Todd Gilliland looking for breakthrough performance at Talladega

Todd Gilliland's superspeedway runs so far in 2024 may not stand out to the naked eye. 

However, the 23-year-old driver was a pleasant surprise in the first two races of the season at Daytona and Atlanta, and going to Talladega, the third-generation NASCAR driver is looking for a breakthrough performance — and maybe even his first Cup Series win. 

After leading 16 laps in the Daytona 500, Gilliland was a victim of "The Big One" on lap 191. A strong fourth-place qualifying effort at Atlanta the next week put the young driver at the front of the field. After leading 58 of the race's 260 laps, Gilliland was caught up in an incident and was unable to be a part of the race's historic finish. 

In total, Gilliland has led 74 of the 460 laps run on drafting tracks this year, a little more than 16 percent of the laps run on drafting racetracks. 

While Ford has struggled this season, having not won a race in Truck, Xfinity or Cup through the first quarter of the season, it's been the fastest manufacturer on superspeedways in the Cup Series this year. Gilliland and his blue oval teammates should have fast cars on Sunday afternoon. 

Gilliland also has a teammate in Michael McDowell who usually finds himself at the front on superspeedways, as McDowell qualified on the front row for the Daytona 500 before winning his first career pole at Atlanta the next week. He also won the Daytona 500 in 2021, proving that both Front Row Motorsports drivers can lead the field at drafting tracks. 

Of course, Talladega always has the potential to crown a completely random car after a huge crash, but the best drivers usually end up in the mix by the time the white flag flies. With his strong runs at Daytona and Atlanta this year, it seems Gilliland has broken into the contender category on superspeedways. 

Now, it's all up to Gilliland to close the deal and find a way into victory lane on Sunday afternoon.