Each week, The Athletic asks the same 12 questions to a different race car driver. Up next: Todd Gilliland of Front Row Motorsports, who heads this weekend to Talladega Superspeedway, where he has the second-best career average finish of any active NASCAR Cup Series driver. This interview has been edited and condensed, but the full version is available on the 12 Questions podcast.
1. What was one of the first autographs you got as a kid, and what do you remember about that moment?
I have no idea, to be honest. I’ve really got no memory at all of anything.
Is that because you were the son of a driver, so you didn’t want to go around getting autographs?
I was very amazed by the other drivers. I was a massive Kyle Busch and Jimmie Johnson fan. But I also felt because I was semi- in it, I shouldn’t get their autographs — even though, at this point, it does not matter at all. I just felt like I should probably just cheer for these guys and fan-boy off to the side a little bit.
2. What is the most miserable you’ve ever been inside a race car?
My first year in Cup at Auto Club Speedway. I was in Group B (for practice), and not miserable necessarily, but just so nervous. Like out-of-my-mind nervous. We’d seen all those guys wreck (in practice) — (Ross) Chastain, (Kevin) Harvick and all the guys were hitting that bump and wrecking. I’m like, “Man, I know these guys have a lot more experience than me, so I better pay maximum attention right here.” So that was probably the most nervous I’ve been.
Were you, like, shaking nervous?
Yes, I was about to throw up before I got in the car. But it wasn’t that bad. We survived it, but it was definitely in my head a little bit.
3. Outside of racing, what is your most recent memory of something you got way too competitive about?
One thing our friend group gets way too competitive (about) is beer pong. Playing with Christian Eckes and Zane Smith, they will make up their own rules as you go. It’s just the maximum level of frustration, like, “You’re just changing the rules!” But they don’t care. They will swear to their death those were the rules to begin with, and they’re not changing anything.
4. What do people get wrong about you?
Personality-wise, I’ve been really happy people are realizing I’m just a big, goofy guy, realistically. But one thing people don’t realize when I meet them is my actual height. Literally every fan I meet for the first time is like, “Man, I did not realize you were so tall.” So, getting some height in the NASCAR division, hopefully the fans realize there’s at least a few of us who are pretty tall.
There’s very rarely a full-body, head-to-toe (photo) next to the car, right? It’s usually just chest up and it’s very hard to tell. And then obviously if there’s a casual fan watching the races, you obviously have no clue how tall we are; we’re just sitting down with our helmet on.
5. What kind of Uber passenger are you, and how much do you care about your Uber rating?
I’m the nervous Uber rider whenever I get my friends in there because I’m usually the one who orders the Uber. I’m paying attention like, “Alright, dude, it’s time to go. Things are just not going to get any better from here, so we should probably head out.” So I’m the first one to the Uber. “For Todd?” “Yes.” And I hop in the front seat, because I do not want any of my friends sitting in the front seat, that’s for sure.
And then I’m just sitting up there, shaking my leg, just like, “Please, dude …” If I hear a window rolling down (for someone to throw up), that’s a bad sign. I’m praying we make it into my driveway or wherever else we’re going.
I have kind of a bad Uber rating for how respectful I am in the Uber. I’m working on it. I’m getting it up.
You’re frustrated that it’s not closer to five stars?
I feel like it should be 4.99 at the worst. Let’s see here. (Pulls out phone.) 4.93, so I guess that’s not bad.
6. This is a wild-card question. There’s been a lot of talk about driver personalities and how some drivers don’t feel they can be their true selves in public. Do you feel that way? Are there any obstacles for you to be authentic in interviews?
I don’t think so. Personally, sometimes I don’t have all the right things to say. I’m definitely not the best speaker, so that stuff is probably not my best character trait.
I don’t feel like I’m holding anything back, but at the same time, there are always some things you should probably stay away from. If I was getting questions about the Martinsville Xfinity race, I don’t really have a strong opinion on it — but obviously everybody is looking for a strong opinion, right? So I feel like those are the times you just have to be smart. But I feel like that’s really anything in the world, right? Sometimes your whole opinion isn’t needed.
The NASCAR Cup Series returns to Talladega this weekend. Todd Gilliland has three top-10s in six career Cup Series starts at the Alabama superspeedway. (James Gilbert / Getty Images)
7. This is my 16th year of doing the 12 Questions, so I’m going back to an older one. I went back to our first interview, which was 2017. You were 17 and had just finished your junior year of high school. At the time I asked you, “What is your middle finger policy on the racetrack?” You said you never flipped anybody off, but “maybe that will change someday.” So here we are, eight years later. Has that changed?
