|| *Comments on the 2006 Meijer 300 Presented By Oreo:* View the most recent comment <#64> | Post a comment <#post> 1. Darrell posted: 06.18.2006 - 2:08 pm Rate this comment: (1) (0) Congratulations David Gilliland! About time we see somebody beside those "I only race for the paycheck" Cup drivers into victory lane. He is an awesome talent. Go David! On a sadder note, get well soon Jeff Fuller. He had a terrible crash during this race and had to go to the hospital. As I type, he is in fair condition. 2. B4il3y posted: 06.18.2006 - 5:02 pm Rate this comment: (2) (0) Underdog city. I love it. Gilliland outdrove 2 of Joe Gibbs young guns to win the race at Kentucky. He didn't back into a win via fuel or pit strategy, he flat out outdrove everyone. He could pull off the corners better than anyone all night long. Hopefully this gives hope to all of the underfunded teams in the NBS. Get well Jeff Fuller. That crash was nasty. 3. Miller4Prez64 posted: 06.18.2006 - 5:06 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Great job David Gilliland! I like the buschwackers but it's always great to see an underfunded team with no sponsors and no cup ties win the race! Good job David. 4. Matthew Sullivan posted: 06.18.2006 - 5:07 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Biggest. Upset. Ever. Fuller's hit was really, really hard. It proves that Safer Barriers are needed all around the track and in the inside walls. 5. dalejrfan15 posted: 06.18.2006 - 5:13 pm Rate this comment: (0) (3) I smell a kulwiki story brewing in a few years. 6. ZKRusty posted: 06.18.2006 - 6:12 pm Rate this comment: (3) (3) .......... Kulwicki story?... You must be new to NASCAR. Gilliland won, and he's a good guy and all, but he just got lucky. I'm not saying I'd rather someone else win, I'm really glad he won, but just because an underfunded team won a race doesn't mean they're going to win championships... 7. mcmurrayfan posted: 06.18.2006 - 6:47 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Very cool to see David win, Stephen Leicht and Steve Walllace also had career best finishes. 8. Anonymous posted: 06.18.2006 - 7:06 pm Rate this comment: (1) (0) ZKRusty, how the hell did he get lucky? He had the fastest car all race long. 9. Darrell posted: 06.18.2006 - 7:12 pm Rate this comment: (1) (0) Anonymous is right. It wasn't a Justin Labonte-fuel mileage win. He was up front with the leaders all night long. 10. Miller4Prez64 posted: 06.18.2006 - 7:23 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Mike Wallace gets a top 5 as well as Ashton Lewis good job to them too 11. tonyfan20 posted: 06.18.2006 - 9:47 pm Rate this comment: (0) (8) greg biffle was the fastest in this race. not David Gilliland. he had the fastest lap of the race too. I'll have to say David Gilliland's win was just luck as well. Johnny Benson wasn't too good in the 2000 winston cup season but he nearly won the race in the Daytona 500 after leading 39 laps. that was luck. 12. tonyfan20 posted: 06.18.2006 - 9:54 pm Rate this comment: (0) (6) don't forget about Jamie McMurray's win on his 2nd winston cup start. That was luck too. 13. Anonymous posted: 06.18.2006 - 9:59 pm Rate this comment: (1) (0) He was in the top 5 all race long. He raced his way from 19th to second by himself. He passed J.J. Yeley because he was faster. To say it was luck is idiotic. 14. tonyfan20 posted: 06.18.2006 - 10:05 pm Rate this comment: (0) (2) So did Jamie McMurray back in 2002 and McMurray lead the most laps of the race. Has Jamie won since? No. Because it was luck. Like David Gilliland. I'll bet you Gilliland won't win any races after this. It was just luck. 15. Anonymous posted: 06.18.2006 - 10:38 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Just because a driver gets one win does not meanm it is luck! 2003 Homestead Cup race was luck. 2004 Chicago Busch race was luck. Having the best car and winning is not luck at all. 16. ZKRusty posted: 06.18.2006 - 10:53 pm Rate this comment: (0) (9) He didn't have the best car. And any motorsport enthusiast will know that it was luck. Explain to me how he had the best car. I want to hear. Mike McLaughlin won at Talladega in 2001 in the Busch race and never won again and he's usually bad at NASCAR racing. He had the best car too and he even admitted it was luck in victory lane. Seriously, I think Gilliland winning and all was great, but his win is way overhyped. Saying "he's going to have a Kulwicki story" is just ridiculous. If he wins another race and some top 5's then I'll believe it isn't luck. 17. Darrell posted: 06.18.2006 - 10:59 pm Rate this comment: (2) (0) You've got to be kidding me. McLaughlin was NOT "usually bad at NASCAR racing". He was one of the smoothest, most consistent drivers in racing. And as for Gilliland, he qualified well, raced smart, and was with the leaders the entire night. He may not have had the best car, but it was good enough to beat a field mostly dominated by Cup guys with more funding and equipment. 