A veteran competitor is back for more racing action. David Gilliland will make his NASCAR return during the weekend at Charlotte Motor Speedway.
Gilliland, who previously moved from a driver role into ownership, will be back behind the wheel on Friday, May 26. He will compete in the Craftsman Truck Series race while driving the No. 1 Tricon Garage Toyota Tundra TRD. Serial 1 E-Bikes will join him as the primary partner.
Welcome back, DG!
@DavidGilliland returns to the @NASCAR_Trucks at Charlotte in the No. 1 Tundra with support from @Serial1Cycles. 🙌
“I’m beyond excited to get back into the driver’s seat and strap into our No. 1 Tundra TRD Pro,” Gilliland said in a press release. “It has been rewarding to step back and focus on growing our team and the transition back to Toyota, but of course, the racer in me missed being in the driver’s seat.
“I owe a huge thank you to Carl Ruedebusch, Dion Reif, and the Serial 1 Dealer Network for putting this together and making it possible for me to drive again at Charlotte.”
Gilliland’s Last Start Was in 2021
GettyDavid Gilliland watches practice at Iowa Speedway.
Gilliland has made more than 400 starts across the three national NASCAR series — the majority of which were at the top level. He made 333 starts in the Cup Series, 56 in the Xfinity Series, and 20 in the Craftsman Truck Series.
The driver-owner last suited up during the 2021 season. He made three starts for Tricon Garage — then David Gilliland Racing — and he scored a season-best finish of 14th at Daytona International Speedway.
Gilliland has not celebrated in Victory Lane, but he has put himself in contention on multiple occasions throughout his time in the Truck Series. He has six top-10 finishes in 20 starts. This includes a third-place finish at Talladega Superspeedway when he started from the pole in the No. 51 Kyle Busch Motorsports Toyota.
The race on May 26 will only mark Gilliland’s third Truck Series start at Charlotte Motor Speedway. His first was in 2009 as he finished sixth overall. His most recent was in 2015 as he finished 27th due to an issue.
Gilliland Joins a Packed List of ‘Guest’ Drivers
Tricon Garage has a sizable footprint at NASCAR’s tracks. The team fields five entries in the Craftsman Truck Series. Four have full-time drivers while the other fields a rotating lineup.
Corey Heim (No. 11), Dean Thompson (No. 5), Taylor Gray (No. 17), and Tanner Gray (No. 15) are the full-time drivers in Tricon’s lineup. Heim is currently the points leader, and he has a win to his name. Tanner Gray is eighth in the standings while Thompson is 24th after getting collected in multiple incidents.
Taylor Gray is 22nd in the standings, but he has only made seven starts in the first 10 races. He missed the first three events because he did not turn 18 until the trip to Circuit of the Americas.
The No. 1 has featured six drivers so far. Jason White kicked off the year at Daytona International Speedway and then Kaz Grala, Layne Riggs, William Sawalich, Toni Breidinger, and Bubba Wallace all made starts.
Wallace has the two best finishes in the entry. He ended the trip to Darlington Raceway seventh overall and then he finished fifth at North Wilkesboro Speedway after battling for the win on old tires.
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David Gilliland Makes NASCAR Return