Tricon Garage is a fiercely successful team in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series. Corey Heim, who wheels the No. 11 Truck for the Toyota team, is on his way to a championship. He clinched 10 wins this season, breaking Greg Biffle’s record of nine trophies in 1999. And Tricon owner, David Gilliland, could not be happier. Yet at the same time, Gilliland is also proud of another driver in the Cup Series – especially after the recent NASCAR Talladega event.

The Yellawood 500 race was flagged off recently, with most playoff drivers biting their nails. The ravages of Talladega Superspeedway did not escape a few unlucky drivers on the grid. But for David Gilliland’s son, Todd, there was a moment of glorious satisfaction.

Reliving a family milestone at the NASCAR Talladega race

Before he was a team owner, David Gilliland used to be a Cup Series competitor. Back in 2008, he fetched a euphoric moment for his No. 38 Yates Racing Ford team. He finished runner-up at Sonoma Raceway, being 1.716 seconds behind NASCAR legend Kyle Busch. Gilliland repeated this result at a NASCAR Talladega event in 2013, this time racing for Front Row Motorsports. He finished second while his teammate, David Ragan, won the race. In 2025, that second-time glory was replicated by David’s son, Todd Gilliland, while driving for the same team. “Yeah, it’s really cool,” Todd admitted.

Todd Gilliland drove the No. 34 FRM Ford to a remarkable second-place finish at the NASCAR Talladega race. And what stood out for him the most was his father’s reception – David Gilliland whispered something into his son’s ear after the race. And Todd revealed what he said in an interview with Steven Taranto. “He said he’s proud of me, and yeah, stepped in the right direction.”

Todd Gilliland also reminisced about his father’s triumph back in 2013. That energized his conviction to excel in the NASCAR Talladega race. It is a place where he has clinched three top ten finishes. Todd has also won at the track in a 2019 ARCA Menards Series race. “Being a kid watching my dad race here at Talladega felt like this is the coolest place in the world because this is his chance to go and win. I still love superspeedway racing, I think, because of that – I loved it so much as a kid.”

Yet somewhere, Todd Gilliland felt a sting of disappointment for narrowly missing the victory. The FRM driver started 27th and climbed up to the front row – yet he could not topple race winner Chase Briscoe. However, he improved his previous best finish of 4th at the Indianapolis Grand Prix Circuit in 2022, and that made him relax. Gilliland continued, “Yeah, you don’t take those things for granted, I think. Right now, as we’re five minutes out of the car, sitting on pit road, I’m probably more bummed than anything. But at the same time, I know this is gonna sink in just how cool it is.” 

While he lets the result sink in, Todd Gilliland also reflected on the final portion of the NASCAR Talladega race. That largely determined his final result.

Disadvantaged by a teammate’s move

Todd Gilliland was in shining form during the latter half of the race. Despite rolling off the starting grid in 27th place, Gilliland slowly sliced the gap between him and the frontrunners. By the end of stage 2, he had cracked the top ten, occupying 7th place. On Lap 158, he was leading the top lane along with Denny Hamlin.

By lap 170, Gilliland was jostling with Ryan Blaney when Kyle Larson pushed the No. 34 Ford Mustang to the lead. However, the events on lap 178 ended up axing his pace. Gilliland’s teammate, Zane Smith, and 23XI Racing driver, Bubba Wallace, formed a third lane. That resulted in an unlikely competition between Gilliland and Smith. The two formed a 1-2 formation with 10 laps to go. That continued until Chase Briscoe broke into the lead position to dominate the NASCAR Talladega event.

Todd Gilliland reflected on that part: “I was pretty bummed when I saw the third lane coming, to be honest. I felt like all those races that I’ve watched, it’s those bottom two lanes…I felt like we were doing that. Then the third lane came flying up and just passed us. I couldn’t block all those lanes, you know. I tried to get back in front of the five; he was just barely clear. I think I was able to get down from my teammate, which I knew was a good spot as well.”

Clearly, Todd Gilliland had a day of highs and lows. Yet the highs stand out, as his team will capitalize on this solid effort for upcoming races.