Gilliland Will Attempt Daytona 500 For Front Row Motorsports

David Gilliland will attempt to compete in the 2016 Daytona 500, after all.

Not long after appearing to be excluded from Front Row Motorsports’ plans for the coming Sprint Cup Series season, Gilliland was announced today as the driver of a third FRM Ford in next weekend’s season opener.

Gilliland drive the No. 35 Ford, with sponsorship to be announced. He will race at Daytona as a teammate to veteran Landon Cassill and rookie Chris Buescher, both of whom are scheduled to run the entire season.  

As a former Daytona 500 pole winner, Gilliland is eligible to compete in this weekend’s Sprint Unlimited, but FRM is not expected to field a car for him in that event. It is possible that he could be named to replace the injured Tony Stewart in Saturday night’s non-point race, before driving for Front Row in the Daytona 500.

Gilliland finished third in the 2011 Daytona 500 for FRM, and was 11^th last year.