Todd Gilliland nets top-10 finish at Martinsville
Todd Gilliland earned stage points Sunday at Martinsville Speedway and netted his fourth top-10 finish of the 2023 NASCAR Cup Series season.
At the end of a 168-lap green flag run to end the race, Gilliland found himself in 10th. This came after he spent 352 of 500 laps inside the top 15.
Gilliland started 17th and placed 18th in stage one. Then, in stage two, he stayed out and started inside the top 15.
After 76 green flag laps, Gilliland caught a caution and took two tires and fuel. That lifted him to fourth with 35 laps to go in stage two.
Although he slid backward, Todd Gilliland placed eighth in the stage.
Gilliland pitted and restarted 17th when stage three began on lap 271. Then, three cautions – on laps 274, 304 and 324 – lifted him to 11th by the time lap 400 rolled around.
In the end, Gilliland finished 10th. That is his best finish since finishing 10th at Talladega in April.
“What a long race. This team never gave up and it paid off. I’m super proud of them for sticking with me and helping me get another top-10 finish. On to Phoenix!” Gilliland exclaimed post-race.
Gilliland has two other top-10 finishes in 2023: 8th at Bristol Dirt, 10th at Circuit of the Americas
Todd Gilliland’s best finish in the NASCAR Cup Series at Phoenix Raceway is 19th in March 2022.
Last season, Front Row Motorsports earned 14 top-10 finishes (Gilliland – 2, Michael McDowell – 12).
This season, the organization has 13 top-10s (Gilliland – 4, Riley Herbst – 1, McDowell – 7, Zane Smith – 1).
Should Gilliland or teammate Michael McDowell earn a top-10 finish at Phoenix, Front Row Motorsports will tie its all-time top-10 finish record for a single season. If they both finish inside the top 10, FRM will then break that record.
Front Row Motorsports began racing full-time in the NASCAR Cup Series in 2009.
Gilliland and McDowell will race November 5 in the Season Finale 500 at Phoenix Raceway. The green flag will fly at 3 p.m. ET on NBC, MRN affiliates and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio.
Discover more from The Racing Experts
Subscribe to get the latest posts sent to your email.
Jonathan Fjeld View All
Jonathan Fjeld is the co-owner of the The Racing Experts, LLC. He has been with TRE since 2010.
A Twin Valley, MN, native, Fjeld became a motorsports fan at just three years old (first race was the 2002 Pennsylvania 500). He worked as a contributor and writer for TRE from 2010-18. Since then, he has stepped up and covered 24 NASCAR race weekends and taken on a larger role with TRE. He became the co-owner and managing editor in 2023 and has guided the site to massive growth in that time.
Fjeld has covered a wide array of stories and moments over the years, including Kevin Harvick's final Cup Series season, the first NASCAR national series disqualification in over 50 years, Shane van Gisbergen's stunning win in Chicago and the first Cup Series race at Road America in 66 years – as well as up-and-coming drivers' stories and stories from inside the sport, like the tech it takes for Hendrick Motorsports to remain a top-tier team.
Currently, he resides in Albuquerque, N.M., where he works for KOB 4, an NBC station. He works as a digital producer and does on-air reports. He loves spending time with friends and family, playing and listening to music, exploring new places, being outdoors, reading books and writing among other activities. You can email him at fjeldjonathan@gmail.com