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Front Row Motorsports: North Wilkesboro Speedway Competition Notes- Todd Gilliland

Todd Gilliland and the No. 34 Overplay Ford TeamNorth Wilkesboro Speedway Competition NotesNASCAR All-Star RaceDate: Sunday, May 18, 2025Event: Race 14 of 38Series: NASCAR Cup SeriesLocation: North Wilkesboro Speedway (0.625-miles)#of Laps: 250Time/TV/Radio: 8:00 PM ET on FS1/MRN/SiriusXM channel 90 Todd Gilliland Notes All-Star weekend is here as the NASCAR Cup Series takes a short drive […]

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Todd Gilliland and the No. 34 Overplay Ford Team
North Wilkesboro Speedway Competition Notes
NASCAR All-Star Race
Date: Sunday, May 18, 2025
Event: Race 14 of 38
Series: NASCAR Cup Series
Location: North Wilkesboro Speedway (0.625-miles)
#of Laps: 250
Time/TV/Radio: 8:00 PM ET on FS1/MRN/SiriusXM channel 90

Todd Gilliland Notes

All-Star weekend is here as the NASCAR Cup Series takes a short drive to the North Wilkesboro Speedway for the series’ annual All-Star race. For Todd Gilliland, the 24-year-old driver must race his way into the main event in the All-Star Open race on Sunday at 5:30 pm ET.

Overplay— the world’s first user-generated gaming platform where anyone can make games from videos—will team up with FRM and Gilliland at the speedway. Founded by seasoned interactive media executives Dan Projansky and Caroline Strzalka, Overplay aims to democratize game development and make it accessible to everyone. By downloading the Overplay app users can gamify their lives instantly! The platform already has hundreds of thousands of downloads and millions of games played. Overplay was also featured in Season 15 of Shark Tank where the company struck a deal with billionaire investor Mark Cuban.

“The All-Star race is kind of like the kickoff to the 600 with all the activities surrounding the weekend,” said Gilliland. “We’ll have to race our way into the main event, but with the speed we have been bringing the past couple of races, I think we have a good shot to make the big show.”

Road Crew

Driver: Todd Gilliland

Hometown: Sherrills Ford, North Carolina

Crew Chief: Chris Lawson

Hometown: Medway, Ohio

Car Chief: Joe Marra

Hometown: Somers, New York

Engineer: Marc Rullo

Hometown: Ringwood, New Jersey

Engineer: Kevyn Rebolledo

Hometown: Mooresville, North Carolina

Spotter: Brit Andersen

Hometown: Branford, Connecticut

Underneath Mechanic: Michael Brookes

Hometown: Columbus, Ohio

Interior Mechanic: Chance Burke

Hometown: Siler City, North Carolina

Tire Specialist: Billy John

Hometown: Pitman, New Jersey

Engine Tuner: Tim Meyer

Hometown: Beatrice, Nebraska

Transporter Driver: Christian Boller

Hometown: Mooresville, North Carolina

Pit Crew

Front Tire Changer: Danny Olszowy

Hometown: Lexington, Kentucky

Rear Tire Changer: Justin Fox

Hometown: Concord, North Carolina

Tire Carrier: Paul Steele

Hometown: Wichita, Kansas

Jackman: Landon Honeycutt

Hometown: Mount Pleasant, North Carolina

Fueler: Zeke Nance

Hometown: Calhoun, Georgia

ABOUT OVERPLAY

Overplay is a user-generated gaming platform that gives users the ability to create their own games from short videos and share them with the world instantly. Founded by seasoned interactive media executives Dan Projansky and Caroline Strzalka, Overplay aims to democratize game development and make it accessible to everyone. The platform has generated over 2 million games played and well over 300,000 app downloads. Overplay is backed by venture capitalists N29 Capital Partners, Village Global, Gaingels, Sound Media Ventures, Plus Eight Equity Partners, Red & Blue Ventures, Band of Angels, Stampede Ventures, Outlander Capital, Singularity Capital, Everyrealm, Adobe Fund for Design, as well as angels from Warner Brothers and Riot Games. For more information, please visit overplay.com.

