David Gilliland

David Gilliland, No. 34 Taco Bell Ford

Starting Position: 38

Finishing Position: 36
 

The first race to start the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Chase for the Sprint Cup finally took the green flag Monday afternoon at the 1.5-mile Chicagoland Speedway in Joliet. Rain showers finally moved away from the area that had forced NASCAR officials to postpone the event scheduled for Sunday.  And, when the green finally waved, it was the driver who could run the slowest at the end of the 400-miler that was victorious after fuel mileage forced teams and drivers to conserve to the checkered.  Tony Stewart had enough fuel to take the win and move to second in the championship behind Kevin Harvick who finished second.  

For David Gilliland and the No. 34 Taco Bell team, fuel wasn't their biggest obstacle on Monday, but instead a bad ignition box plagued the team's horsepower for the majority of the race.  Gilliland reported early that he was "down on horsepower" and "running flat" as he wasn't able to keep speed with those around him. The team diagnosed a possible bad coil on the ignition box panel and made a change during a pit stop just past halfway in the race.  The change, made on pit road, was long enough to send Gilliland a total of four laps down.  The new box did correct the problem and the team was running stronger. But, like many, they ran out of fuel in the closing laps.  Gilliland was able to finish the day in 36th.  

Comments from Taco Bell Ford driver David Gilliland after the Chicago race:

"We had a long day since the start of the race.  We think we had a bad coil on the ignition box panel, but we'll have to go look at it. The car ran better at the end of the race, but then we just ran out of fuel.  Running out of fuel really didn't hurt us too bad in positions, but it just added to the long day.  We'll bounce back at New Hampshire."

J.J. Yeley

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

Starting Position: 32

Finishing Position: 34 

J.J. Yeley finished a disappointing 32nd Monday afternoon after having a car that was running on the lead lap and within the top-25 for the majority of the race.  Yeley started in the 32nd spot, but moved up to 29th early in the race.  The team then elected to lead a lap to collect a bonus point during a competition caution on Lap 30.  Yeley drove from the rear of the field back to 29th and eventually was as high as 26th. 

Yeley told the team that his Long John Silver's Ford was "tight" during the runs and crew chief Jay Guy made adjustments. The car was better, but still tight. The handling finally caught up to Yeley on Lap 205 when he hit the wall in Turn 3.  The accident caused damage to the right-side of the car.  Yeley lost laps and was able to hang onto the 34th spot at the end.  Yeley helped push championship contender Matt Kenseth to the finish, but NASCAR eventually penalized Kenseth for the assistance.

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

"We were having a pretty good day until the accident.  Sure, we were tight all afternoon.  It was difficult to hang on to and it finally got away.  That was disappointing because we were gaining spots all race.  We were slowly moving up and we had led a lap, too.  The accident hurt our day.  At the end I tried to help Matt.  I'm sure NASCAR will take a look at it, but we were all trying to finish the race at that point."

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