"Don't think anybody was having much fun at the end": Todd Gilliland delivers honest take on P-10 finish at Martinsville 

Front Row Motorsports ace Todd Gilliland bagged a solid top 10 in Sunday’s (March 30) NASCAR Cup Series race at Martinsville Speedway. It marked his second top-10 this year, the first one coming earlier this month at Circuit of the Americas (COTA).

Starting 25th was a challenge for the Sherrills Ford, North Carolina native. However, he was able to get to 22nd by the end of Stage 1 and 18th before Stage 2 wrapped up. The final 125 laps brought a string of cautions into the field, which, in turn, allowed Gilliland to finally enter the top 10.

That being said, there were a few handling issues with his No. 34 Love's Travel Stop Mustang on the restarts. Recalling the same during a post-race interview, Gilliland said,

“We had some really great restarts; our car was way better than the last run. Very fortunate with that, not fortunate; my team did a great job. In a lot of those restarts, just kind of settled in... I don't think anybody was having much fun at the end. I was very, very loose.”

As of today, Todd Gilliland sits 22nd with 125 points to his name. Next up for him is the Goodyear 400 at Darlington Raceway, scheduled for Sunday, April 6. Gilliland has six previous starts at the “Lady in Black”, with his best run finish of P11 coming on May 14, 2023.

Fans can watch the race on Fox Sports 1 from 3 pm ET onwards or listen to live radio updates on MRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio. RFK Racing’s Brad Keselowski is the defending winner at the 1.366-mile, egg-shaped oval.

Todd Gilliland explains riding the wall at Homestead-Miami Speedway; Ft. Mamba Smith

American social media personality, commentator, and FOX analyst Mamba Smith caught up with Todd Gilliland ahead of the Cup Series race at Homestead-Miami Speedway last week. During their conversation, Gilliland explained how, as a driver, one rides the wall at banked racetracks like Homestead.

According to Gilliland, riding the wall at Homestead is all about experience and, most importantly, intuition. Explaining the same to Smith, Gilliland said,

“How much throttle you can give the race car is just all fell, right? You’re feeling it in the steering wheel, you’re right against the wall. You’re just trying to feed as much throttle as the right rear tire can hold and not get too loose. Because anytime you slide the car here, you’re gonna pay for it.” (0:22)

A mere second of extra throttle can make the driver ram into the wall, whereas a second less can make them go loose. In high-banked racetracks like Homestead, riding the high line right next to the wall is indeed a calculated risk. Needless to say, mastering this craft takes immense skill and years of experience.