David Gilliland is back at the Snowball Derby because he’s a racer

David Gilliland is still a racer and this is what racers do.

The NASCAR Cup Series veteran turned Truck Series team owner has something very unique amongst all the cars that unloaded for the Snowball Derby this week. In an era of turn key race cars purchased from fleet manufacturers, the No. 98 features a proprietary in-house David Gilliland Racing chassis.

It’s one of a kind and only Ty Majeski in his Toby Nuttleman No. 91 can boast that throwback approach to how things used to be done a long time ago.

Gilliland wants to be competitive but the second-generation racer also wants to return to the innovative roots of racing yesteryear in his first start at Five Flags Speedway in five years.

“Yeah, this is something Steve Leavitt, Greg Marlowe and all our guys were really passionate about doing,” Gilliland said. “This is a David Gilliland Racing chassis, not Tricon Garage. We used to race Super Late Models and won a CARS Tour championship and learned a lot over the years and wanted to take all of that into building our own car.

“I am extremely happy with it right now. We tested twice now and had really, really good speed. It’s really good.”

His son, Cup Series driver Todd began his journey in a DGR Late Model Stock Car and he won the CARS Super Late Model championship with Raphael Lessard. Ultimately, the decision to build a Super Late instead of a Late Model Stock came down to familiarity and joy.

“I grew up racing dirt cars in Southern California but when I transitioned to pavement, these were the cars I first got in,” Gilliland said. “We raced Super Late Models at Mesa Marin and Irwindale. But really, I’ve always said that Super Late Models are the most fun you can have behind the wheel of a race car but they don’t prepare you for NASCAR.

“The Late Model Stock gets you ready for an ARCA car with the weight and power. Layne Riggs is the latest proof of that. But if you’re going to build a car that is just about having fun, this is the car you build.”

At 48 years old, almost a decade removed from his final full-time Cup Series season and with a thriving Truck Series operation, what motivated Gilliland to try something so ambitious?

“This is strictly for fun,” Gilliland said. “I’m a racer and I love racing. I still love driving. It’s been a pleasure to help develop and work with some of these young kids as they come through. It was a shift of focus but it was a kind of natural place to be at as I guided Todd.

“Now Todd, his wings are fully opened, and he’s flying. Our kids at the shop are really good. So I wanted to get back to some of the things that have always excited me, building cars, and picking three or four big races over the next year that I still want to race. I still have the heart and drive and it’s telling me I still need to race a little too.”

Gilliland last competed in a NASCAR race in 2023 at Talladega. The Snowball Derby was the best place to unveil this car because of the days of practice time his brand-new chassis will get. He also says that he looks at the list of winners and it inspires him.

“Like, when we rolled in here today, they hand out pamphlets and it has the list of winners and how could you not want to be on that too,” he said.

Gilliland also said he didn’t experience any rust. From the moment he unloaded, he was in the ballpark with everyone else that was on the track for testing over the weekend.

“The first couple of laps, you’re missing your mark a little bit,” said Gilliland, “but that’s why we came down here for two test days just to shake off the rust. I’m 100 percent ready to go.”

Both David and Todd have raced here over the years and the dad loves this place more than his son. Todd has said he has no interest in racing the Derby or at Five Flags just because it was a challenging track for him while he was a teenager.

David said one of his goals was to have a car build that was so good at the Derby that even his son would want to come back and race with him.

“We came here before and always had pretty good speed but we just had the worst luck,” he said. “That scarred him a little bit but I think we’re going to do pretty well and we’re going to talk him into coming back next year too.”