Gilliland Ready To Step Up As A Leader At Front Row

Todd Gilliland (HHP/Chris Owens photo)

MOORESVILLE, N.C. – For the third straight year in the NASCAR Cup Series, Todd Gilliland put together multiple top-10 finishes in a single season after his 10th-place run Sunday at Sonoma Raceway.

While finishes of that caliber have come to be expected – and have come more frequently – for Gilliland, his ability to execute and poise under pressure have come at a crucial time for both he and Front Row Motorsports.

Exiting Wine Country, the third-generation driver made a statement in scoring his eighth career top-10 in Cup Series competition. Not only did Gilliland tie Martin Truex Jr. and Chris Buescher for the sixth-best average running position in a chaotic race, he was also the only driver to score points in both stages.

Why this performance, specifically, was so important is due to three significant pieces of news revealed in recent months by the Ford-powered team and its longtime team owner, businessman Bob Jenkins.

Leading up to the Daytona 500 in February, Front Row Motorsports was elevated to a tier-one manufacturer relationship with Ford Performance, gaining additional support from Team Penske in an effort to build into one of the power teams in the Cup Series.

That move has already borne fruit, with a combined seven top 10s, three poles, and 220 laps led between Front Row’s two Cup Series entries through 16 races this year.

During the last week of May, team officials announced that FRM will expand to a three-car organization next year after purchasing a charter from Stewart-Haas Racing, which will close its doors and surrender all four of its NASCAR charters at the conclusion of the season.

The purchase value of that charter is reportedly between 20 and 25 million dollars.

Then, to kick off June, Gilliland inked a multi-year contract extension to remain the driver of the No. 38.

With the shake-up of longtime FRM leader Michael McDowell leaving for Spire Motorsports at the end of the year, it leaves Gilliland as the longest-tenured driver remaining with the team, becoming the de facto leader on the squad. He’s also the only officially signed driver on Front Row’s 2025 lineup at this point.

At 24 years old and in the midst of his third season at NASCAR’s top level, Gilliland admits he’s never thought of himself as a natural leader, like his teammate McDowell has been. However, he’s thrilled with his situation at Front Row Motorsports and eager for the chance to take on a new role next year.

Todd Gilliland is in his third NASCAR Cup Series season with Front Row Motorsports. (HHP/Harold Hinson photo)

“It’s a great opportunity for me to kind of step up and become the leader,” Gilliland said. “It’s nice that Front Row believes in me and that I’m the guy to keep building (around). I feel like I’m getting more comfortable. It’s just about having confidence in yourself, confidence in the team, knowing what direction you need to go, and really pushing for that.”

One could argue Gilliland has been a centerpiece for Front Row going back to 2020, where he kicked off the organization’s NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series efforts and helped elevate that program into the championship-winning team it has become.

Two full-time seasons in the Truck Series, which produced one victory and a best finish of seventh in the standings, ultimately set Gilliland up for his rookie Cup Series season in the No. 38 in 2022 – the same year Smith went on to capture the Truck Series title in a Front Row Motorsports Ford F-150.

Gilliland began his career in NASCAR’s top series running around the top-20 and, at times, challenging for top-15s. He wound up with two top 10s that year, including a career-best fourth-place finish at Indianapolis Motor Speedway.

Last season, he doubled his top-10 total, but despite finishing 28th in the standings for the second straight year his average running position moved more consistently toward the 15th-place threshold.

Through 16 starts in 2024, Gilliland has led more than 100 laps and sits 21st in the standings – the highest he’s been at this stage of the year in his three Cup Series campaigns, as well as the best he’s ever been in points besides a brief 19th-place ranking after the second race of last season.

Going into the second half of the regular season, Gilliland will likely need a win to make his first playoff appearance, sitting 99 points below the cutoff with 10 races until the Round of 16.

For the remainder of the year, however, the tasks at hand remain building consistency and getting more comfortable as a potential weekly threat near the front of the field.

But after a top-10 day at Sonoma, which was preceded by positive reinforcement for the future, the relationship between Gilliland and Front Row Motorsports is gaining steam quickly as the organization prepares to embark on its new journey as a three-car team next year.

“You’re racing against the best of the best and it’s hard to keep up, quite honestly,” Gilliland said of Front Row’s position in the garage area. “Expanding is going to be a new challenge. But it’s definitely going to help us, I think, in the long run.

“We just need to make sure we get all the right people in place.”