David Gilliland was only 21 but he was crew chief for his dad's Winston West car when Butch Gilliland won NASCAR's regional series championship in 1997.
Now David is a driver, one of 30 who will compete in the Grand National division of the NASCAR Toyota All-Star Showdown today and Saturday at Irwindale Speedway. In a Chevrolet owned by Mark Golembeski of Yucaipa, young Gilliland won rookie-of-the-year honors in the NASCAR Grand National Division, West Series (formerly Winston West).
Fifteen drivers from the West series, including 2003 All-Star winner Austin Cameron of El Cajon, and 15 from the Busch North series will compete for the Grand National prize.
Gilliland, who lives in Riverside, would like to add a win in the All-Star race to his resume, which includes victories at every level he has been on the stock car ladder, from dirt tracks at Bakersfield Speedway in Oildale and Perris Auto Speedway to paved tracks such as Irwindale, Mesa Marin and Phoenix. Winning that race, though, isn't his top priority.
That would be a test in one of Jack Roush's Ford trucks for the seat next year in the No. 99 driven by Carl Edwards in the Craftsman Truck series.
When Roush decided to replace Edwards, who is moving to Nextel Cup racing, he compiled a list of 450 promising young drivers. After interviewing, looking at film and talking to short-track promoters and owners, the list was winnowed to 26. Gilliland was one of them.
Two weeks ago, at the now mostly unused North Wilkesboro track in North Carolina, the 26 were tested. Each drove a tricked-up Roush truck in five-lap segments, between which the driver was asked what changes needed to be made to make it more drivable.
Then, after three changes, each drove 25 uninterrupted laps.
"It was all pretty intense," Gilliland said during a visit to Irwindale. "Jack Roush was there himself, and so was Mark Martin and crew chiefs from the truck series. I think it really helped me that I had done all the work on my dad's car and that I had experience running on dirt tracks, where you have to learn more about car control.
"The track at North Wilkesboro was full of weeds in the infield and the track surface was very abrasive, so it was important to save your tires. A lot of the guys, who had never raced on the dirt, lost their tires after about 20 laps and faded at the finish.
"We were running strong all the way."
