A 12th-place finish at COTA was Todd Gilliland’s best finish of the 2026 NASCAR Cup Series season heading into Bristol.
Aside from that, the driver of the No. 38 had failed to finish top 20 in the other six races to start the campaign.
On Sunday at Bristol, Gilliland found some daylight. The Front Row Motorsports driver showed flashes of speed throughout the Food City 500.
In the end, a two-tire call helped lift Gilliland to a season-best finish of sixth at “The Last Great Colosseum.” It was also the 25-year-old’s personal-best effort on a short track.
As the dust settled in Bristol, Gilliland reflected on the huge day for him and the No. 38 team.
Todd Gilliland on Bristol efforts: ‘It was massive’
Following his impressive run at Bristol, Gilliland spoke to the challenges his FRM has faced in 2026.
Prior to the spring break last week, nothing was going the North Carolina native’s way. To have a complete race like Bristol, Gilliland believes, is huge for the team moving forward.
“It was massive. We were talking yesterday. The beginning of the season has been tough on us. Just top to bottom, really. To get a good run underneath our belt, finally, [and] just put together a whole race. I thought our pit stops were good, my execution on and off pit road — all that was solid,” Gilliland said.
Do not mistake Gilliland’s quality result to simply the late-race pit call.
As he said on pit road following the race, Gilliland was able to maneuver by a number of cars throughout Sunday’s race, putting him in position to end the day on a high note.
“We put together a full race, passed a ton of cars. It feels really good,” Gilliland said.
It was an all-around solid showing for not just Gilliland, but FRM as a whole.
Gilliland’s teammate, Zane Smith, hung around the top 15 for portions of the Food City 500. The driver of the No. 38 ended up finishing 19th.
Noah Gragson, FRM’s third driver, also had a solid top-15 run going at Bristol. Although he ended up finishing 26th, the driver of the No. 4 showed flashes of speed throughout the race.
Upcoming tracks bode well for Gilliland
Do not be surprised if Gilliland takes Sunday’s sixth-place run at Bristol and builds on it.
That is because the next three tracks (Kansas, Talladega, and Texas) are a few that Gilliland has proven to have speed at.
In the last two Kansas races, the son of former driver David Gilliland has secured two 12th-place results. Last fall at Talladega, Gilliland led 11 laps and finished a career-best runner up to Chase Briscoe.
In eight Talladega starts, Gilliland has four top-10 finishes. At Texas, the FRM driver finished 11th last year.
Between his strong Bristol finish and his strength at the upcoming tracks, Gilliland could turn his season around in the next three weeks.
After eight races, Gilliland sits 26th in the points standings. His Bristol result helped him jump two positions over Austin Dillon and John Hunter Nemechek, who sit 27th and 28th.
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