Countdown to Daytona: Owner Point Style No. 27 (David Gilliland)

Good morning (or afternoon), NASCAR fans and welcome to Day Nine of my 35-day preview up to the 2009 season.

Today’s preview involves David Gilliland, a young driver still looking for his first Sprint Cup win in his third full season.

Gilliland jumped into the spotlight after he won a Nationwide Race (then Busch Series) in the No. 84 Clay Andrews Chevrolet at Kentucky Speedway in 2006.

The win was called “the biggest upset in Busch Series history,” by race announcer Hermie Sadler.

Gilliland became the first team to win that year that was no in a Cup-affiliated car.

The win caught the attention of Robert Yates, who quickly brought Gilliland up to the Cup Series, for his debut at Infineon Speedway in 2006.

He later replaced Elliot Sadler full-time.

Today’s Spotlight: No. 38

Team: Team Yates Racing

Driver: David Gilliland

Sponsor: FreeCreditReport.com (20 races), Citi Financial (4 races), Digital Transition (3 races), Dish Network Turbo HD. For a look at paint schemes visit Jayski.com.

Driver 2008 Stats: Gilliland earned more than $3.6 million in 2008. He finished the season with two top-10 finishes and one top-five. Gilliland finished the season 27th in the championship standings with an average finish of 26th.

News: Gilliland will be without crew chief Cully Barraclough, who left the team to become the car chief for the No. 26 team of Roush Racing.

The team appears to have sponsorship for most of the 2009 season, with at least 28 races covered (depending on how many Dish Network run).

Sponsorship has been a problem for the Yates cars, who now look to add a third full-time team in the No. 98 Paul Menard.

My Prediction for 2009: This team is another middle of the packer. Gilliland shows his potential at some races (particularly the restrictor plate tracks and road courses), but he struggles at the other 32 tracks on the schedule.

This team will probably increase its position from 2008 by a couple, but it could go either way. I expect Gilliland to finish in the range of 24th to 28th in 2009.

Will this team remain in top-35: This is one of the teams that could struggle early on. Gilliland has an average finish of 21st at Daytona and had finishes of eight and 11th in 2008. Gilliland should be fine to stay inside the top-35, but somebody is going to have to fall out when Tony Stewart puts his team inside, as does Clint Bowyer in Richard Childress’ fourth car.

Up Tomorrow: No. 00 David Reutimann

This story also appears on my blog: Sports 101

Reminder: Only 27 days until the Budweiser Shootout!

B-Blog