18. ZKRusty posted: 06.18.2006 - 11:07 pm Rate this comment: (0) (2) How was he consistent Mr know it all? Maybe back in the 90's. But after the year 2000 he struggeled. He was with Joe Gibbs and his results were terrible. The only series he can be called good in was in the Modifieds. Are you going to call Chad Little consistent as well? 19. Darrell posted: 06.18.2006 - 11:20 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) A fourth-place points finish is not terrible. Especially in a year he didn't even win a race. Kasey Kahne on the other hand, won a race last year and finished 23rd in points. Joe Nemechek won a race in 2003 and finished 25th in points. 20. ZKRusty posted: 06.18.2006 - 11:35 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) That's Winston Cup. The Busch Series is way easier and if you go 15th on back in Busch Series standings most of those drivers are part time drivers and buschwackers. Plus Mike had 16 DNFs from 2000-2002 and, he lost the MBNA sponsorship and Joe dropped him. He wasn't consistent. In truth, without Joe Gibbs' power he is not a very good racer. 21. HMS48 posted: 06.18.2006 - 11:41 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) ZKRusty actually makes a pretty good point. if you cant please your sponsors and your owner you dont really qualify for consistency.. 22. tonyfan20 posted: 06.18.2006 - 11:51 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) "A fourth-place points finish is not terrible." It's not terrible but it doesn't mean he's Consistent. It means he's just an average driver. not anything special though. and i agree with zk without gibbs power Mike is just a sitting duck. 23. tonyfan20 posted: 06.18.2006 - 11:55 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) And talladega racing has drafting, so anyone can win there. take jimmy spencer for example. 24. michael posted: 06.19.2006 - 12:45 am Rate this comment: (0) (6) David Gilliland is the 1st weak driver to ever win ever 25. Thomas posted: 06.19.2006 - 7:46 am Rate this comment: (2) (0) David Gilliland qualified 4th, he ran in the top 10 all night, and at the end, he had the best car on the track. He deserved to win. It was not luck. He completed the American dream. He doesn't have much sponsorship, his cars and engines are all built independently and in-house, he was the 2004 NASCAR West Series rookie of the year, and he is a winning crew chief and fabricator, garnering a Crew Chief of the year award in the West Series in 1997. He proved that a successful driver sometimes must not just be talented at driving the car, but also at setting the car up (example- Ryan Newman, Alan Kulwicki). A lot of races are decided by luck (2006 Las Vegas cup race, where Johnson has a 20th place car for 350 out of 400 miles, and miraculously wins the race on the last turn of the last lap because Matt Kenseth's car craps out after he led almost 220 miles. However, this my fellow gearheads, was not a lucky win. It was an earned win. By the way, thankfully Jeff Fuller is alright. He just had some smoke inhalation and he hurt his hand and wrist. Put the damn SAFER barrier on the inside walls too, and last night's wreck would have been almost a non-issue. 26. Darrell posted: 06.19.2006 - 12:11 pm Rate this comment: (1) (0) THANK you Thomas. For once I agree with you. A lot of people forgot (myself included) that Gilliland recovered from a bad pit stop early in this race that relegated him back in the field. 27. Steve posted: 06.19.2006 - 5:38 pm Rate this comment: (1) (0) Exactly. David Gilliland's win was not luck, it was just a surprise because it was not expected of David or his team to win a race, and so soon! Michael, please explain what you mean when you say: "David Gilliland is the 1st weak driver to ever win ever" To get the grammar thing out of the way, you used 'ever' twice, and you didn't punctuate. But what do you mean by a "weak driver"? Is David a "weak driver" because he does not drive in Nextel Cup or for a Nextel Cup team? Good job, David. Same for Mike Wallace (4th) and Ashton Lewis Jr (5th) for season best finishes, rookies Stephen Leicht (10th) and Steve Wallace (11th) for career best finishes, road racer Boris Said for a 14-place finish on an oval track, and Reed Sorenson for pulling out of the Busch Series to focus on his Nextel Cup Rookie-of-the-Year efforts, making it one less Nextel Cup regular running every Busch race. We had 8 Nextel Cup drivers running this race, who should have been focusing on their Cup cars in Michigan. If the Cup guys are going to run a Busch race, they should have to time into the field if they are in the Top 35 in Cup points. About the Fuller wreck, it looked like he spun out to avoid Jason Leffler's spinning car, and he lost control and hit the inside wall hard. I agree, Thomas, SAFER barriers need to be all around the track. I wouldn't expect to see Jeff Fuller in the 34 car in Milwaukee. 