ABOUT FRONT ROW MOTORSPORTS

Front Row Motorsports (FRM) is a winning organization in the NASCAR Cup and Craftsman Truck Series. The team is the 2021 Daytona 500 and 2022 Craftsman Truck Series champions. The team was founded in 2004 and is owned by successful entrepreneur, Bob Jenkins. FRM fields the No. 4, No. 34, and the No. 38 NASCAR Cup Series teams along with the No. 34 and No. 38 Craftsman Truck Series teams from its Mooresville, N.C. headquarters. Visit teamfrm.com and follow FRM on social media: Twitter at @Team_FRM, Instagram at @teamfrm and Facebook at facebook.com/FrontRowMotorsports.





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Gilliland tops final NASCAR practice in Mexico City

Todd Gilliland was fastest in the final NASCAR Cup Series practice at Autódromo Hermanos Rodríguez. It was a traditional 25-minute session, but came after teams had 50 minutes on track earlier in the day. Gilliland clocked in at 93.181 mph (93.396 seconds). He only ran a total of six laps in his Front Row Motorsports […]

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Todd Gilliland was fastest in the final NASCAR Cup Series practice at Autódromo Hermanos Rodríguez.

It was a traditional 25-minute session, but came after teams had 50 minutes on track earlier in the day.

Gilliland clocked in at 93.181 mph (93.396 seconds). He only ran a total of six laps in his Front Row Motorsports Ford.

Ross Chastain was second fastest (93.041 mph). Ty Gibbs was third fastest (92.865 mph), Ryan Blaney was fourth fastest (92.837 mph), and Chris Buescher was fifth fastest (92726 mph).

The rest of the top 10 in practice saw Ryan Preece at sixth fastest (92.669 mph), Austin Cindric seventh fastest (92.651 mph), Joey Logano eighth fastest (92.641 mph), and Daniel Suarez ninth fastest (92.633 mph). And then it was Shane van Gisbergen in 10th place (92.601 mph).

Cup Series point leader William Byron was 16th fastest. Ryan Truex was 34th fastest for Joe Gibbs Racing as he substituted for Denny Hamlin.

There were no significant incidents during the session aside from Gibbs hitting a curb and having a solo spin early in the running.

Noah Gragson was the only driver who did not participate in final practice. Gragson’s team is preparing the backup car after he hit the wall entering Turn 4 in the first practice session.

NEXT: Cup Series qualifying at 2:05 p.m. ET Saturday.



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Hendrick Motorsports announce NASCAR driver health update ahead of Mexico City with replacement on standby

Alex Bowman has been medically cleared to take part in this weekend’s NASCAR Cup Series race at Mexico City. However, the team have a contingency plan for the possibility that Bowman, who wrecked hard at Michigan last weekend, doesn’t feel comfortable or able to perform in the car. Anthony Alfredo is on site […]

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Alex Bowman has been medically cleared to take part in this weekend’s NASCAR Cup Series race at Mexico City.

However, the team have a contingency plan for the possibility that Bowman, who wrecked hard at Michigan last weekend, doesn’t feel comfortable or able to perform in the car.

Anthony Alfredo is on site as a potential replacement, already entered into Saturday’s Xfinity Series event at the same circuit, after plenty of practice as the organization’s primary simulator driver.

Bowman hit the wall head on at extremely high speed last weekend, the back end of the car lifting into the air with the force of the impact, which he later called probably the hardest wreck of his career.

READ MORE: NASCAR Cup Series 2025: Mexico City start times, schedule, and how to watch live on TV

Bowman excited for Mexico race

Bowman, who missed four Cup Series races in 2023 after he fractured a vertebra, jarred his back heavily in that Michigan wreck but has been cleared for this weekend’s taxing road circuit.

“I’m really looking forward to racing in Mexico this weekend,” he said earlier in the week. “It’s always special to bring our sport to new places and feel the excitement from fans who don’t always get to see us race in person.”

Bowman’s No. 48 car hasn’t been performing of late as he looks to work his way back into the postseason, but he has a strong record on street and road courses – even winning around the streets of Chicago last year.

He said this week: “Our No. 48 Ally Chevy team has had speed, but we haven’t had the results to show for it lately. We’re ready to turn our luck around and put together a strong race from start to finish.”

