Statesville, N.C. (August 23, 2011) - David Gilliland's No. 34 Ford Fusion has run a different look the last five races: a blank hood to show that Front Row Motorsports continues to look for sponsorship partners. But this weekend at Bristol (Tenn.) Motor Speedway, the team will share that space with dozens of race fans.
During Saturday's Irwin Tools Night race, the hood of Gilliland's Ford will sport the names of the fans who participated in a special Front Row Motorsports-themed ticket package offered by the speedway for the track's 50th anniversary. The package included a grandstand ticket, a race-day meet-and-greet with Gilliland and teammate Travis Kvapil, a Front Row/Bristol 50th Anniversary hat and the ticket holder's name on the No. 34 Ford for one of the most anticipated races of the NASCAR Sprint Cup season.
Those fans might see their names near the front of the pack at Bristol Motor Speedway this weekend. Gilliland has been fast at the .533-mile oval during his last several visits, even topping the practice speed charts for the Irwin Tools Night Race one year ago. His best career finish at the track is ninth (2008).
Comments from team driver David Gilliland heading to Bristol:
"It's really cool to have on our No. 34 car the names of fans who purchased our special Bristol ticket package. It always special as a driver to have fan support like that. I'm looking forward to seeing the car. I can't wait to see everybody's names on it. We're going to do a meet-and-greet on Saturday, too, with all the people who bought in to the ticket package. We did a special Front Row Motorsports/Bristol 50th Anniversary hat, too, so it'll be cool to hand those out to everybody. It'll be neat just to meet everybody who's supporting us there at Bristol.
"We've kept the hood of our car empty the last stretch of races to show that we're open to talking with sponsorship partners. It's something that would really give our program the boost it needs. And you're still going to see the same thing at Bristol - a mostly blank hood. But we'll be adding the fans' names toward the front.
"The Bristol night race is an awesome race. The fans there are the best. They pack that place every year and make it a really huge event. We call the Daytona 500 the 'Super Bowl of NASCAR,' but the Bristol night race is the one that actually feels like the Super Bowl. It's like playing in a football stadium, and it's just super exciting. So, between having fans' names on our car and running the night race, I just can't wait to get there.
"We started the year with some tire issues and that hurt us in our first trip to Bristol this year. But we've got that behind us now and we've run really good as a team. And Bristol is a great track for us. The last three times we've been there, we've had really fast cars. So, I'm really excited about going back there and hopefully having a really competitive day and ending up with a great finish."
