David Gilliland Chasing Good Times, Tom Dawson Trophy With Newly-Built Car

Almost a decade removed from his last full-time season in the NASCAR Cup Series, David Gilliland doesn't get many opportunities to put on the firesuit and get behind the wheel of a racecar.

In the formative years of TRICON Garage (which was formerly David Gilliland Racing), the Riverside, California-native would get to scratch that itch by jumping in a Truck Series entry from time to time.

Now that the organization is fully developed, and as Gilliland points out, thriving, that isn't in the cards anymore for the 48-year-old.

That's why, instead of enjoying a much-needed off-season, Gilliland is in Pensacola, Florida, trying to claim the Tom Dawson Trophy that will be awarded to the winner of the 57th Snowball Derby.

"My friend Luke, with Luke's Transmissions out in California, my best friend and I got together. We were running the number 98, his dad's name was Jerry Dodd and he passed away recently. He was the first guy I ever drove for, and I drove for his son Luke also, and so that's kind of how this deal came together."

After having some discussions, they decided to build themselves a Super Late Model, one that they could take and run a handful of races, the first of which is the 2024 Snowball Derby.

"Our Truck [Series] program from the business side is good because it's sold out. We've got five full-time trucks running next year, but that means I don't get to race much. So, this is kind of a project that we've been working on for a long time, come out here and have some fun."

That's what this weekend's festivities are all about for Gilliland. Fun.

"These cars, I've always told everybody, if you're going to build a car to go have fun, this is it, and Super Late Model racing is very challenging," he added. "It's got lots of horsepower. They're challenging to drive and they're fun. That's kind of why we did it. But you know, couldn't have done it without all the great people that have helped us. Steve Levitt helped us design this car. We built it at our shop from the ground up. Nobody else here has one, which is kind of fun and means something to us."

With just one prior start in the Snowball Derby (2019), Gilliland traveled to Pensacola early and participated in pre-weekend testing for the prestigious event, and when the track opened for practice on Thursday, made sure his green and white No. 98 was on track to knock the rust off, so to speak.

Then, come Friday's Snowball Derby practice session from Five Flags Speedway, a surprise popped to the top of the speed charts, in the form of the former Daytona 500 polesitter.

"It felt good, but sometimes your race car will feel good, and you'll be 15th and you can't figure out why," Gilliland said. "So, fortunately, this car has had a lot of speed since the day we unloaded it. We've just been working on drivability and getting it to drive good and be in the racetrack and have what we need to try and be where we need to be on Lap 300 of Sunday, that's where our sights are set on."

The first step towards winning Sunday's 300-lap Snowball Derby is making the field, which Gilliland admitted he's a little bit nervous about. But, with the quality of cars in the field, and the prestige behind this race, how could you not be?

"I'd be lying if I said I wasn't [nervous]," Gilliland said. "Someone asked me earlier, we've qualified on the pole for the Daytona 500, and qualified at some big races and this one is equal to or greater than. So, you come here and you tell yourself it's just a race, it's just for fun, all the things you try and tell yourself to help you relax, but it's definitely nerve-wracking and there's an incredible field of cars here."

"I don't think there's the pure numbers of cars that they've ever been, the quality of cars that are in this race and incredible and it's been fun to walk around and look at everybody and see the work and effort that's come in to come in here and race."

Should the 48-year-old driver not only just qualify for Sunday's Snowball Derby at Five Flags Speedway, but manage to take the checkered flag and win the prestigious Super Late Model event, he would become the oldest winner in the race's storied history.

He'll have some heavy hitters to defeat in order to make that happen, though, including some youngsters from TRICON Garage, the defending NASCAR Truck Series champion Ty Majeski, and his son's NASCAR Cup Series teammate, Noah Gragson, just to name a few.

Photo: Will Bellamy, Racing America