Yates

[truckermom]

Is Yates shooting himself in the foot. First he losed DJ then Elliott and today he cans Tommy Baldwin and Slugger Labby. What's your opinion?

[FS JessNicholas]

I wonder about the crew chief situations, too. Drivers, he'll find -- looks like Gilliland and Leicht next year, and both will be locked into the top 35 unless Dale Jarrett finishes 43rd for the rest of the year. I think they'd prefer to go to three cars and add Ward Burton but they can't find a sponsor for him, which surprises me considering that Burton is big into hunting/outdoors and that's a market where the driver doesn't have to be Mr. GQ in order to move product.

Yates, though, can't seem to get his front office in order. Here's the doomsday scenario for Yates: He adds Gilliland and Leicht next year, finds out that Leicht isn't ready and Gilliland is a flash in the pan, and ends up with both cars outside the top 35 after five races, because his crew chiefs can't hack it. Then what does he do? I'm not saying that will definitely happen but it very well could.

Jess

[truckermom]

He needs someone to mentor the rookies. They shouldn't be put into a situation without help. Leight has only run a couple of races in Busch let alone just 1 in cup, same with gilliland. He can sure build the engines but sure doesn't know how to hang the chassis. Just my opinion.

[Chris]

Unless I was seeing wrong...
I thought I read Gilliland would run the #28 next season...

OH by the way... 'bout time you posted something Trucker Mom
Welcome

[SMOKEN14]

  Here is some stats on David gilliand                                                                     2005 NASCAR West Series Point Standings
Driver Points Starts Wins Top 5 Top 10 Avg. Fin.
1  Mike Duncan 1,951 12 3 10 10 5.0
2  Steve Portenga 1,908 12 3 7 11 5.3
3  Scott Lynch 1,899 12 2 9 10 5.1
4 David Gilliland 1,858 12 1 9 10 6.8
5  Mike David 1,757 12 1 5 9 7.6
6  Brett Thompson 1,645 12 0 2 8 9.8
7  Scott Gaylord 1,626 12 0 3 6 10.6
8  Tim Woods III 1,601 12 0 2 6 10.7
9  Andrew Myers 1,590 12 0 2 6 11.3
10  Andrew Lewis 1,541 12 0 1 5 12.1
11  Daryl Harr 1,528 12 0 1 6 12.4
12  Sarah Fisher 1,471 12 0 0 4 14.0
13  Jack Sellers 1,278 12 0 0 0 18.8
14  Takuma Koga 1,227 11 0 0 0 20.4
15  Tim Smith 1,167 10 0 0 4 15.6
16  Rick Ruzbarsky 724 6 0 0 3 14.5
17  Johnny Borneman 670 5 0 2 2 11.6
18  Burney Lamar 664 4 2 2 4 4.5
19  Jason Jefferson 628 5 0 1 1 13.2
20  Spencer Clark 621 5 0 2 2 14.2
21  Chris Schmelzle 590 5 0 0 1 15.2
22  David Cardey 513 5 0 0 1 20.2
23  Jose Luis Ramirez 478 4 0 0 1 14.8
24  Ed Watson 467 4 0 0 1 15.5
25  Bobby Hillis 428 5 0 0 0 25.8
26  Carl Harr 406 4 0 0 0 20.5
27  David Eshleman 385 4 0 0 0 22.3
28  Robbie Brand 363 3 0 0 0 14.0
29  Jason Small 351 3 0 0 0 15.3
30  Dale Quarterley 297 2 0 0 2 7.0
31  Eric Humphries 276 2 0 0 1 9.0
32  P J Abbott 239 2 0 0 0 14.5
33  Jeff Davis 233 2 0 0 0 15.5
34  Nick Joanides 218 2 0 0 0 18.0
35  Eric Hardin 215 2 0 0 0 18.5
36  Charles Price 185 3 0 0 0 22.3
37  Ryan Moore 170 1 0 1 1 3.0
38  Brandon Ash 155 1 0 1 1 5.0
39  Gene Woods 155 1 0 0 0 23.0
40  Michel Jourdain 150 1 0 0 1 6.0
41  Matt Kobyluck 146 1 0 0 1 7.0
42  Kevin Harvick 134 1 0 0 0 13.0
43  Jorge Goeters 134 1 0 0 1 10.0
44  Daniel Digiacomo 134 1 0 0 1 10.0
45  Clint Vahsholtz 130 1 0 0 0 11.0
46  Rocky Moran Jr 127 1 0 0 0 12.0
47  John Moore 121 1 0 0 0 14.0
48  Nick DeFazio 121 1 0 0 0 14.0
49  Chris Oddo 121 1 0 0 0 14.0
50  Michelle Theriault 118 1 0 0 0 15.0
51  Justin Lofton 115 1 0 0 0 16.0
52  Mellissa Davis 115 1 0 0 0 16.0
53  Tavo (CT) Hellmund 109 1 0 0 0 18.0
54  Jeff Barkshire 109 1 0 0 0 18.0
55  Travis Powell 106 1 0 0 0 19.0
56  Nick Lynch 106 1 0 0 0 19.0
57  Rick Craig 103 1 0 0 0 20.0
58  Randy Lynch 103 1 0 0 0 20.0
59  Brandon Miller 100 1 0 0 0 21.0
60  Tony Bruncati 97 1 0 0 0 22.0
61  Ted Christopher 94 1 0 0 0 23.0
62  Ron Peterson 91 1 0 0 0 24.0
63  Jim Inglebright 82 1 0 0 0 27.0
64  Mike Mulhall 79 1 0 0 0 28.0
65  Ken Schrader 70 1 0 0 0 31.0


