Cheers for the Underdog: David Gilliland

David Gilliland during driver introductions at Bristol in August 2011

He is a driver that, up until a few years ago, I never paid much attention to. In fact, I never paid any real attention to him until he started racing for Front Row Motorsports. I could go into detail about his NASCAR career, but only if I did some research. I may not know a whole lot about David Gilliland, but what I can tell you is that as long as he is racing, I’m more than happy to cheer him on.

The only reason I even started noticing Gilliland was because of my cousin Kayla. She became a fan of him in 2008, and I eventually started watching him because she always pointed him out and cheered for him on race weekends. It didn’t matter what position he was in, if he even gained one single position more, she cheered.

Bristol Motor Speedway: I Call It Home

Ten years ago, I got up early one Saturday morning, hopped into a car with a friend, her family, and two of their family friends. We drove off toward Bristol Motor Speedway. I was only twelve-years-old at the time, and I barely knew anything about NASCAR. In fact, I had never even been to Bristol for a race until that day. When we arrived, my first thought was "It looks so much bigger on television". I looked at the thousands of people walking the speedway grounds, almost all of them decked out in some sort of driver's gear to proudly display who they cheered for on race day. I had no favorite driver at the time, and I could barely name any driver whose last name wasn't Johnson, Gordon, or Earnhardt. 

Why the No. 6 Team Means So Much To Me

The No. 6 team during a pit stop during the History 300
at Charlotte Motor Speedway (May 26, 2012)

Since 2007, one team in NASCAR has been my favorite above all others. I have seen two of my favorite drivers both get their first wins with this team and also earn top rookie honors with the team during their respective rookie years. This team has been the reason I have made every attempt at not missing a Nationwide Series race since 2007, and they continue to be the primary reason I enjoy the series so much. This team really made a name for themselves the last two seasons as they went on to become two-time champions with Ricky Stenhouse, Jr. behind the wheel of the No. 6 Ford. I have followed this team since 2007 when David Ragan won Nationwide Series Rookie of the Year, through the ups and downs they had with Stenhouse in 2010 to coming out on top not once, but twice in a row with Stenhouse in 2011 and 2012. The No. 6 Roush Fenway Racing team has never ceased to amaze me, and every season, I’ve watched them accomplish things that so many others said they never would. 

When Ricky Stenhouse, Jr. joined the team in 2010, he had only run a handful of Nationwide Series races prior to that. His rookie year started off rocky, to say the least, but I was immediately drawn to the driver that everyone had begun to say would never amount to anything after he crashed numerous times that year. I’ve watched Stenhouse go from underdog to top dog during his three seasons in the series. The No. 6 team never backed down when things went wrong. They dug themselves out of holes that I’m not sure other teams could have found ways out of to win back-to-back championships.

Doors have opened, but I've let them close

In October 2009, I started writing for Skirts and Scuffs. I never started  with any intent to become a NASCAR media member. At first, I wasn't comfortable with my writing, but it gradually gained recognition. I received high praises for the articles I wrote. Even some veteran media members commended me on my writing. I was surprised by all the positive feedback because I had never formally written anything at all about NASCAR until I joined the Skirts and Scuffs team. 

Just before the 2010 season started, I established my own weekly column. It was just a simple race recap, known as the Roush Rewind, that covered Roush Fenway Racing after every race. It was the main thing I wrote for the site. Occasionally, I wrote opinion pieces, but I always backed up my opinions with facts or, if there were no facts to back up what I was saying, I did my best to explain the logic behind my reasoning. If I wrote an opinion piece, I made sure to write it in a way that it would not offend anyone (or at least make it offend the least amount of people possible). Skirts and Scuffs gradually gained recognition, and soon, the site became part of the NASCAR Citizen's Journalist Media Corps. I could have asked for the site admin, Katy, to send in a request for me to get media credentials for a race I attended that year, but I never did. As I said before... Writing was something I was doing for fun. I had no intention to work in the media center.

