David Gilliland

David Gilliland, No. 34 Stephen Siller Tunnel to Towers Foundation Ford

Starting Position: 36

Finishing Position: 27
 

David Gilliland the No. 34 team were looking for a strong performance Saturday night, carrying the paint scheme for the Stephen Siller Tunnel to Towers Foundation in tribute to the tenth anniversary of "9/11."

Starting in the 36th position, the team's night took a bad turn early.  On just the eighth lap of the race, multiple cars got into a wreck in Turn 4, setting off a chain reaction pile-up behind them.  Gilliland's Ford Fusion was among the 13 cars damaged.

He brought the car onto pit road for repairs, but discovered when he returned to the track in 40th position that the toe of the car had been affected by the contact.  The driver reported throughout the night that it made the car tight through the turns.

Despite the handicap, the team worked on every pit stop to improve the car's handling, and by the midpoint of the race had moved up to 30th position.  In an action-packed, wrecked-filled race that drew 15 caution flags, Gilliland and his crew earned some "Lucky Dog" free passes, kept digging to pick up spots where they could and crossed the line in 27th.
 
Comments from Tunnel to Towers Ford driver David Gilliland after the Richmond race:

"We got caught up in that early wreck and had damage to the right front.  Something must've gotten bent because it knocked the toe out.  And it just made the car tight the rest of the night.  Peter (Sospenzo) and the guys tried a bunch of things to help it, but it was kind of beyond anything they could do on pit road.  It was disappointing to start our night off like that.  It made for an uphill battle all night.  We had the Stephen Siller Tunnel to Towers Foundation on our car and wanted to have a good run for them.  Still proud to have been a part of the program.  I hope we raised some awareness for them."

Travis Kvapil

Travis Kvapil, No. 38 Long John Silver's Ford

Starting Position: 35

Finishing Position: 28

Travis Kvapil and the Long John Silver's team started in the 35th position with a strong Ford Fusion, picking up four positions in the first eight laps. 

Unfortunately, Kvapil suffered the same early fate as his teammate Gilliland, getting collected in the 13-car pile-up on Lap 8.  The No. 38 Ford suffered damage to both the nose and the rear.  The team had its work cut out for it, trying to fix the crumpled nose and clipped rear on short-track caution laps, but they made quick repairs on multiple short stops to keep from going more than one lap down.  They returned to the track in 35th.

By Lap 145, Kvapil was one lap down in 30th and engaged in a battle with Dale Earnhardt Jr. for the "Lucky Dog" position -- the first car one lap down and in line for a free pass to the lead lap should a caution come out.  For several laps, Kvapil worked to get a run on Earnhardt Jr. and eventually passed him on Lap 153.  Earnhardt Jr. immediately tapped Kvapil, sending him spinning into the wall and drawing the caution.  (No "Lucky Dog" was awarded.)

The No. 38 car now had extensive damage to both the nose and rear, but Kvapil and the team kept working on it and pushing on.  Despite being held together by a multi-color patchwork of Bear Bond, the No. 38 Ford Fusion was able to stay on track and race the competition.

After returning to the track in 31st and two laps down, the team didn't have many opportunities to gain positions, with most cars either on the lead lap or many more laps down.  But the team was able to pick up three more spots over the remainder of the race to finish 28th.

Comments from Long John Silver's Ford team driver Travis Kvapil after the Richmond race:

"I feel like we had an OK car, we just caught up in that big wreck really early and it really messed our car up on both ends.  And then we got spun by the 88.  I think we were racing for the Lucky Dog, and two or three times I got a run on him on the outside - obviously the hard way to pass - and he chopped me a couple times.  So I gave him a tap at the start-finish line, and next time by he let me go and then he just wrecked me.  It's just frustrating.  Obviously neither one of us was having a very good night, so it just made both of our nights worse."

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