GILLILAND LIVING OUT HIS FATHER'S DREAM SON GETS CHANCE WITH HIGH-PROFILE TEAM.

Byline: TIM HADDOCK Staff Writer

FONTANA - Three races into his NASCAR Nextel Cup Series career, David Gilliland has yet to finish better than 32nd.

Still, the Riverside driver -- who has raced NASCAR late models, Southwest Series tour cars and West Series stock cars at tracks big and small throughout Southern California and the West Coast -- is grateful for the opportunity to drive for Robert Yates Racing, one of the highest-profile teams in the Cup Series.

He's grateful because his father, Butch Gilliland, a NASCAR Winston West champion, never quite got the same opportunity.

``I've been through all the ups and downs of him and racing,'' said David Gilliland, who was crew chief on his dad's car when they won the West Series championship in 1997.

``And being so close to making it, but coming up a little bit short ... that's where the reality is -- most people don't make it at this level.''

Butch Gilliland's Cup career consisted of 10 races. His best finish was 24th, twice at what was then Sears Point Raceway in Sonoma. The most money he won in a race was $24,625. His career Cup earnings: $118,670.

David Gilliland, a 30-year-old Cup rookie, won almost that much in his past race. His 40th-place finish at Bristol (Tenn.) Motor Speedway, the worst of his two with Robert Yates Racing, with whom he has a three-year commitment, netted him $109,758.

The amount of money he wins in a race does not compare to being in a Cup car on a regular basis. He knows he is living a dream most drivers, like his dad, never come close to realizing.

``I know that because I've been on the other side of him not making it,'' Gilliland said. ``It's really special for our family.''

So special, it actually gave Butch Gilliland a reason to care about stock car racing again.

``My dad's really excited,'' David Gilliland said. ``He had some bad run-ins with racing toward the end of his career.''

Butch Gilliland's last season racing full-time on the West Series was 2000. His last NASCAR race was in 2002 at California Speedway.

``He was burnt out on the whole racing deal for a while and didn't watch too much of it,'' David Gilliland said. ``He went a different direction. By me getting this opportunity, it's re-sparked his interest in racing.''

Robert Yates Racing brought Gilliland on board at midseason to finish the season in the team's No. 38 Ford Fusion.

That is the same team that won at California Speedway with Elliott Sadler two years ago and won the Cup championship with Dale Jarrett as driver in 1999.

Robert Yates Racing has a storied history, but its recent past has been far from glowing.

Jarrett is 26th in points, long eliminated from qualifying for the Chase for the Championship, the 10-race playoff to determine the Nextel Cup Series champion.

Sadler, two years removed from making the Chase, is racing for Evernham Motorsports in the No. 19 Dodge, the result of a mutual split that left an open seat at Robert Yates Racing.

Gilliland filled that seat. He gained the attention of Cup owners when he won a NASCAR Busch Series race at Kentucky Speedway earlier this year.

It took a while, having to work out the details of letting Sadler move over to Evernham Motorsports, but Gilliland is expected to finish the season with Robert Yates Racing. That means he will be entered in 14races before the team starts fresh at Daytona International Speedway in February for the Daytona 500.

``I want to learn these Cup cars at these tracks,'' Gilliland said. ``We've learned a lot in these two weeks. We've wrecked both times, but we've learned a lot. By finishing the season, I feel next year it's really going to give us an advantage.''

He also is getting to know his new team, which includes crew chief Todd Parrott -- who led Jarrett to his Cup championship in '99.

``The main goal is just to get him track and seat time and for us to learn each other as a team and for him to get used to these car,'' Parrott said.

``We want to run well and finish, but the main thing is for him to get experience and hopefully learn from the mistakes.''

As Gilliland prepares for his fourth career Cup race today at California Speedway, his goals are modest. He wants to qualify well and finish the race.

Gilliland will start 20th in the NASCAR Nextel Cup Series Sony HD 500. Kurt Busch, driver of the No. 2 Dodge Charger for Penske Racing South, won the pole with a lap at 184.540 mph and 39.016 seconds Friday.

``A good day for us would be a top-20 finish,'' said Gilliland, who hosted a dinner Friday night at California Speedway for all his past car owners. ``I've had so many great people behind me for so many years, that's what makes this stuff all possible.''

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2 photos

Photo:

(1 -- color) David Gilliland will start 20th in today's NASCAR Nextel Cup Series Sony HD 500 at California Speedway.

(2) David Gilliland, center, speaks with Cully Barraclough, left, and Todd Parrott after qualifying for the NASCAR Sony HD 500.

Will Lester/Staff Photographer