28. Steve posted: 06.19.2006 - 5:42 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Check that. Boris Said had an 14th place finish (I said 14-place). And what I said about Reed Sorenson should not be viewed as a negative opinion about Reed. He's a very talented young man. I'm just sick of seeing Nextel Cup guys dominating every Busch race and occupying the top points positions in Busch all year long! 29. Darrell posted: 06.20.2006 - 3:12 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) I agree Steve. Harvick almost lost it when he tried to pull the Busch-Cup double back in 01. He must have been out of his mind for trying it again. You're also right when you said Fuller spun trying to avoid Leffler. That's what it looked like to me. 30. Thomas posted: 06.22.2006 - 9:11 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) "Harvick almost lost it when he tried to pull the Busch-Cup double back in 01. He must have been out of his mind for trying it again." Best racing quote by anyone all year, Darrell! Also, not to be a nitpicking loser about the site or anything, but Jamie Mosley's #49 was a Chevrolet instead of a Ford in this race because he wrecked hard in qualifying and had to use a backup. Due to a lack of funds, they didn't have another Ford Fusion to use, but you think they could have at least found a Taurus. The only other team I know of who does this is the Front Row Motorsports teams in the Cup series. The #34, #61, and #92 teams seemingly run different makes every weekend with different makes of backup cars. They also rotate drivers every weekend too. 31. JJ Lehto posted: 07.01.2006 - 3:30 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) Not only was it a win from a non buschwacker...it was a win from a driver whos not even full time!! amazing 32. Keitaro posted: 07.05.2006 - 9:15 pm Rate this comment: (0) (3) It was obvious luck. you people are idiots. 33. Darrell posted: 07.16.2006 - 4:14 pm Rate this comment: (1) (0) "It was obvious luck. you people are idiots." Hey, it takes one to know one! Too bad that there are poeple out there convinced that the only talented drivers are the one's who drive for HenRoush. But I guess that's what you get for being one of the n00b NA$CAR fad fans. 34. Keitaro posted: 07.29.2006 - 1:37 am Rate this comment: (0) (4) Hey jackass, I'm not a noob. I've been watching NASCAR since 1994. Anyone with a brain will know that Gilliland was lucky. You're the NASCAR noob from the sound of things. You actually think he'll win races... 35. Darrell posted: 07.30.2006 - 10:05 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Yes, I do think he'll win another race. Several of them, in fact. And even if he doesn't, it was great to see somebody not named Harvick, Biffle, Hamlin, or Edwards win a Busch race. He deserved it, and I don't understand why people are so upset that a guy with no sponsor won. 36. underdogfan posted: 09.19.2006 - 4:03 am Rate this comment: (0) (1) I don't know that Gilliland's win was luck, but I'm just not sure how good of a driver he is. I mean, great job on the win and all, but what else has he done? All his other finishes are pretty low in the field. I think Robert Yates moved him up to Cup too early, but only time will tell. 37. Fenway posted: 09.20.2006 - 8:18 pm Rate this comment: (1) (0) There's luck and then there's rising to the occasion. Remember that Gilliland recovered from his team's poor pit stops and raced his way from the back to the front each and every time. He put himself in position to win and stepped up when he saw the opportunity. If Yeley or Hamlin had won this race, would anyone say it was luck? Mike McLaughlin "bad"? 2002 -- 13.9 average finish, 17 top ten's, 4th in points. He might've been past his prime when he lept into the Rensi Ford and could only manage a second at Dover, but come on now ... 38. Steve posted: 11.15.2006 - 6:44 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) What do all of you Gilliland doubters think of him now? He's continuously posting solid finishes in the top half of the field in a Yates car (no worse than 21st in the last three races), and Yates Racing have struggled lately! Not bad for a driver who was racing in the (formerly Winston) West Series a year ago! Imagine how much better he could run if he were in a Roush Ford! And Keitaro, David Gilliland was only lucky enough to impress Clay Andrews who hired him, to be surrounded with experienced team members (driver coach Jerry Nadeau and crew chief Billy Wilburn), and to have kept his strong racecar out of trouble all night long. 8) 39. McMurrayFan26 posted: 04.09.2007 - 3:23 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) Tony Fan 20 come on Hatin on Spencer u are not a true Stewart Fan him and Jimmy are best friends 40. FHgrad99 posted: 08.29.2007 - 8:38 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) David Gilliland didn't win this race on luck. He had a great car and drove a great race. He probably would have lead more laps if he didn't have to overcome a bad pit stop or two. He started and 4th and before his first pit stop he had been in the top 5 the entire time and was in the top 3 for most of that run. Then he fell back to 19th and drove back through the field passing a lot of good cars in the process. As far as the Mike McLaughlin arguement goes, ask anybody who has raced against him in a modified or a Busch North car how good he is. There is a reason why he was called "Magic Shoes." 