Rookie Gilliland heads to Mexico

Philadelphia Daily News, March, 2007 by BILL FLEISCHMAN

While the Nextel Cup vagabonds take the weekend off, David Gilliland will be racing south of the border.

Gilliland and several other Cup drivers are competing Sunday in the Busch series' Mexico 200 in Mexico City.

"I've heard nothing but great things about racing [at the Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez]," he said. "The fans from Mexico are so passionate about the race."

Gilliland, a 30-year-old Cup rookie, made an impressive Daytona debut by qualifying fastest. He led the first 18 laps, which is 18 more than many observers thought a rookie driver would lead. Gilliland finished eighth.

Gilliland gained attention last June by winning a Busch series race at Kentucky in an unsponsored car. After Robert Yates Racing signed him, Gilliland ran 14 Cup races (winning one pole, at Talladega).

Some young racers are swept up in all the glamour and high finances that accompany Cup racing. The ...