READ MORE: NASCAR star Ross Chastain benefits as Team Penske driver demoted after Michigan race

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NASCAR’s first Cup Series race outside US hits travel snags to Mexico City

MEXICO CITY (AP) — NASCAR’s first Cup Series race outside the United States was off to a bumpy start Friday with several teams yet to arrive in Mexico City because of travel issues in North Carolina. At least one chartered flight to Mexico City was grounded Thursday with an engine issue, leaving teams scrambling to […]

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NASCAR’s first Cup Series race outside the United States was off to a bumpy start Friday with several teams yet to arrive in Mexico City because of travel issues in North Carolina.

At least one chartered flight to Mexico City was grounded Thursday with an engine issue, leaving teams scrambling to find alternative routes to get to Mexico. Some drove to Atlanta to catch a commercial flight.

But when the track opened Friday, many were not at Autodromo Hermanos Rodríguez. Trackhouse Racing was among them — Daniel Suarez arrived Tuesday with some support personnel so he was not affected — but the communications director for the Cup team had been summoned to help unload the Trackhouse cars off the truck because no crew members were available.

The trucks came directly from last Sunday’s race in Michigan and arrived at the Mexico City track on Thursday.

NASCAR said only “a select few” teams aren’t on site Friday morning. But, it seems most are Xfinity Series teams based on a revamping of the weekend schedule.

“Due to two aircraft issues that grounded multiple race teams in Charlotte, N.C., on Thursday, NASCAR has adjusted the on-track schedule for this weekend’s activities at Mexico City’s Autódromo Hermanos Rodríguez,” NASCAR said in a statement.

NASCAR delayed Friday’s originally planned Cup Series practice to later in the afternoon. NASCAR also pushed all Xfinity Series practice sessions from Friday to Saturday. And, the first of two NASCAR Mexico Series races will run earlier than originally scheduled on Friday.

The Xfinity Series will lose some practice time, with just one 50-minute session on Saturday morning, right before qualifying. There are other slight adjustments as well, but Cup teams will not lose any practice.



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Do You Still Care About Motorsports In The Streaming Age?

Fans face difficulties accessing key races like the 24 Hours of Le Mans or Pikes Peak without paying for extra services Ram is returning to NASCAR next year and is looking to expand its viewership. Some rights are split between companies, making it hard to watch all the races. Motorsport fans have a lot to […]

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Fans face difficulties accessing key races like the 24 Hours of Le Mans or Pikes Peak without paying for extra services

 Do You Still Care About Motorsports In The Streaming Age?

  • Ram is returning to NASCAR next year and is looking to expand its viewership.
  • Some rights are split between companies, making it hard to watch all the races.

Motorsport fans have a lot to be excited about as the 24 Hours of Le Mans kicks off this weekend. The iconic race will then be followed by the Pikes Peak International Hill Climb on June 22.

Those are two high-profile races and it brings us to our question of the day: Do you watch motorsports? That’s a pretty open-ended question as there are various forms of competitive racing ranging from NASCAR to Formula One and beyond.

More: How Do You Listen To Music In Your Car?

Speaking of NASCAR, Ram recently announced plans to return to the Craftsman Truck Series following a prolonged absence. At a media event previewing the announcement, Ram CEO Tim Kuniskis acknowledged the sport typically has a tough return on investment. However, the executive sees a lot of potential and wants to make NASCAR more popular.

Unfortunately, NASCAR is also a prime example of how convoluted watching racing has become. Rights for the Cup Series are split between Amazon Prime, Fox Sports, TNT Sports, and NBC. The CW handles the Xfinity Series, while Fox Sports does the Craftsman Truck Series.

 Do You Still Care About Motorsports In The Streaming Age?

If you want to check out the Pikes Peak International Hill Climb, you’ll need the RACER Network. As for the 24 Hours of Le Mans, you’ll need either Max or MotorTrend TV in the US.

Thanks to all these network and streaming deals, watching racing isn’t as easy or cheap as it used to be. It also poses a hurdle to newcomers and those looking to increase the popularity of their sport.

With all that being said, do you watch racing or motorsports? Let us know in the comments below.

 Do You Still Care About Motorsports In The Streaming Age?

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 Do You Still Care About Motorsports In The Streaming Age?



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NASCAR’s first Cup Series race outside US hits travel snags to Mexico City – KIRO 7 News Seattle

MEXICO CITY — (AP) — Shane Van Gisbergen was buckled into his seat ready to head to Mexico City for NASCAR’s first international Cup Series race of the modern era when a loud “BOOM!” suddenly forced the pilot to abort takeoff. There was an engine issue with the chartered flight in North Carolina and Van […]

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MEXICO CITY — (AP) — Shane Van Gisbergen was buckled into his seat ready to head to Mexico City for NASCAR’s first international Cup Series race of the modern era when a loud “BOOM!” suddenly forced the pilot to abort takeoff.

There was an engine issue with the chartered flight in North Carolina and Van Gisbergen and most of Trackhouse Racing suddenly found themselves stranded. In fact, two NASCAR charters had issues Thursday that delayed the arrivals of crew members and drivers for at least five teams.

They all arrived safely Friday morning — some teams drove to Atlanta to catch commercial flights — while others awaited a new morning charter.

“Yeah, it wasn’t real fun. Yesterday was a long day,” Van Gisbergen said once in Mexico City. “Pretty scary when the plane launched itself on take-off. They stopped and were trying to just get another plane. And then it was first thing this morning, so early start this morning. I think we got up at 3:30 a.m. at home and got on an early flight down here.”

It was a bumpy start to the first points-paying Cup Series race outside the United States as the entire Friday schedule had to be revamped to accommodate the stranded teams. And, with team personnel missing for some organizations, reinforcements were called in to help: the communications director for Trackhouse had to help unload the team cars off the haulers.

The trucks came directly from last Sunday’s race in Michigan and arrived at the Mexico City track on Thursday.

“Due to two aircraft issues that grounded multiple race teams in Charlotte, N.C., on Thursday, NASCAR has adjusted the on-track schedule for this weekend’s activities at Mexico City’s Autódromo Hermanos Rodríguez,” NASCAR said in a statement.

NASCAR delayed Friday’s originally planned Cup Series practice to later in the afternoon. NASCAR also pushed all Xfinity Series practice sessions from Friday to Saturday. And, the first of two NASCAR Mexico Series races were moved to early Friday instead of their late Friday schedule.

The Xfinity Series will lose some practice time, with just one 50-minute session on Saturday morning, right before qualifying. There are other slight adjustments as well, but Cup teams will not lose any practice.

Van Gisbergen was rolling with the delay.

“You can’t predict that kind of stuff happening. There’s so many moving parts,” he said. “Everyone’s down here now. I think it’s all the important people, I guess, needed for (Friday) , so I think they’ve done a good job salvaging it.

“I guess it’s a big deal when you think about it, but I’m not really too fussed about it,” he continued. “I’m already focused on (racing). Obviously not ideal, but it happened and we fixed it.”

Truex gets a shot

It’s been 11 years since Ryan Truex raced in the Cup Series but he gets another start Sunday as the replacement for Denny Hamlin in Mexico City.

Truex is a reserve driver for Joe Gibbs Racing and has been in a holding pattern the last three weeks as Hamlin awaited the birth of his son. Hamlin didn’t have to get out of the car at Nashville or Michigan, but the baby finally arrived Wednesday and Hamlin opted to skip this weekend to care for his family of five.

Truex got the call the same evening to wheel the high-profile No. 11 Toyota. The younger brother of former Cup Series champion Martin Truex Jr. has 26 career Cup starts, but none since 2014.

Martin Truex won an Xfinity Series race in 2005 in Mexico City, something he reminded his younger brother of when he told him he got the call.

“I texted him this week when I found out, and he said, ‘You know, the Truexes are 1-for-1 in Mexico,’ so no pressure,” Ryan Truex said Friday. “I’m glad he could throw that at me.”

Hamlin, a three-time winner this year, requested and was granted a waiver by NASCAR officials to retain his eligibility for the Cup Series Playoffs.

Truex does have recent seat time as the 33-year-old was a fill-in option in practice for Tyler Reddick of fellow Toyota team 23XI Racing during Coca-Cola 600 practice. Still, the waiting game to see if he was needed and getting ready for an international trip has been a whirlwind.

“It‘s been a crazy few weeks — especially since Charlotte, I‘ve been on standby,” he said. “I‘m glad it is at a track where I can practice and have time and know what to do to. It has been kind of chaotic getting here and putting all of that together, but I‘m just grateful for the experience and grateful to be here.

“I don‘t really have any set goals or expectations — I just want to enjoy the weekend. I‘m driving a Cup car for Joe Gibbs at an international race — this is not something I ever dreamed of doing, so I just want to take it all in and have a good time.”

