On most days, arriving at the win is the top priority of any racer. However, on some days, defense tends to be the best attack in racing as well.
While it has a lot to do with a driver’s skillset on different tracks, other factors, like weather conditions and the shape of their car, play a significant role, too.
As NASCAR heads to Mexico for an international points race after over six decades, it has made the headlines for obvious reasons. Besides, Autódromo Hermanos Rodríguez being one of the highest-altitude tracks in racing, fans are excited about how NASCAR’s NextGen Car fares in Mexico City.
After the practice sessions on the track, several drivers had interesting comments about their experiences. Among them was Todd Gilliland, who highlighted his contest goals.
Todd Gilliland’s Remarks After Clocking the Fastest Practice Lap in Mexico
Gilliland’s season so far has been rather underwhelming. While the driver has shown speed and has impressed with some runs, his performance as a whole lacked a particular edge.
In his 15 starts, the No. 34 driver has two top-10 finishes at CoTA and Martinsville. With an average finish of 19.93, Gilliland currently sits 27th in the overall driver’s ranking chart with 265 points.
After his first DNF of the season at Michigan, when the Front Row Motorsports (FRM) driver headed to Mexico, his No. 34 Ford told a different story.
In the first practice session, Gilliland made a decent run and avoided any setbacks to finish 10th. However, his teammate, Noah Gragson, ran into the outside wall, and with significant damage to his car, the team had to resort to a backup machine.
Michael McDowell of Spire Motorsports dominated the first round with a lap time of 94.024 seconds.
In the second round, Gilliland was faster than most of his contemporaries and impressed with his pace. The No. 34 Mustang also recorded the fastest lap of the day with a time of 93.496 seconds.
After setting the record, the FRM driver briefly faced the cameras and commented on his experience.
“Hopefully, I can just keep it within the walls of the race track and keep it on blacktop. That’s always my goal when coming to a road course.”
Feeling good on Friday. 💪
Hear from @ToddGilliland_ after he puts the No. 34 on top of the speed charts in the second practice session. pic.twitter.com/rSpWyTXqXa
— NASCAR (@NASCAR) June 13, 2025
He then spoke about his speed in the sessions, road courses in general, and the incident with Gragson.
He added, “But yeah, we’ve had some good speed when it comes to road courses. So, it feels really good to be in the ball game with our Ford Mustang. It’s tough with a teammate [Gragson] going to a backup car. Our whole team is going to have to pull together.”
Gilliland was quite happy with how things turned out on the day and expressed his excitement for the upcoming weekend by saying, “Hopefully, we’ll make some more good changes overnight, and it’s exciting. Gives me a good feeling going into the next couple of days.”