41. SK posted: 09.12.2007 - 5:01 pm Rate this comment: (2) (1) Gilliland absolutely was lucky in that his team hit on a picture-perfect setup, and that he caught two key cautions right when he needed them: First, after Bowyer and many of the other leaders had pitted under green, and again to close the 5 second deficit between he and Yeley with about 10 laps to go. But with 21-second pit stops constantly erasing his previous gains, the determination and grit Gilliland displayed in racing back to the front again and again (not to mention the fact that he didn't waste his equipment by virtue of a bad decision on the track) cannot be discounted. 42. Mr. Big posted: 05.26.2008 - 12:31 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Pretty funny that a lot of you are calling this win luck. The guy's pit crew gave him a 19-20 second pit stop, which he recovered from. Gilliland went from 19th to 2nd, by himself. He passed Yeley because he had the faster car. 43. Kit posted: 08.09.2008 - 7:09 pm Rate this comment: (1) (0) tonyfan20 is an idiot. McMurray won in 2002 because he had the BEST car on the track. Gilliland had a top five car here and capitalized it. 44. Steve posted: 12.04.2008 - 2:20 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) That's pretty bold to say Gilliland's car was a Top 5 car. That was a team which did not exist a year before and had almost no money. That was a 20th place car (at best) that Gilliland drove magnificently into a chance to win (and did!). That's what this series is supposed to be about! Unknown drivers coming to the forefront! 45. AlmirolaFan88 posted: 07.27.2011 - 1:57 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Gilliland won this race beating 8 full time Cup guys. I watched this race on youtube recently, and it was impressive how he drove through the field after his slow pit stops. This is still my favorite upset in NASCAR history. 46. 1995z71 posted: 08.16.2011 - 8:10 pm Rate this comment: (1) (0) "Kulwicki story?... You must be new to NASCAR." haha love it! yea that one guy must be new to nascar, lame-o probably has only been watching nascar since what like 16 years now?! noob 47. Derek posted: 10.08.2011 - 3:54 pm Rate this comment: (2) (2) I watched this race and was shocked Gilliland won. It was a fluke, but not luck. He had a top five car all night, and usually that's enough to justify winning. You may notice.. The best car the majority of a race doesn't even win half the time in any of the three main divisions of NASCAR. Nice story for David and the few fan's that actually watched the race.. but that's about it. 48. b4il3y posted: 07.17.2013 - 4:54 am Rate this comment: (1) (1) I watched this race from flag to flag...David had the best car... sorry. If you all bandwagon's dont like it.. then guess you all will have to deal with it.. id say downvote it, but this isn't reddit. 49. b4il3y posted: 05.07.2014 - 3:45 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) #16. He had the best corner speed the whole race, and raced his way up front multiple times. Need anything else? 50. BurningThunder posted: 04.14.2015 - 7:27 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Jamie Mosley drove a Chevrolet in this race. 51. Sarf52 posted: 09.01.2015 - 11:40 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) I've always wondered: how did this team find so much speed for this race? They were no better than a 30th place team before and after this race... 52. Sarf52 posted: 09.01.2015 - 11:40 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Clay Andrews' 84 team, is what I'm referencing 53. Paul posted: 02.06.2016 - 11:58 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) There were 10 drivers pulling double-duty between the Busch race at Kentucky Speedway and either the Cup or Truck races at Michigan International Speedway during this race weekend. (8 Cup drivers, 2 Truck drivers.) Here's a list of the ten substitute drivers that were on-hand for the teams that had drivers traveling back-and-forth between Kentucky and Michigan: #2 - Brandon Miller (sub for Clint Bowyer) #5 - Justin Labonte (sub for Kyle Busch) #18 - Casey Atwood (sub for J.J. Yeley) #20 - Kertus Davis (sub for Denny Hamlin) #21 - Randy LaJoie (sub for Kevin Harvick) #34 - Jeff Fuller (sub for Mike Bliss) #41 - Kevin Hamlin (sub for Reed Sorenson) #60 - Hank Parker, Jr. (sub for Carl Edwards) #66 - Jason Keller (sub for Greg Biffle) #99 - Mark Green (sub for David Reutimann) All eight of the double-duty Cup drivers were able to qualify and race their cars, but the two Truck Series drivers on the entry list were not. Mark Green qualified the No. 99 car for David Reutimann, but Reutimann was able to compete in the race. Mike Bliss was scheduled to drive the No. 34 car, but Jeff Fuller would go on to qualify and race the car at Kentucky. (And unfortunately, Fuller would have that very hard crash during the race.) 54. Windows Millennium Edition posted: 03.20.2016 - 10:37 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) Sponsor updates: #36 National City Bank/Lester Buildings #64 Jackson Roscoe Foundation/Jasper Engines #66 Cub Cadet/Duraflame #00 Yellow Transportation/FleetPride #77 Dollar General/Kleenex #9 Hellmann's/Ragu/Wisk/Klondike 55. The Great Dave posted: 03.25.2016 - 1:51 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) sponsor update #49 Advil/Speed Zone/UK Healthcare 56. Ultimate Warrior #18 posted: 06.07.2016 - 9:39 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) This race is still to me the biggest upset in nascar history. And there was no fluke behind it either David earned this one. 57. Paul posted: 03.17.2017 - 12:24 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Driver changes: DC | Mark Green | 99 | Aaron's | Michael Waltrip | Dodge 58. FrontRowMotorsportsFan posted: 12.12.2017 - 3:49 am Rate this comment: (1) (0) One of my favorite races in the series. Can't believe people are saying Gilliland didn't deserve it or earn it. 59. Mile501 posted: 01.23.2018 - 8:37 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) A few stats about David Gilliland with regard to this race: - Gilliland's first career top-25 finish in the series - Gilliland's first career top-10 start in the series - Gilliland's first laps led in the series - More specifically, Gilliland had never led laps in the series until lap 190 of this race - Gilliland's only top-25 finish in the series in 2006 - One of two lead-lap finishes for Gilliland in the series in 2006 - To date, remains Gilliland's lone top-5 finish in the series - To date, remains Gilliland's lone top-5 finish on a track other than a superspeedway or road course in any of NASCAR's top 3 series - To date, remains the only race in Gilliland's career in the series in which he led laps, except for a single lap at Talladega in 2007 I would definitely say this is the upset of all upsets. And even if Gilliland's career never really took off in the Cup Series, you have to wonder if this win and the publicity that came from it is now helping his very talented son to have more opportunities than he otherwise might have had. 60. Gabriel posted: 04.21.2018 - 6:17 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) I know there have been small teams that gambled on fuel mileage and won, or ran out trying, but did David Gilliland and his team really have the best car that night?!! That's amazing! You will never see something like that ever again at an oval in today's NASCAR! Sadly I didn't watch NASCAR until 2010, but I'm glad I got to watch Jeremy Clements beat Matt Tifft at Road America last year, which was the next such instance of a small team beating a big powerhouse! 61. Kentucky Wildcat posted: 04.21.2018 - 6:50 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) 'Did David Gilliland and his team really have the best car that night?!!' Yes! I missed this race also and I remember I was shocked to hear this the next morning. I have wondered this myself, I watched this race on YouTube a few months ago, yes David Gilliland came out of nowhere this night to pull off the biggest upset in recent memory. At one point, how pit crew had a terrible pit stop dropping him back in the pack. But Gilliand fought back with adversity and came home victorious 62. 34McDowellFan posted: 11.24.2019 - 5:21 pm Rate this comment: (1) (0) Probably the closest J.J. Yeley ever came to winning a NASCAR Busch Series race 63. 27YeleyFan posted: 06.26.2020 - 3:53 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) In other races Yeley has almost won besides Kentucky Charlotte 2007 NEXTEL Cup series - Casey Mears ran out of fuel after winning New Hampshire 2008 Sprint Cup Series - Kurt Busch and Michael Waltrip able to secure up front Memphis Busch Series - Clint Bowyer won 64. Rich posted: 12.28.2020 - 7:27 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) Phil Parsons, Hermie Sadler and Hank Parker Jr. were the commentators. Glenn Jarrett and Mark Garrow were the pit road reporters. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ *Post a comment:* Your comment may not appear immediately - all comments must be approved by the moderator. Name: Comment: