Congrats to Gilliland and the Woods!

19th place finish for the 21 tonight. That's great!!

Good job!!

David did a great job tonight!

For a while there I thought he would have a top 10. That 21 car was running great. I do believe that the Wood Bros have found something.

Maybe they can find sponsorship and put Gilliland in the car full time next year.

I think David deserves a full time ride.

I was hoping TK would eventually get the 21 car when Bill retired but maybe not, of course Kelly Bires was my first choice.

good finish to david & the 21 team!

Yes, we are very proud of how David and the whole 21 team did tonight. Something went wrong or broke, Hyder said he had figured out what it was, but it was not fixable on pit road. He made a great call at the end for a wave around, and David was actually able to gain about 4 or 5 spots in those last laps.

David drove his heart out, in a seat that was not made for him. (He said that by the end,his back was sore.) His CC and Spotter were amazingly supportive, with great dialogue about changes and set up. And great compliments all around on the job everyone was doing.

David really appreciated the opportunity. And from what I heard from Eddie, he was pleased with David also.

It was great to see David in a car that could compete, at least for a bit. He said it was one of the best cars he had ever had.

And as much as I am not a manufacturer fan, it was great to have David back in a Ford!

The 21 has been competitive this year. It's good to see.

I hope David can land back on his feet somewhere; he deserves a Cup ride.

Quote :

Gilliland and Hyder Work to a 19th Place Finish at Atlanta

Given the unique weekend schedule, Crew Chief David Hyder and driver David Gilliland had only one day to figure out how they could make the #21 Motorcraft Ford Fusion as competitive as possible. After a couple of practices and a 17th place qualifying effort on Saturday, the duo appeared to be off to a good start.

On Sunday, Gilliland took the green flag for the first Atlanta night race and the #21 quickly raced into the top 10. As the race wore on, the car became loose - a condition the team fought the entire night. Crew Chief Hyder worked hard to correct the loose condition and eventually found answers - at times giving Gilliland a car that was the fastest on the track. Gilliland navigated the #21 through a long race with 8 cautions. The team’s persistence paid off, resulting in a 19th place finish.

Co-owner Eddie Wood stated, “Hyder and David (Gilliland) did a heck of a job tonight. I can’t thank them both enough. They were put in a tough spot. Getting these cars to perform well with a crew chief and driver who have worked together is hard enough. To do it with guys that have never worked together is near impossible. But they kept at it and put together a heck of a performance.”

The team’s next race is October 4, 2009 at Kansas where Bill Elliott is expected to be back behind the wheel.

I did hate missing the chance to see Bill at AMS, but I'm glad David not only got the call but ran good. While my buddy had the scanner on Mark's channel all night, I did pay attention to the 21 and 99. David was kicking butt before the issue that Merri mentioned happened.

Unless Bill changes his mind, I hope the Woods hire David for 2010.