[ 2005 Series Race Results ] [ Other Series Point Standings ]

 


               

[SMOKEN14]

 2004 NASCAR West Series Point Standings


  Driver Points Starts Wins Top 5 Top 10 Avg. Fin.
1  Mike Duncan 2,090 13 1 9 12 5.5
2  Austin Cameron 2,074 13 5 8 10 5.2
3 David Gilliland 1,915 13 1 7 9 7.8
4  Scott Gaylord 1,900 13 0 8 9 7.6
5  Scott Lynch 1,877 13 2 5 9 9.7
6  Mike David 1,803 12 1 5 11 6.8
7  Daryl Harr 1,711 13 0 0 8 11.1
8  Carl Harr 1,666 13 0 0 6 12.1

 WHATS the big deal here with Gilliand He looks like an average driver that got lucky in one busch race He must be bringing lots of money to Yates or something....I DON'T GET THIS ONE!!!!!

[Chris]

Really,... WHAT are you missing....
Guy races the Winston West series because he has to foot the bill on his own dime...
He DOES have a nice little racing lineage... Father Butch was no slouch.
Even in the stats you show, in 13 starts in 2004 he had 9 top 10 finishes (7 top 5's)
In 2005 he had 12 starts and did even better with 9 top 5's.  Both years he posted a win and finished in the top 4 in points.  Looks pretty strong to me.

SO THIS YEAR he decides to run a couple BGN races... Now not only does he run a couple races and run prety strong against the BGN guys,.. NO,. but THIS is the year when we have 10-20 CUP guys come in and race week after week in the BGN series.  With all their their high dollar Cup backing, extra technology, extra seast time, etc etc...
Poor little David goes in and wins A RACE against all the BGN regulars, AND all the CUP guys.  Here;s a guy the has NO SPONSOR,.. builds his OWN MOTORS,.. does it ALL on his own,.. and comes in and makes the world KNOW he can do it withOUT the high dollar support the CUP teams got.
He just picked and choose the races he though he could run well at and run those races only.  SMART on his part.

I've worked with a fledgling race team.  I KNOW the work that involved JUST to MAKE the race,.. and run NEAR the front,.. let alone pull off a win.
You are behind the 8-ball from the time you unload off the trailer.  You go threw tech LAST (you have no points),... you get on the track last (because you make it threw tech last) so you get LESS practice time than the other teams;... then you have to worj on qualifying set ups (again because you have no points and you are a 'go or go home' car), and have to split what little time you get on the time between qualifying and race setups... THEN if you make the race,.. you are still (again) last on the track and threw tech so again you get the least amount of practice time, and so you are just ALWAYS "Behind".
GOOD LUCK -- having all these things working against you and pulling off a win.
The team OWNERS KNOW these are the kinda of things he had going AGAINST him and he STILL managed to win,.. so THAT is part of the reason it opended so many eyes with the CUP team owners.

SO now he has moved to the head of the class,.. and MANY teams have realized he has talent.  If he can do this with NO sponsor,... his OWN motors, all his own equipment,.. he could be VERY competitive is some of the BETTER teams like Roush, Hendrick, etc coming in right off the bat.

Let me give you another good example.
David Ragan.... No one EVER heard of this kid,...
He runs so-so in a kinda crappy old truck (the #50) that Roush had out behind the shop.  David was the "2nd" place finisher in Jack's Driver X contest this past season,.. but it was SO CLOSE a decision he went ahead and gave Ragan a ride along with the "winner"
He shares the ride with Mark Martin in the #6 Scotts truck.
The weeks he drives the #6 Scotts truck he has NUMEROUS finishes in the top 10.  He's a kid with a LOT of talent that no one ever heard.  Put him in a GREAT truck and he can run in the top 10,.. top 5, even contend for the win.
David Gilliland could be the SAME way.

[skool]

David Ragan, Milwaukee Mile Toyota Tundra 200, June '06

(He really is in there, but oh, the glare!)

Heading out to practice.

[SMOKEN14]

Really,... WHAT are you missing....
Guy races the Winston West series because he has to foot the bill on his own dime...
He DOES have a nice little racing lineage... Father Butch was no slouch.
Even in the stats you show, in 13 starts in 2004 he had 9 top 10 finishes (7 top 5's)
In 2005 he had 12 starts and did even better with 9 top 5's.  Both years he posted a win and finished in the top 4 in points.  Looks pretty strong to me.

