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Gilliland makes up for late start

David Gilliland the surprise of the Busch Series

Date published: 6/23/2006

By JIM McCONNELL

After watching David Gilliland win the Busch Series race last Saturday at Kentucky Speedway, Carl Edwards called it "the story of the year."

Edwards should know. Not too long ago, he was Gilliland--a no-name driver desperate for an opportunity, just one chance to prove himself in the hyper-competitive world of NASCAR.

Edwards' big break came when Jack Roush plucked him out of obscurity and promoted him from the Craftsman Truck Series to Nextel Cup.

Now Gilliland wants to follow Edwards' lead, attempting to qualify for his first Nextel Cup race less than a week after the upset victory that finally placed his name and face squarely on the NASCAR map.

"We've worked our whole lives for an opportunity like this," Gilliland said Tuesday during the weekly NASCAR teleconference. "It's been a dream come true."

Prior to last weekend, Gilliland's most noteworthy athletic achievement may have been playing on the golf team with Tiger Woods at Western High School in Anaheim, Calif.

Sure, Gilliland was voted crew chief of the year in 1997 when his father, Butch, won the championship in NASCAR's Winston West Series. He took up driving in the late 90s and became a big wheel in minor-league series across California, winning more than 70 races and a prestigious event known as the Toyota All-Star Showdown.

But let's be honest. The Winston West isn't Nextel Cup. It's not even in the same area code as the Busch or Craftsman Truck Series.

So when Gilliland couldn't do better than 29th in his first four 2006 Busch starts, then failed to qualify for the Busch race last month at Lowe's Motor Speedway, even he began to wonder if he really belonged in the same company as NASCAR's big boys.

"It was about as low as I've ever felt in my life," he told The Associated Press earlier this week.

The lowest of lows, followed by the highest of highs.

As he motored toward Victory Lane Saturday night, Gilliland was greeted by crew members from competing teams who had lined up to offer congratulations. He fielded way-to-go phone calls from Nextel Cup regulars Robby Gordon and Kyle Busch on Sunday, and received numerous inquiries from NASCAR team owners he coyly refused to name.

DODGE/SAVE MART 350 Sunday, 3 p.m. in Sonoma, Calif. (Fox TV, WFLS-FM 93.3) Qualifying: Tonight, 7 p.m. (SPEED)

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Date published: 6/23/2006