TEAM REPORTS (CONCORD, NC.) - GILLILAND TRAVELS TO DAYTONA FOR SPINT CUP SERIES TESTING

A lot can happen in a year and no one can attest to that more than NASCAR Sprint Cup Series driver, David Gilliland. On Monday, Gilliland will travel to Daytona International Speedway for testing in his No. 38 Ford Fusion. One year ago, Gilliland had never seen the track in Daytona Beach, let alone drive on the legendary tri-oval, but something special happened for this talented driver, he won the pole for the 2007 Daytona 500.

This year, Gilliland is no longer a rookie at NASCAR’s most historic track as he looks forward to testing his cars during the second session of NASCAR Sprint Cup Series testing.

“I’m really excited to go to Daytona this week for testing,” Gilliland stated. “Our Yates Racing team has been working extremely hard to get our cars ready to test this month and I’m very proud of all the guys. I had such an amazing experience last year at Daytona during Speedweeks that I’m really looking forward to jumping in my No. 38 Ford Fusion on Monday morning.”

Gilliland will also be reunited with Charles “Cully” Barraclough who will serve as the crew chief for the No. 38 team in 2008. Barraclough served as the crew chief for the No. 88 team towards the end of the 2007 season with veteran driver, Ricky Rudd. Barraclough and Gilliland collaborated a few years earlier when Barraclough was a member of Gilliland’s 2006 Nationwide Series team when Gilliland won that memorable race at Kentucky Speedway which launched him into NASCAR’s limelight.

“I’m thrilled to be reunited with Cully Barraclough for this year,” Gilliland commented. “Cully was on my team when I won my Nationwide Series race in Kentucky back in 2006. He and I have a lot of history and it’s really exciting to be reunited with him this season knowing that he’s my crew chief.”

Gilliland’s teammate, Travis Kvapil tested his No. 28 Ford Fusion in the first Sprint Cup Series test session and yielded promising results for the team during his three-day test session.

“We had a great test with Travis Kvapil and the No. 28 Ford Fusion earlier this week,” stated owner Doug Yates. “We were able to learn a lot of things that we hope to carry into this next week when David (Gilliland) goes down to test. The advantage of a multi-car team is that you can transfer information to both cars and that’s what we plan to do. We’re really looking forward to bringing Cully (Barraclough) and David down this week to Daytona. David had the opportunity to sit on the pole here last year for the Daytona 500 and he’s just very good at these superspeedways. I can’t wait to get down to Daytona with the No. 38 team this week and see what happens.”

Gilliland and the No. 38 Ford Fusion will participate in NASCAR’s testing sessions during the month of January at Daytona International Speedway, Las Vegas Motor Speedway, and California Speedway making their season debut at Daytona for the 50th Running of the Daytona 500 on February 17, 2008. Gilliland won the pole for the Daytona 500 last year when both Yates Racing cars earned the top-two starting positions for “The Great American Race.”

(Photos available upon request)

About Yates Racing Yates Racing operates two motorsports teams in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series. Formerly known as Robert Yates Racing, the team is owned by Doug Yates, who took the reins after his father, Robert Yates, retired at the end of the 2007 season, and partnered with Max Jones; a former road racer and long-time championship General Manager. The 2008 season will mark the 20th year of competition for the Ford team. During those years, the organization had a total of 57 wins, 48 poles, 269 top-five finishes, 427 top-ten finishes, and a NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Championship. Yates Racing will field two Ford Fusions in the 2008 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series, with drivers Travis Kvapil and David Gilliland. For sponsorship inquiries, contact Kevin Thomas with Yates Racing at 704-706-2120.