SO THIS YEAR he decides to run a couple BGN races... Now not only does he run a couple races and run prety strong against the BGN guys,.. NO,. but THIS is the year when we have 10-20 CUP guys come in and race week after week in the BGN series.  With all their their high dollar Cup backing, extra technology, extra seast time, etc etc...
Poor little David goes in and wins A RACE against all the BGN regulars, AND all the CUP guys.  Here;s a guy the has NO SPONSOR,.. builds his OWN MOTORS,.. does it ALL on his own,.. and comes in and makes the world KNOW he can do it withOUT the high dollar support the CUP teams got.
He just picked and choose the races he though he could run well at and run those races only.  SMART on his part.

I've worked with a fledgling race team.  I KNOW the work that involved JUST to MAKE the race,.. and run NEAR the front,.. let alone pull off a win.
You are behind the 8-ball from the time you unload off the trailer.  You go threw tech LAST (you have no points),... you get on the track last (because you make it threw tech last) so you get LESS practice time than the other teams;... then you have to worj on qualifying set ups (again because you have no points and you are a 'go or go home' car), and have to split what little time you get on the time between qualifying and race setups... THEN if you make the race,.. you are still (again) last on the track and threw tech so again you get the least amount of practice time, and so you are just ALWAYS "Behind".
GOOD LUCK -- having all these things working against you and pulling off a win.
The team OWNERS KNOW these are the kinda of things he had going AGAINST him and he STILL managed to win,.. so THAT is part of the reason it opended so many eyes with the CUP team owners.

SO now he has moved to the head of the class,.. and MANY teams have realized he has talent.  If he can do this with NO sponsor,... his OWN motors, all his own equipment,.. he could be VERY competitive is some of the BETTER teams like Roush, Hendrick, etc coming in right off the bat.

Let me give you another good example.
David Ragan.... No one EVER heard of this kid,...
He runs so-so in a kinda crappy old truck (the #50) that Roush had out behind the shop.  David was the "2nd" place finisher in Jack's Driver X contest this past season,.. but it was SO CLOSE a decision he went ahead and gave Ragan a ride along with the "winner"
He shares the ride with Mark Martin in the #6 Scotts truck.
The weeks he drives the #6 Scotts truck he has NUMEROUS finishes in the top 10.  He's a kid with a LOT of talent that no one ever heard.  Put him in a GREAT truck and he can run in the top 10,.. top 5, even contend for the win.
David Gilliland could be the SAME way.

MY point is look at Mike Duncan Wins the west title 2 years in a row and people act like gilliand was the champ. I'M not saying David isn't a good driver BUT I think there is a lot better drivers out there  that deserve a chance also. I personally think Keven Hamlin is one of the most underrated drivers out there Right now. if he was ever to hook up with a childless Hendrick or roush He would probably add another Championship to his resume [2 nw series championships]

[Chris]

MY point is look at Mike Duncan Wins the west title 2 years in a row and people act like gilliand was the champ. I'M not saying David isn't a good driver BUT I think there is a lot better drivers out there  that deserve a chance also. I personally think Keven Hamlin is one of the most underrated drivers out there Right now

well... I can't argue that point...
I think the guys you mentioned biggest problem is this....
David has got out there and PROVED he can get the job done against the best in the business,.. and they haven't.
If they are as good as you think,.. then they would probably get a shot also.  They just have to get out a PROVE they deserve a shot on the RIGHT stage.

[Checkeredflag]

Since Cully (can't spell his last name) has already worked with David Gilliland, and Butch Hylton was the CC for Steven Leicht at Pocono, I'm going out on a limb and guessing that Yates is preparing for life without DJ and Sadler, and this it may happen sooner rather than later. 

In the case of the 38, they may be waiting for Elliot to be mathematically eliminated from the Chase before letting him go.  DJ is a tougher situation, because the lame duck sponsor is leaving with the lame duck driver, so probably won't agree to a driver change.

Now, since everyone knows my crystal ball is cracked, and I have never gotten one of these predictions right, it'll probably happen just the opposite, but it's just what I'm thinking will happen.   

[Colorado NASCAR Fan]

My only hope is that there is someone who can help these young guys out...whether it's one of the veterans or if Yates brings in a driver coach, these two are going to need some major coaching!  And it's not just the on-the-track stuff...they are going to need to get used to the off-the-track sponsor appearances and everything else that comes with being a star in the most popular auto racing series.  This is a very big commitment and I hope they are ready for it.

[paulfan]

I'm having a senior moment here, can't think of his name but he was working with Gilliand and his crew when they went to the Busch race.  He drove the Army car before Nemachek.  Damn, I can't think of his name.  Anyway he would be a good mentor and already has Guilland's respect.

[Colorado NASCAR Fan]

I'm having a senior moment here, can't think of his name but he was working with Gilliand and his crew when they went to the Busch race.  He drove the Army car before Nemachek.  Damn, I can't think of his name.  Anyway he would be a good mentor and already has Guilland's respect.

Are you meaning Jerry Nadeau?  I didn't know he was mentoring him.  I agree he would be a great mentor.  He certainly knows the sport and how it works - on & off the track.

[Chris]

Yeah,.. I'm pretty sure thats who PaulFan was thinking of...
Nadeau WAS the mentor for Gilliland when he won the BGN race...

I've read SINCE then that Jerry wanted to come back and race CUP some more,... personally I think he should stay and mentor.