It’s come full circle. In 2017, I was really young and very scared — and then for awhile, I got a little overconfident. But I just feel like (giving the finger) helps nothing. You can vent your frustration many other ways. And a lot of times now, everybody has an onboard camera. There’s going to be some guy who clips it and puts it on Twitter — which I personally love for my viewing purposes of other people, but not as much when it’s mine.
So yeah, for awhile I did it, and then I realized it makes people more mad and makes nothing better. Now I keep my hands on the wheel, and I’ve realized that’s better for me.
8. Other than one of your teammates, name a driver who you would be one of the first people to congratulate them in victory lane if they won a race?
Harrison Burton or Christian Eckes in Xfinity. In the Cup Series, to be honest, probably nobody. I am just not really like that. It’s a very selfish thing to say, and I don’t like that part, but if someone else is winning, I’m just truthfully not that happy for them. It’s cool to see people win, and everybody has worked really hard, but at the same time, I want that most for my team and myself.
9. How much do you use AI technology, whether for your job or your daily life?
I’ve used it a couple times. It’s this whole rabbit hole; I just can’t figure it out. But I love how creative people are with it. I wish I had it when I was in school, but I feel like that (would) only last for a week or two because teachers were on it and you could probably trace it back pretty easily. Overall, it’s amazing, but I’m not a massive user of it.
10. What is a time in your life you felt was really challenging but you are proud of the way you responded to it?
The toughest time was when I was racing at Kyle Busch Motorsports in the Truck Series, but definitely not happy with how I responded to it, obviously, in the long run there. (After Gilliland won a race at Martinsville, he infamously told Busch to “stay in your f—ing motorhome” after a year of frustration and lack of support from the team owner.) But overall, I became so much stronger from all of that.
We were just talking about 2017, when we did our first (interview). At the time, everything was going so well. We were winning a lot of K&N Series races. I had a great opportunity going into the next year at KBM, and in 2019 after that, I had such high expectations I was going to jump in and be able to win right away, and we weren’t able to. That crushed me and took away all of my confidence.
At the same time, that’s not racing. Racing is not all winning and good stuff every weekend. That definitely prepared me for getting into the Cup Series and the grind it is, having to stay focused every week.
11. What needs to happen in NASCAR to take the sport to the next level of popularity?
That’s the million-dollar question. I saw a video where the guy said the Daytona 500 used to get 20 million viewers (the record was 19.4 million in 2006). That’s a massive difference (the race drew 6.8 million this year). That’s our biggest race, and it seems like it’s doing good, but it’s hard. We have to get into bigger audiences, but how do you get people to show up or to come to the race?
Going to L.A. (for the Clash at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum) was super interesting because we put it right in the middle of everybody. It made it the easiest possible for people to come. And it was a big crowd, but it wasn’t sold out and it wasn’t as much of an event as I felt like it should have been. And NASCAR and all the drivers and the team side did a super good job of promoting it and everything.
So I don’t know. Nowadays, there’s so much stuff on TV, so much content out there. To be honest, I don’t even really watch that much normal TV. I’m always on YouTube or Netflix. So the Netflix (docuseries) is a really good thing. I’ve seen more drivers getting into YouTube (vlogging) stuff. That could really blow up. Those are two good steps.
12. Each week, I ask a driver to give me a question for the next person. The last one was William Byron and he wants to know about the Easter break: What are you going to do and do you think it’s enough time to reset your brain and get out of the grind of the season?
On a normal one week off, it’s not enough time to reset and get away. But this year is really nice with Talladega being our race after you come back. At least from a driver’s side, the preparation is different than a mile-and-a-half (track). There’s not going to be that massive emphasis on this weekend of doing everything. So that will feel like the off week is another three days longer, and that’ll make it to where you can probably shut off and regroup and go right back within a couple days.
We’re going to Turks and Caicos. My wife (Marissa) has never been there. I went there as a kid a couple times, and I love the beach, love some warm weather.
The next interview is with Ryan Preece. Do you have a question I can ask him?
What is the best thing about having kids, and what is the hardest thing about having kids?
(Top photo of Todd Gilliland during driver introductions for the Bristol race earlier this month: Sean Gardner / Getty Images)
