STATESVILLE, N — C. -- David Gilliland and the No. 37 Gander Mountain Ford team are preparing for Sunday's Goody's Fast Pain Relief 500 at the .526-mile Martinsville Speedway. Gilliland will be sporting the colors of Gander Mountain and the X-Factor fishing rods.
The team enters Martinsville with Gilliland being the best of the drivers who have started only four races this season. Since missing the Daytona 500 competing for another team, Gilliland has been behind a Front Row Motorsports Ford for four consecutive weeks. His 23rd-place finish last weekend at Bristol was his best finish this season.
Gilliland will be making his eighth start at Martinsville. His best Cup finish is 24th at the track, but has a chance of improving on that mark this weekend.
Comments from Gander Mountain Driver David Gilliland on Martinsville and the New Spoiler:
"First of all, I'm really excited to have Gander Mountain on the car this weekend. I've got a family and we like to do things outdoors. We like to fish as a family and I like to hunt with my friends. We have a big store in Mooresville (N.C.) so it's easy to go over there and get stuff.
"We're looking for a better finish at this track. In the past, I've had good runs going but something seems to happen at the end. I haven't had the finish that shows just how good we've run there in the past. Being with Front Row, and having some good runs lately, hopefully we can finish the job this weekend.
"I think everyone is in agreement that the spoiler won't change the race at Martinsville. The cars will look different, but it's not going to change the race. I did some testing with the spoiler a week ago and I couldn't tell much of a difference. From a fan perspective, I think the car will look more 'racy' and fans will enjoy that. It's a good move for the fans.
"I have missed the spoiler. We want to move forward with that. We'll test at Charlotte and see how the car handles and what changes we need to make. I'm going to give Randy Seals as much feedback as possible to go back and start working on stuff. The mile-and-a-half tracks will be where the spoiler may make the biggest difference. We'll want to be on top of our game.
"It's a pretty busy week. Testing and getting ready for Martinsville, but the guys are ready for it. We've had some good runs the past few weeks. Everyone is making progress and we are building on this. Martinsville can be a good race for us."
About Front Row Motorsports with Yates Racing:
Front Row Motorsports was formed in 2005 by restaurant entrepreneur Bob Jenkins. Since that time the team has entered a car in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series and NASCAR Nationwide Series. In 2010, Front Row Motorsports with Yates Racing will partner with Ford and Roush/Yates Engines to field a three-car operation based in Statesville, N.C. The team fields the No. 34 A&W All American Food Ford driven by Travis Kvapil, the No. 37 Gander Mountain Ford driven by David Gilliland, and the No. 38 ExtenZe Ford driven by Kevin Conway.
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