Row Motorsports.

Yeley and the No. 38 Long John Silver's team took the green flag in the 38th position.  Like his teammate Gilliland, Yeley reported that his car was tight through the center of the turns.  Crew chief Jay Guy and the team worked on freeing up the car throughout the first half of the race.  The adjustments helped, with Yeley advancing to 25th by Lap 168.

Guy made some calls under caution to help Yeley gain track position in the second half of the race, restarting in 18th on Lap 188 and in 14th on Lap 229.  On both restarts, Yeley held strong for the first part of each run, making a push for the top 10.  But each time, as the green-flag laps ticked by, Yeley had to give way to cars with fresher tires and gradually lost positions.

In his final restart of the afternoon, he took the green in 27th on Lap 244, and he was able to gain four positions in the final 57 laps to finish 23rd.  He ran the entire race on the lead lap, and his finish moved the No. 38 team within 12 points of the top 35.

Comments from Long John Silver's Ford team driver J.J. Yeley after the Loudon race:

"The Long John Silver's Ford was pretty good today, especially early in a run.  (Crew chief) Jay Guy had some good pit strategy working for us -- staying out under yellow or going with two tires or fuel-only to get us some track position a few times.  And we held our own up in the top-15 for a bit, but our tires couldn't hold for some of those long green-flag runs.  A top-25 isn't too bad for our first race together, though."

About Front Row Motorsports: