Bad Luck Strikes FreeCreditReport.com Team in Vegas

Gilliland Finishes 32nd Following Engine Woes

David Gilliland and his FreeCreditReport.com team had plenty of luck this weekend at Las Vegas Motor Speedway; unfortunately it was all bad.  A crash in practice and a blown oil seal plagued the No. 25 team’s bid in the Sam’s Town 300.  They left with a 32nd-place finish for their efforts.

Trouble began early for Gilliland.  During practice, the FreeCreditReport.com Fusion ran through some fluid on the race track and slipped into the retaining wall, smashing the right side of the vehicle.  The damage wasn’t severe enough to switch to their backup car, but several repairs were in order.  The crush panels, exhaust system and trailing arm had to be replaced.  The crew performed all of the necessary repairs before qualifying, however, Gilliland wasn’t able to take any more practice laps before time trials.  When it came time to qualify, Gilliland turned a conservative lap that placed him 26th on the starting grid.  “I wasn’t sure how the car was going to handle after we repaired it, so I couldn’t push it too hard,” said Gilliland after his qualifying run.  “The car felt good, though.  We’re in the show and the guys did a great job fixing the car up.  It almost feels brand new.  It should handle really well in the race.”

Unfortunately Lady Luck wasn’t any kinder to the FreeCreditReport.com team during the race.  The No. 25 machine started off the event too loose for Gilliland’s liking.  The team took advantage of the race’s several caution periods to try and tighten up Gilliland’s race car.  The team was making gains on the vehicle and Gilliland raced solidly into the top-20 just past the half-way point of the race.  It looked like things were shaping up for the No. 25 team, however, their luck took a turn for the worse on lap 158.  During a caution period the team discovered an oil leak coming from the power plant of the vehicle.  The team was forced to take the car into the garage for repairs.  Crew chief Todd Brewer led his crew through a quick fix of a broken oil seal and got Gilliland back on the track before the event ended.  Although the team wasn’t racing for the win, their hard work saved them from losing two positions on the leader’s board.  Gilliland salvaged a 32nd-place finish.

“It was a rough day,” said Gilliland.  “We did everything right, but we had plenty of bad luck.  It’s disappointing, but I’m keeping my chin up because I know we have what it takes to get the job done.  We had a great car today and my guys did a great job getting the car ready for the race.  This was the first time that we’ve raced at Vegas since the track has been resurfaced and we were one of the quickest cars leading up to the race.  If things would have gone our way, we could have easily scored a top-10.

“We overcame a lot and showed that we don’t give up.  We had to fix a banged up race car from practice and make a repair during the race.  There are a lot of teams that would have not been able to rally back from just one of those things, and we overcame both of them.  I’m proud of our effort; I just wish we had better results to show for it. I know that as long as we keep plugging away, it won’t be long before the FreeCreditReport.com team is winning races.”