NASCAR: Top drivers of 2014 – No. 30 David Gilliland - and series recap - MotorSportsTalk

Today we wrap up our series of the 30 top drivers of 2014 today with 30th-ranked David Gilliland.

Here are the drivers and dates that their season reviews ran on. Click on the driver’s name to read their 2014 recap and look-ahead to 2015:

Dec. 11 Kevin Harvick, Ryan Newman
Dec. 12 Denny Hamlin, Joey Logano
Dec. 13 Brad Keselowski, Jeff Gordon
Dec. 14 Matt Kenseth, Dale Earnhardt Jr.
Dec. 15 Carl Edwards, Kyle Busch
Dec. 16 Jimmie Johnson, Kurt Busch
Dec. 17 AJ Allmendinger, Greg Biffle
Dec. 18 Kasey Kahne, Aric Almirola
Dec. 19 Kyle Larson, Jamie McMurray
Dec. 20 Clint Bowyer, Austin Dillon
Dec. 21 Paul Menard, Brian Vickers
Dec. 22 Marcos Ambrose, Martin Truex Jr.
Dec. 23 Tony Stewart, Casey Mears
Dec. 24 Ricky Stenhouse Jr., Danica Patrick
Dec. 25 Justin Allgaier, David Gilliland

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

David Gilliland

Season finish: 30th

2014 Season Stats: 0 wins, 0 top-5, 0 top-10, 1 Pole.

What went right: Gilliland struggled to a 30th place finish in 2014. High points were few, but there were some: He earned the pole for the Coke Zero 400 race at Daytona in July (unfortunately he wrecked in the race and finished 35th). He also led 14 laps during the season, with his best finishes being 17th in the second Pocono race and 21st on the road course at Sonoma.

What went wrong: It was a difficult season for Gilliland, who recorded his third finish of 30th place in the last four seasons, and finished 30th or worse in five of the last six seasons. Even a switch in crew chiefs, from Frank Kerr to Jay Guy after the fall Chase race at Kansas really didn’t make that much of a difference. Interestingly, Gilliland started the season 34th after the Daytona 500 and never varied much, being ranked between 30th and 34th.

2015 Prospectus: Gilliland is expected to return to drive the No. 38 Ford Fusion for Front Row Motorsports once again in 2015. There have been no announcements to the contrary. Likewise, there have been no announcements that Guy will not return as crew chief for Gilliland, either. While there have been rumors that teammate David Ragan, who finished 32nd in 2014, may not return to FRR and possibly be replaced by Cole Whitt, it’s looking more like FRR will have a three-car lineup of Gilliland, Ragan and Whitt. One other thing to keep an eye on is Gilliland’s 14-year-old son, Todd, who has become quite a proficient late model racer.

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Vicki Golden has earned a career worthy of a thousand stories and 805 Beer tells at least one of them, as “Inverted Perspective” premiered March 30 on the company’s website and YouTube channel.

Golden did more to break the glass ceiling in SuperMotocross than she ever thought possible. She knows this because riders have never felt the need to explain any of her accomplishments with the disclaimer, “for a girl”.

At this point in Golden’s career, she’s been the first woman to finish top 10 in AMA Arenacross Lites, the first woman to qualify in the Fast 40 in Monster Energy AMA Supercross and the first woman to compete in freestyle Moto X competition, earning a bronze medal by doing so.

Her love for moto came from childhood while she watched her dad and brother ride. By seven she was on her bike and making waves throughout Southern California.

Golden, 30, is still madly in love with the sport and has no plans on moving away but her career is already one to talk about. 805 Beer’s film series wanted to do exactly that.

“I’m taken aback by it all,” Golden told NBC Sports about the documentary. “It’s just crazy to see your story, it’s one thing to live your life and battle everything that comes about but it’s another to just sit there and talk about it.”

805 approached Golden about the feature by asking, “Do you even realize that what you do, and your story is special?”

Golden took the question as a blank canvas to map out the highs and lows of her career and life.

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The title “Inverted Perspective” came from a brainstorming session with Dominick Russo and it highlights Golden’s outlook on the sport of SuperMotocross and her life in general.

“My whole life, my whole career was thinking differently and looking at things that shouldn’t be done and aren’t there, while being able to make a place for myself, where no one thought there should be a place,” Golden said. “It’s inspiring someone to think in different ways. It sums up my life.”

*Vicki Golden is not “fast for a girl”; she’s just fast. – 805 Beer*

While Golden is no stranger to the spotlight, this was the first time she’s been fully involved with the storytelling and creation of a feature about herself.

“It’s not like a full new experience,” Golden said. “Obviously, you get your standard questions about your upbringing and accomplishments, but I’ve never really put into perspective things that happened in my past with my dad and putting that to light. Also, certain other things that maybe got overlooked in previous interviews or films. I wanted to touch on these and Dom wanted to create a story. It’s just cool to see it come to light, it’s a nearly impossible thing to tell somebody’s life story in 40 minutes.”

Golden’s father was left paralyzed after an ATV accident, robbing him the opportunity to ride again. This happened a few months before the father-daughter duo was set to compete in the Loretta Lynn’s Amateur Nationals when Vicki was 12. While she might have been unable to grasp the severity at the time, it’s something she carries with her. Golden continues to ride in his honor.

Years later, an accident in 2018 nearly sidelined the then 25-year-old Vicki when a freestyle accident almost resulted in the amputation of her lower leg.

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Golden 805 Beer — *Vicki Golden has ridden a variety of disciplines in SuperMotocross, which gives her a unique perspective. – 805 Beer*

“Inverted Perspective” highlights her father’s diligence in helping Vicki continue with her career and the kindness and strength he carried while fighting his own battle.

“My dad was the entire reason that I started riding in the first place,” Golden said. “So, to honor his memory and to honor what we went through and how hard he pushed to keep our dream alive and keep everything going – in that sense then, it was really special to be able to honor him and talk about him.”

The 40-minute feature was filmed entirely in black and white, a stark contrast from the oversaturated world of motocross where the brighter the suit the easier it is for fans to find their rider and follow him in the race. By filming in monochrome Russo and Golden had the chance to focus on the race and track from a different perspective.

“It was cool to be able to film it differently,” Golden said. “It created a challenge in the sense of what was going to be more visually impactful for the film.

“I couldn’t be here without the companies that back me but at the same time, it’s not like the logos or colors disappeared, it’s just different lights shed on different spots. It’s just a cool way to do it and to take color away and still be impactful. When you think of black and white, you think of old school, the OG way of doing things.”

NASCAR: Top drivers of 2014 – No. 30 David Gilliland — and series recap

Vicki Golden and 805 Beer tell a unique story from an Inverted Perspective

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