“It Was Awkward at Times”: Todd Gilliland Reflects on Being Replaced Years Ago by Current Teammate Zane Smith

It is never an easy transition when a NASCAR driver has to adapt to having a new teammate in the garage. Particularly when the team wants them to share cars. It is what Todd Gilliland had to go through back in 2022 as a driver for Front Row Motorsports. It was his second season with the team, and the driver he was forced to sit along with was Zane Smith.

Gilliland’s first season with the team was a promising affair. He finished fourth at the Indianapolis Road Course and seventh at Talladega. He was also one of the drivers who completed the most laps that season and was poised to build on the success. But then, Spire signed Smith and made them share the No. 38 Ford Mustang in 2023. Smith piloted the car for six races that year.

Advertisement

Gilliland either took over the No. 36 car or drove for Rick Ware Racing in those weekends that the newcomer drove his car. He could have taken this personally and held a grudge against the team or Smith. But what he did instead was use the opportunity to learn more about the Next Gen car. He said, in an interview with Jeff Gluck, that he got to see a different perspective of the car.

“You can really get down a certain path and think it’s the right way, but once you go somewhere else, I feel like you can broaden your horizons a lot,” he quipped.

His relationship with Smithnever crossed a bad line either. Gilliland continued, “Between Zane and me, it was awkward at times. But we kind of knew it wasn’t really between us personally. It took a couple of months, but we got past it.”