Growing up in a race shop as the son of a stock-car driver, David Gilliland was destined for a career in racing. He spent his early years working on cars in the California shop of his father, NASCAR Winston West Series driver Butch Gilliland. Already an experienced mechanic by his high-school years, Gilliland was named crew chief of his father’s team at the young age of 19. When the team won the 1997 NASCAR Winston West Series Championship the following year, Gilliland added Champion Crew Chief of the Year to his already impressive young résumé.

After spending all that time under the hood, Gilliland soon got the itch to get behind the wheel. He began competing in 1998 on the dirt track of Perris (Calif.) Auto Speedway and, in seven starts, the rookie stock-car driver took the checkered flag twice. Once he got to experience driving a car into Victory Lane, there was no turning back. Gilliland drove a full schedule at Perris Auto Speedway the following year, winning 14 of 15 heat races and nine of the 15 main-event races in the stock car division.

In 2000, Gilliland added the title of team owner to his bio. He put together a late-model team and ran full-time at Irwindale (Calif.) Speedway, earning two wins. A year later, he joined the NASCAR Southwest Tour and continued his winning ways, claiming his first regional touring race victory in only his fourth start in the series. He continued to turn heads the following season, earning five wins and finishing in the top 10 of the Southwest Tour standings.

With his impressive abilities, Gilliland never stayed at the same level for very long. He was always looking ahead for the next challenge. In 2004, while continuing to run in the Southwest Series, he also tried his hand at the NASCAR West Series. It didn’t long for his talents to show through at that level. Before a hometown crowd at Mesa Marin Raceway, Gilliland drove to Victory Lane in only his second West Series start. He also captured Rookie of the Year honors with his one win, seven top-5s and nine top-10s. The following year, he won the East/West Series’ Toyota All-Star Showdown – his biggest victory to date. But that win was just a precursor to what would happen the following year.

After 10 years of showcasing his crew chief and driver skills on the West Coast, Gilliland now had his sights set on top-tier NASCAR racing. So in 2006, he took his family and his dreams across the country to Charlotte, N.C. The risky move paid off, as he was soon hired to drive for Clay Andrews’ NASCAR Nationwide team. The car was unsponsored and underfunded, so the team only drove a partial schedule. But that didn’t stop Gilliland from making the biggest splash of the 2006 Nationwide season on June 17 at Kentucky Speedway. That night, the racing world stood up and took notice of the rookie Gilliland when he took the checkered flag and became the first non-Sprint Cup regular to win a Nationwide race that year.

Thrust into the racing limelight after just seven starts, Gilliland quickly got his chance to compete at the highest level, the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series. The very week after the dramatic Kentucky win, owner Bryan Mullet put the red-hot rookie in a Cup ride at Infineon (Calif.) Raceway, where the team finished 32nd. Gilliland then landed a ride for the rest of the Sprint Cup season with Robert Yates Racing, where he drove the final 14 races in the No. 38 Ford. Just as he had at every other level of racing, he proved he belonged, capturing one pole and two top-15 finishes.

Gilliland returned to Yates for his first full-time season in 2007, and started off the year with a bang when he captured the pole for the Daytona 500. He went on to earn one top-five and two top-10 finishes for the year. He matched that record in his second full-time season for Yates in 2008 with another top-five and two top-10s.

The 2009 season brought a move to TRG Motorsports, a race team with a history of success on the sports car circuit but relatively new to the NASCAR garage. Gilliland made 25 starts for the young team, some of which were cut short by mechanical issues. During the final nine races of the season, Gilliland split time in TRG’s No. 71 Chevrolet with former Sprint Cup Champion Bobby Labonte. When Gilliland wasn’t in the 71, he picked up rides with Robby Gordon Motorsports, Wood Brothers Racing, Joe Gibbs Racing and Phoenix Racing.

The accomplished driver heads into the 2010 season ready to build on his impressive career with Front Row Motorsports – a new team for Gilliland but one that brings familiarity. He returns to the No. 38 Ford Fusion and reconnects with former Yates teammate Travis Kvapil. As a vital member of this newly expanded three-car team, Gilliland is looking to further make his mark at racing’s premier level.