TRG, Gilliland Endure At BMS

BRISTOL, Tenn. — On Thursday evening, The Racers Group Motorsports was on the outside looking in – literally.

TRG owner Kevin Buckler waited in his team’s No. 71 hauler, as the top-35 teams from last year’s Sprint Cup owners points standings parked their rigs in Bristol Motor Speedway’s infield paddock.

“We were like little kids pressed against the fence,” Buckler said. “Look, can we please come in?”

Each of those 35 teams was guaranteed a spot in Sunday’s Food City 500. TRG’s No. 71 Chevrolet, a new team this season, was not. Buckler hoped that would change after Sunday’s race.

Perilously perched at 34th in the 2009 owners points rankings headed into Bristol, the No. 71 piloted by David Gilliland needed to leave the Food City 500 35th or better in points.

If the team accomplished that mission it would gain an automatic bid into the season’s remaining Sprint Cup events. That season-long presence would hopefully entice sponsors to underwrite the currently unfunded car.

“I can sell a program in the top-35 a hell of a lot better than when we’re not, saying we were going to get 10th a Bristol, but we wrecked,” Buckler said.

Buckler’s conservative philosophy had worked for the team heading into Sunday’s race. With only five racecars in its stable, TRG has urged Gilliland to log laps, to finish races. Cautious, yes. Fruitful? So far.

After missing out on Daytona after Mike Skinner, the team’s driver at that time, failed to qualify, the team finished 33rd at California, 14th at Las Vegas and 24th at Atlanta with Gilliland behind the wheel.

“It’s been hard work, definitely,” Gilliland, who drove for Yates Racing last year, said before the race. “But it’s been great. ... I’ve had as much fun if not more fun than I’ve ever had in the series.”

The differences between Gilliland’s past and present were made glaringly obvious by the No. 71’s pit stall location. TRG was sandwiched between the No. 18 of Joe Gibbs Racing and the No. 96 of Yates.

While Yates and JGR had elaborate podiums in their pits, complete with canopies and plush leather seating, the TRG’s platform bore no decals and only a grooved bench that sat four.

The other two teams’ crews wore matching fire suits. Two of TRG’s members donned suits from other teams.

Most important, perhaps, was the experience possessed by the teams’ pit crews. Kyle Busch’s No. 18 team has been mostly intact since 2005. The No. 71 team included one member who joined the crew at California and another who came aboard in Atlanta.

None of this, however, kept the TGR team from qualifying 14th at the Food City 500.

Early in Sunday’s race, Gilliland’s hope of a top-20 finish didn’t seem optimistic enough, with the No. 71 running as high as ninth. The top-35 position in owners points seemed a lock when the No. 71 car pulled into the pit stall during the third caution running 21st.

But legend has it that at BMS, more position is won or lost in the pits than on the track. The No. 71 team turned that myth into reality.

Hoping to take four tires, one of the crew members missed the lug nuts on a rim. Time was lost and Labbe was enraged.

“Go get a wheel and practice or something,” Labbe screamed at the team member. “Sorry to be on your [butt], but this is Bristol. We can’t afford that [stuff].

Gilliland dropped to 30th because of the pit mishap.

The day got worse from there. Two flat tires forced green-flag pit stops. After both tire changes, cautions almost immediately broke out.

“Cautions out, cautions out,” screamed the No. 71 spotter. “Unbelievable.”

“Ain’t our day, buddy.” Labbe told Gilliland.

And it wasn’t. The No. 71 limped home 36th, 10 laps behind race winner Busch.

Although it was a disappointing day for Gilliland and the TRG team, all was not lost. After all the tallying was done, the No. 71 clinched the 35th spot in the owners points standings, finishing 21 points
ahead of Aric Almirola in one fewer start.

TRG needs a sponsor to fulfill the entire Sprint Cup schedule, but Buckler is committed to running at Martinsville Speedway next weekend. After that, the team’s schedule is up in the air.

But Gilliland is hopeful that his grinding will pay off and that some sponsor will keep this tiny outfit’s dream alive.

“Now we can go and try and sell a sponsor and say, ‘Hey, we’re going to race Martinsville,’ not ‘We want to race Martinsville,’ ” Gilliland said. “That was our goal, to get a top-35, and here we are.”

scampbell@bristolnews.com | (276) 645-2543