This year has marked a period of significant change and challenge for Todd Gilliland in the NASCAR Cup Series, as he stepped into the Todd Gilliland NASCAR 2025 season as a senior presence within Front Row Motorsports. Navigating fluctuating race outcomes, an ongoing legal controversy involving his team and 23XI Racing, and a shifting team dynamic, Gilliland’s reflections offer insight into both the intensity and the camaraderie that have defined his journey.
Emerging as the Veteran Amid Youthful Teammates
Since making his debut as a rookie with Front Row Motorsports (FRM) in 2022, Gilliland has completed four full-time seasons, accumulatiing one top-five and 13 top-10 finishes. In 2025, despite being only 25 years old, Gilliland found himself as the most experienced driver among his teammates, Zane Smith and Noah Gragson. This year, Gilliland has secured three top-10 results, with his standout performance being a sixth-place finish at the Brickyard 400 held at Indianapolis Motor Speedway. Each week, the climate of the team has been shaped by not only racing ambitions but also by an ongoing legal dispute involving FRM, NASCAR, and 23XI Racing.
Though the season did not result in a playoff berth for Gilliland, he remains focused on honing his racing skills in anticipation of the next season. Recently, he sat down with reporter Dalton Hopkins of Frontstretch at Kansas Speedway to discuss his experiences throughout 2025 and how he is preparing both mentally and physically for the challenges ahead.
Ups and Downs: Assessing Performance and Team Dynamics
Gilliland’s self-assessment of his season highlighted both progress and obstacles. Comparing 2025 to the previous year, he acknowledged a mix of misfortune and decreased consistency in race results. Where the prior summer had brought a string of solid top-15 and top-20 runs, Gilliland described a promising start to this season followed by a difficult slump beginning in May. Incidents such as damage at Pocono Raceway and an early crash in Chicago sidelined momentum, contributing to several weeks of unsatisfying finishes and making it challenging for FRM to regain rhythm. As the team strives toward better results, Gilliland emphasized a need for greater ‘speed at the racetrack’ to elevate their baseline performance.
Shifting from last year’s dynamic, where Michael McDowell served as the senior driver, Gilliland has embraced the role of veteran among Smith and Gragson. He described the relationship among the FRM drivers as rooted in friendship, stating they often discuss off-track topics, with racing strategies and ideas emerging naturally in conversations. This team chemistry has played a role in sustaining morale despite external challenges, and Gilliland recognized both the positives and the learning curve that came with the generational shift within the garage.
Navigating External Pressures: Legal Issues and Focus
The 2025 season has also been tumultuous off the track, with Front Row Motorsports entangled in a high-profile legal battle with NASCAR. When discussing the potential distractions of this lawsuit, Gilliland was candid about the difficulty of blocking out media noise, noting the inescapable flow of information on social media and in the news. Nevertheless, he highlighted the importance of maintaining a sense of focus and unity within the team, believing that individual drivers are best served by concentrating on their roles and leaving legal matters to owners and managers. Gilliland’s leadership in keeping his teammates motivated through distraction underscores his growing stature in the garage.
“Obviously, you read everything and see all the news articles, right? I mean, it’s social media nowadays. That’s the good and the bad, I guess, right? You see everything. I think for me, the biggest goal all year is just keep our team focused, right? I know there’s nothing that we can do about it. So, keep doing our jobs. Obviously, we’re here racing because that’s what we love to do. And we have a great opportunity ahead of us. So that’s just what I’ve been telling everyone all year. We’re going to obviously leave the rest to our owners and managers and all that stuff, right? It’s completely, completely out of our control. So, just do the best we can and make the most of every opportunity regardless.” – Todd Gilliland, Driver
Finding Balance: Life Away From the Track
Despite the unrelenting schedule and intensity of the Cup Series, Gilliland has sought ways to find balance and decompress mentally. One significant outlet for him is golf, which serves both as a recreational escape and a chance to interact with industry peers. Gilliland recounted casual rounds with figures like Jeff Burton and Steve Letarte, describing friendly competition and the unique nerves that sometimes accompany a close golf match—nerves he compared closely to those felt behind the wheel in the final laps of a race.
“Dude, my golf game’s up and down, but man, I was just playing golf yesterday before we came up here to Kansas, and it was the last hole. It was a close match, and I was super nervous. Like my heart was pounding. I was like, ‘Dang, it’s crazy that I get so nervous over this. I think it’s just that I don’t have confidence in my golf game whatsoever. When we’re in racing, I’m a little bit more confident. So, yeah, it’s definitely fun. It definitely takes my mind off it, right? It’s one of those things where I’ve got to focus for four hours. I just don’t really look at my phone much while I’m playing golf, and it’s kind of nice just to relax and hang out a little bit.” – Todd Gilliland, Driver
Playing golf with colleagues during travel-filled weekends provides colleagues like Gilliland, Jeff Burton, and Steve Letarte a rare opportunity for relaxation amid hectic schedules. These moments contribute to mental recharge and strengthen the bonds formed through racing, with Gilliland noting the dual benefit of camaraderie and stress relief.
Managing Stress and Preparing for the Next Chapter
The demands of a record-setting 27-race Cup Series season have tested even the most experienced drivers and teams. Gilliland acknowledged the breadth of this challenge, not just in terms of physical endurance but in the continuous grind that affects every member of the team, from drivers to crew members and truck drivers. The exhaustion felt after each weekend translates into a need for recovery, and Gilliland expressed that the well-being of his team is a major priority as the year wraps up. He shared that while he looks forward to rest, it is often his crew members who bear the greatest week-to-week burden.
“Yeah man, it’s been a tough stretch. 27 races, I think? The longest in NASCAR history. So, I think everybody is, right? Because driving the car and getting home, like Mondays, I have pretty much just kind of recoup and get ready wherein my team and our truck drivers and everybody else, is working almost every day during the week, and then we go racing. Man, it’s more than a full-time job. I’m more excited for these guys to be able to take a break. I am still excited to just relax a little bit, take my mind off it. It’s still a grind if it’s just going back-to-back-to-back.” – Todd Gilliland, Driver
His approach to offseason planning has shifted since his rookie year. Gilliland now prefers to avoid over-scheduling and instead take a spontaneous break, believing that downtime is best enjoyed when unplanned. This change is grounded in past experience, in which a busy offseason led to burnout just ahead of the new racing calendar.
“I don’t. I think that was my biggest mistake of my rookie year off-season. I just wanted to plan stuff, and then I feel like it flew by because I was busy non-stop, and I was just as tired when I got back to Daytona. My last couple years, I’ve just been trying to hang out and not do a single thing at all, and whatever comes up, comes up. That’s kind of my goal for this year as well.” – Todd Gilliland, Driver
Looking Ahead: Continuing the Journey
With the 2025 NASCAR season nearing its conclusion, Todd Gilliland is closing out a year marked by challenges both on the track and within his team environment. As the most experienced member of FRM’s roster, he has navigated adversity while fostering strong relationships with teammates Zane Smith and Noah Gragson. The lessons learned this year—about teamwork, focus under pressure, and the importance of maintaining mental equilibrium—will shape his approach to the 2026 season.
Gilliland’s reflections illustrate the complexity of competition at NASCAR’s highest level, where success requires not only speed but adaptability, leadership, and resilience. With a break ahead and ambitions set on returning stronger, Todd Gilliland’s journey through the NASCAR 2025 season remains a testament to perseverance amid uncertainty and the ongoing evolution of Front Row Motorsports.
