David Gilliland scored his second-best finish of the season during Sunday’s wild 500-mile race at the Talladega Superspeedway. A last-lap wreck, involving nearly the entire field, Gilliland was scored in the 15th position once the smoke cleared.
Gilliland hung around the back of the pack for the majority of the race. That was the plan for the Peanut Patch Ford team, as they wanted to avoid what happened on the last lap. The team had very little issues during the race as they made scheduled stops for fuel and tires. Gilliland was relatively happy with his car all afternoon.
The team did come down pit road once on Lap 184 for four tires after possibly running over debris from an accident. Gilliland again lined up near the back. The last four laps, Gilliland was making his way forward when the wreck happened. Gilliland was able to avoid nearly half the field, but was still collected in the massive melee. The team was scored in 15th once NASCAR officials determined the finishing order.
David Gilliland on Talladega:
“Wow, what a crazy finish. We were so close to getting around it. I know Ragan did, and we were right there with him the whole race. We had a good plan of just sitting in the back waiting for this to happen. But, this wreck was so big that it was nearly impossible to get around it. We still had a fast Peanut Patch Ford and came away with a good result. The strategy still paid off cause we weren’t wrecked as bad as most.”
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