Todd Gilliland didn’t enter Sunday’s race at Talladega as a championship contender. However, he left the track with a career-best finish after he finished as the runner-up behind race winner Chase Briscoe, who is now in the Championship 4. Needless to say, it was a good day for the Front Row Motorsports driver. Before Talladega, Gilliland’s best finish was a P4, which came back in 2022 at the Indianapolis Grand Prix Circuit.Speaking with NBC Sports after the race, Gilliland reflected on his day and said:“I’m definitely excited, but maybe wishing a little bit what I could’ve done differently. I’m sure in 10 or 15 minutes it will sink in and I’ll be pretty happy. I mean, that’s just the dream, right? To be in contention to win a race like this, and I certainly think we had everything to get it done in our Ford Mustang.“We just came up a bit short. It happened to work out right that I saw my teammates a lot today, and we work well together. I’m really proud of them and really happy with that.”Todd’s father, David Gilliland, also a former NASCAR racer, was among the #34 driver’s support group on pit road. As 2025 hasn’t been a stellar season for the team, the elder Gilliland believed that his son’s runner-up finish at Talladega would bring some momentum.“Monday, he’s (Todd Gilliland) going to wake up and really take in the huge accomplishment,” said David Gilliland, via The Racing Experts. “Their team hasn’t had the best year this year, so hopefully this will build some momentum.”Todd Gilliland now has his first top 5 in NASCAR’s 2025 Cup Series campaign. 34 races into the season, the Statesville native sits 29th in the driver standings. Next up for him is the Xfinity 500 at Martinsville Speedway on October 26, which marks the final race before the field is set for the NASCAR Cup Series Championship 4 at Phoenix a week later.NASCAR insider reveals David Gilliland’s post-race message to his son Todd GillilandAs Todd Gilliland spoke to the reporters after the Talladega event was over, his father, David, came over and whispered something in his ear. Journalist and NASCAR insider Steven Taranto was among the reporters who interviewed the FRM standout.Revealing what David told Todd Gilliland, Taranto wrote on X:“Todd Gilliland said his dad told him he was proud of him. He ties his father's best ever Cup finish of second at Sonoma in 2008.”David Gilliland finished second at Talladega in the spring of 2013. His then-teammate at Front Row Motorsports, David Ragan, had won the race. Noting the same, Taranto himself slid into the comments section and wrote:“well actually David Gilliland also finished second at Talladega in 2013 sir.”Todd Gilliland, who is in his fourth season driving for Front Row Motorsports, has driven his entire Cup Series career for the North Carolina-based team. He used to drive the No. 38 earlier, which is now driven by Zane Smith. Gilliland moved to the No. 34 team following Michael McDowell’s move to Spire Motorsports in 2025.