Gilliland out at Yates Racing

[MRM]

Looks like he was the odd man out with the new dealings. I'm sure his run in with JPM at Texas didn't help any.

Gilliland out? David Gilliland appears to be the odd man out at Yates Racing, where the team says it will field three cars following its new partnership agreement with Hall of Fame Racing. Along with Paul Menard’s #98 [which supposedly would get the owners points from the #38] and Bobby Labonte’s #96, Travis Kvapil’s #28 team is expected to remain while Gilliland and the #38 appear to be out. “I just heard of the thing today, from the Internet, so that’s what I assume,” Gilliland said Wednesday afternoon. “I haven’t actually had a sit-down with them, but I’m still under contract with them through 2009. So we’re just going to have to work through it, and hopefully, we can get something else going.” Gilliland said he’s sorting through the contract and seeing what he’s able to do and what the next step could be, but he understands that the current economic climate makes it tough. He was “a little bit” shocked that he is now likely without a ride just a few weeks before the Daytona 500 and the start of the new Sprint Cup season. “It’s just kind of a bummer that it’s this late in the [offseason], you know?” he said. “We’ll just have to see what we can come up with and see what we can try and do.”(SceneDaily)(1-15-2009)

 

[basscatcher89]

The JPM thing and the many other "incidents" through his short cup career. Everybody figured something like this would happen eventually.

 

[carsntunes]

I think that hiring Gilliland was a desperation move in the beginning. I understand that his first win the Nationwide series was a true underdog story (and I was cheering him on when he did it) it wasn't a "promotion" worthy performance. He really needed more experience in the Nationwide series before he was thrust into the Cup series. I think that Stephen Leicht could have made a better replacement for Sadler, but they didn't ask me. But Yates wanted the next phenom, but didn't get it. If he had a fulltime sponsor, he might have been able to keep his ride, but with mid pack performances, they looked elsewhere. I think he needs to humbly go back to the Nationwide series and take a two year deal with a top notch team and prove himself (ala Jeff Green except with better results) and then try again.

Something interesting I've heard is that the 38 team points will be going to the 96 team instead of the 98 because of the possibility of the 14 team using the past champions provisional. Any news with the 28 team?