Truex said that every time he received a text from Hamlin crew chief Chris Gayle the last month, his heart began to race as he wondered if this was the call.

He’s thankful for his time in a reserve role with Gibbs after a miserable time in Cup a decade ago. Truex is hoping to use Sunday as a springboard to regular racing.

“My last time in Cup was not a fun experience. It didn‘t go well for me. I didn‘t enjoy it,” Truex said. “That was probably not the right move for me, career-wise, and I‘ve kind of been fighting back since then. I enjoy everything I do at JGR. I‘ve been able to race part-time the last couple of years, and do all of this stuff away from the track.”

Elevation training

NASCAR drivers will face one of the biggest challenges of their career racing at Autódromo Hermanos Rodríguez, which sits at an elevation of nearly 7,500 feet. The next highest track on the Cup circuit in terms of elevation is Las Vegas Motor Speedway at about 2,000 feet above sea level.

To prepare its drivers for the altitude, Toyota launched a comprehensive training program months ago that had its drivers wearing a mask that simulates less oxygen while training and even sleeping in a hypoxic tent.

Reddick was among those who slept in a tent to adjust to the higher altitude and mitigate potential symptoms of altitude sickness.

“One side effect of it is my wife hasn’t been super happy about me sleeping in a hypoxic environment especially at the later stages of her pregnancy,” said Reddick, whose wife delivered the couple’s second child May 25.

The tent idea was devised after JGR driver Christopher Bell asked Toyota what would be done to help maintain maximum performance in the high altitude.

“We started that early in the season just talking and getting a plan together, making sure we’re prepared for it,” Bell said. “I’m proud of everyone at Toyota, the Toyota Performance Center. Caitlin Quinn has really headed up the department of physical fitness and made sure we’re ready for this challenge. Hopefully, the Toyota drivers are the ones that are succeeding.”

The program was devised by Caitlin Quinn, director of performance for the Toyota Performance Center in Mooresville, North Carolina. She was a strength coach at Florida State University before joining Toyota Performance Center.

Quinn helped drivers learn to perform in a lower oxygen environment when they’re resting, as well as exercise in an environment with less oxygen. Toyota enclosed a space in its center with a bicycle inside it for drivers to ride in a lower oxygen setting.

Quinn said Toyota starting implementing those programs about eight weeks ago for drivers.

“It is different sleeping in a hypoxic environment,” Reddick said. “I’ve noted the changes so far, and I’m excited to see what it’s going to be like.”

___

AP auto racing: https://apnews.com/hub/auto-racing





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Denny Hamlin to miss NASCAR’s first international race after birth of son

MEXICO CITY (AP) — Denny Hamlin will miss NASCAR’s first international race of the modern era to remain in North Carolina following the birth of his child. Ryan Truex will replace him Sunday in Mexico City. “See you guys in Pocono,” Hamlin posted on social media. “We are happy to announce the birth of our […]

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MEXICO CITY (AP) — Denny Hamlin will miss NASCAR’s first international race of the modern era to remain in North Carolina following the birth of his child.

Ryan Truex will replace him Sunday in Mexico City.

“See you guys in Pocono,” Hamlin posted on social media. “We are happy to announce the birth of our son. Everyone is doing well. My main priority is to be here at home for Jordan and our family over the next few days when she is able to go home and we transition to life as a family of five.”

Hamlin and fiancee Jordan Fish now have three children, two daughters and a son born Wednesday. Hamlin had been on baby watch the last 12 days as Fish went nearly two weeks past her predicted due date.

He had planned to get out of the car at Michigan last Sunday if she went into labor early in the race, but when the first stage passed with no word, he went on to score his third win of the season. The victory was the 57th of his career and made him the all-time winningest driver at Joe Gibbs Racing.

Through 15 races this season, Hamlin ranks third in the overall Cup Series standings.

Truex, younger brother of former JGR full-time driver Martin Truex Jr., is Gibbs’ reserve driver. His last Cup Series start was in 2014 and he has 26 starts at NASCAR’s top level.

Hamlin will need NASCAR to grant him a waiver to be eligible to compete in the playoffs for the Cup Series championship. NASCAR during the offseason tightened the rules for granting waivers, but said it would permit a driver skipping an event for the birth of a child.

The 44-year-old Hamlin will snap his streak of 406 consecutive starts. Hamlin last missed a race in 2014 at California Speedway because of an eye irritation.



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