Elliott OUT, Gilliland in the 21 at Atlanta

Quote :

David Gilliland will be taking over the driving duties of the #21 Motorcraft Ford Fusion this weekend for the Pep Boys Auto 500, filling in for Bill Elliott. Elliott is experiencing some back problems and uncertain how he will feel driving the car.

Co-owner Eddie Wood stated, “Given the modified practice schedule where the practices and qualifying are all being done on Saturday, we didn’t feel there was enough time to make changes to the seat if Bill wasn’t comfortable and we needed to get another driver. We called David to see if he was available. Thankfully he was and agreed to help.”

In his fourth year in the Sprint Cup Series, Gilliland has raced in 22 of the 24 Cup races this season. Gilliland has 6 starts at Atlanta Motor Speedway with his best finish (15th) coming in 2006.

~Wood Brothers email~

Hope Bill's back heals up quickly! He has done a great job in the car this year.
Good luck to Gilliland! As long as he doesn't tear it up, he should get it in the show.

Quote :

Bill Elliott has cracked three ribs riding his dirt bike. "It was just a freak deal," Elliott said. He said although he probably could have raced in pain, he decided to step out of the Wood Brothers Ford for this weekend's race at Atlanta Motor Speedway because he didn't want to jeopardize the team's chances of running well in the Pep Boys Auto 500. "I just decided that those boys had worked so hard on the car it wouldn't be fair for me to have a problem and mess them up," Elliott said. David Gilliland, who lost his regular ride to Bobby Labonte, will drive in Elliott's place this weekend. "He runs good at Atlanta, so they should be OK," Elliott said. "And I'll be back in the car for Kansas."

~Jayski

although i'm sad to see that bill won't be racing this weekend, i hope that david can get the job done! i will be watching. david has been almost perfect in GOGH situations, so he should be fine.

Great qualifying effort by David! Fastest of the GOGH cars yet again

Yatesracing wrote:

I like David but he never seems to be able to hold on to these good qualifying results. That Road Race was the only one he really was able to maintain the top 5 position. Been trying to figure out what his problem good be. I'm hoping he will do well with Gibbs because if he doesn't do well there, it might be over for him.

Actually, it is the same thing. Robert's cars were not competitive, or Ricky woulid have had them in the top ten, and he would still be racing. If you remember, David and Ricky were fairly close on points that year, The last year, Yates cars fell off the pace as the season progressed, and for the most part, they haven't improved much this year, have they? If I compare the points from last year to this year, I would say that they have done a bit worse this year! In spite of occasional good finishes.

And this year, David has been in a start up team, and forced to start and park. And when the cars do get to run, they are 2 generations older, and have parts from the bargain bin, used way too much. David had a top 10 going for him at Bristol when a lower control arm snapped.

And while the Gibbs ride looks good, it is most likely R&D. We will see!

David reminds me of Sadler, not personally wise but in his driving style. He's FAST.

When Sadler came over to the RYR stables, he was great. First and second year, won a few races and kinda got into a rut. Some would say it was the equipment . He than decided to go over to Evenhan. Bad decision. Things did not go well. In my way of thinking, you shaft Robert expect BAD KARMA WILL FOLLOW. Heck ask DJ. Sorry, just my perverted thinking.

Sadler now runs with Richard Petty Motorsports and (JMO) they don't want him. I believe they are not giving Sadler an even break. One thing Sadler does have ARE SPONSORS AND GOOD LAWYERS. LOL

Wouldn't it be ironic, if David ends up with the Wood Bros, and history repeats itself. History has been known to repeat itself in many ways.

Looking forward for that reverse in history. Maxie or Roush(all the same but using YATES name) shafted David now ------well lets wait and see.