Cheers for the Underdog: David Ragan

David Ragan and his team prepare for Coca Cola 600 qualifying
at Charlotte Motor Speedway on May 24, 2012.

In 2006, a young driver made his first Sprint Cup Series start at Dover International Speedway for Roush Fenway Racing and just 46 laps in, he was done for the day after being involved in a crash. A few weeks later, he traveled to Martinsville Speedway with a plan of just turning laps and finishing the race to gain experience. But that would be easier said than done. He caused a lot of crashes that race and angered many drivers, including Ken Schrader. Despite it all, he managed to finish 25^th that day at Martinsville. He even finished on the lead lap after getting the free pass not once, but three times throughout the race.

His next Cup Series race in 2006 was supposed to be the following weekend at Atlanta Motor Speedway, but NASCAR saw to it that he would not run that race after causing so much trouble at Martinsville.

But that never deterred David Ragan from trying to earn his place among NASCAR’s elite in the Sprint Cup Series. Nor did it stop me from becoming a fan of him.

It was actually the race at Martinsville Speedway that caused me to become a fan of Ragan. Even after all the trouble he had somehow found himself in, he owned up to his mistakes and wanted to learn from them. That perseverance in the face of so much scrutiny is what drew me in. You just don't see that in many young drivers when they first start.

Ragan still traveled to Atlanta Motor Speedway the following weekend because he was scheduled to run the Truck Series race. His disastrous Martinsville weekend still loomed over him though. Tony Stewart had called Ragan a “dart without feathers” after that race, and the media wouldn't let it go. Did Ragan take offense to it? Maybe. But he did something in response to it that truly speaks for the kind of person he is.

Much More Than 'Just A Race'

To those in the NASCAR community, the month of January may seem to stretch out to the edge of forever despite the action it is leading up to. Teams are busy getting back into the swing of things as they prepare for Speed Weeks in Daytona and the start of a new season. Drivers look to improve from the previous season, and keep up with all of the new rule changes. Team owners scramble to find sponsorship for the drivers who need it. Drivers who were released the season before work hard to prove they can earn a spot on a team.

The anticipation for the beginning of a new NASCAR season can be felt across not only the United States, but also over many foreign countries where fans anxiously await the drop of the green flag at the Great American Race—the Daytona 500—to officially start the season. Fans from all walks of life will set in front of a television and those lucky enough to watch from the stands gear up for what is sure to be a wild race.

A Look Back at 2011

Halfway through January, and I've decided to start a new blog. I had one before, but that one focused primarily on my love of NASCAR. I will more than likely have posts about the sport in this blog, but this one isn't specifically for any particular subject.

With that said, I thought it would be fun to give everyone a look at how 2011 was for me. I have to admit that, despite a few hang ups, it was one of the best years of my life!

1. What did you do in 2011 that you’d never done before?

                Most of what I did for the first time in 2011 is NASCAR-related. I have always wanted to a track other than Bristol Motor Speedway, and I was fortunate enough to go to Nashville Superspeedway in April for the Camping World Truck Series and Nationwide Series race. I also attended the Coca Cola 600 in May at Charlotte Motor Speedway and the Bank of America 500 in October as well.

                One of the things I’ve always wanted to do is ride with a driver (It didn’t matter who) around any track. In July, I met Austin Dillon at Bristol while he was there promoting the Truck Series race that would be run at the track in August. The fans who came to the track that day were able to ride with Austin for about 15 laps in a Chevrolet Silverado. Granted, it wasn’t the actual racetruck, but what did I care? I got to ride with a driver, now a Truck Series champion, around the World’s Fastest Half-Mile!

2. Did you keep your new year’s resolutions and will you make more for next year?

                I never make new year’s resolutions. I just look at every new year as a chance to improve from the year before.

3. Did anyone close to you give birth?

My uncle Hobie’s girlfriend Christy gave birth to their son Everett in June, just one day before my birthday!