Gilliland and Kerr Geared Up for Road Racing

David Gilliland, driver of the No. 38 Long John Silver’s Ford, comments on racing at Watkins Glen International:

“I’m really proud of our effort last week at Pocono. We unloaded well and made the car better for the race. Frank (Kerr), my crew chief, made some good calls, the pit crew did a great job, and we were able to race the cars we needed to race. It felt good to have everything come together like that and show what this team is capable of. 

“We love road racing, so we’re excited about Watkins Glen. It’s faster and less technical than Sonoma, so it’s definitely different. It’s high-speed and if your car’s not right, you’re not going to go fast. So, we’ve been working really hard to prepare. Frank has had success there, so we’ll be leaning on him. We feel good about the package we’re taking there.

“When I first started in Cup, people could say, ‘Oh, it’s just one race. It doesn’t really matter.’ But now each race is so very important, especially with the new point structure. Now people are putting a lot of effort into road courses, testing more and building new cars. That does make it more competitive going to those places.”

JUST THE FACTS: Gilliland is coming off his best finish of the season, a 17th-place run at Pocono Raceway … He has six Sprint Cup career starts at Watkins Glen International … His top finish at the 2.45-mile road course is 20th (2012).

FRM PR