STATESVILLE, N — C. - David Gilliland will be reunited with two old friends this weekend in Ft. Worth, Texas - Texas Motor Speedway and Gander Mountain. The 1.5-mile, high-banked track is one of the driver's favorites. And, when he fires up the engine of his No. 34 Ford Fusion, he will once again be racing the red-and-green colors of Gander Mountain outdoor lifestyle stores. The company was featured on Gilliland's car twice last season. The car will also carry associate sponsorship once again from TMone.
"Texas is one of my favorite racetracks by far and I'm really looking forward to going there with our cars and our motor package."— David Gilliland
The Front Row Motorsports team will arrive at the fast track with some valuable data in their pocket after a visit last week to Ford Racing's seven-post shaker rig, a testing device that can simulate different tracks' conditions. The information has put the team a step ahead in preparing their car for Saturday night's Samsung Mobile 500.
The race under the lights will be Gilliland's 10th career start at Texas, where he has finished as high as 15th.
Comments from Gander Mountain driver David Gilliland on Texas and Gander Mountain:
"I'm really excited about Gander Mountain being on the car. It's a great opportunity for Front Row Motorsports. We started that relationship last year and we look forward to continuing it. My family is actually getting ready to move to some land with a lot of acreage, so I've been in Gander Mountain a lot lately. I'm obviously glad Gander Mountain is on my racecar, but I also feel really strongly about their product, their stores and what they do. I'm a frequent buyer myself. Been buying some new toys lately and will probably be buying more once we're officially moved onto our new land.
"I think going to Texas with our newer cars and the FR9 engines is going to make a huge difference for us. Texas is one of my favorite racetracks by far and I'm really looking forward to going there with our cars and our motor package.
"It's just a fun place to race. You really get a sensation of speed as you're going around the track, as much there as any place else. And the groove has really widened out in the past couple years so you can run up high if you have to. It really gives you the opportunity to pass if you have a good car. There's just a lot of room to run around and makes things happen.
"We went to the seven-post shaker rig last week and learned a lot, and I feel like we're going to be a bunch ahead of where we would've started without having been to the seven-post. Jay Guy, my teammate Travis Kvapil's new crew chief, came out to that session, and he's got some ideas from his previous experience that I think are really going to help us out. I think we'll be in a pretty good position going to Texas.
"We had a good car at Martinsville last weekend. It didn't start out good at the beginning of the race weekend, but Peter (Sospenzo) and the guys made some good changes and had us pretty racy by Sunday. Unfortunately, we cut a tire, which caused some damage, early in the race and that put us behind, and we were never able to make it back up. I think if we can keep the gremlins away, we can really show what we've got here at Texas this weekend."
About Front Row Motorsports:
Front Row Motorsports is a Statesville, N.C.-based race team in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series. Formed in 2005 by restaurant entrepreneur Bob Jenkins, the team has competed in NASCAR racing in each year since its inception, expanding full-time to the premier Sprint Cup Series in 2009. The team partners with Ford Racing and Roush-Yates Racing Engines to field the No. 34 Gander Mountain Ford driven by David Gilliland and the No. 38 Long John Silver's Ford driven by Travis Kvapil.
