Any way he slices it, life in NASCAR's fast lane can't get much better for former Riversider David Gilliland.  First Gilliland, the 30-year-old who cut his racing teeth at Perris Auto Speedway and other California short tracks, outraced more veteran drivers and finished runner-up to Tony Stewart in the Bud Shootout exhibition race at Daytona International Speedway.  Then he put the Robert Yates Racing M& M Ford on the pole for the Daytona 500 with a qualifying speed of 186.320 mph.  In his first Great American Race, Gilliland overcame a pit-road accident and was among the leaders until the very end, when he got caught up in the multi-car pileup on the last lap.  Still, he finished eighth behind Kevin Harvick.

"I thought we had it," Gilliland said after the Daytona 500.  "Guys started wrecking and it kind of came away and we were going through the middle.  I was in front of Harvick, and it just kind of closed in on me at the end.  But an eighth-place finish after all we went through, we'll take it.  We had a great car. 

Now it's a homecoming of sorts for Gilliland as he prepares to run his second Nextel Cup Series race Sunday at California Speedway in Fontana.  "There is no other feeling in the world like this," Gilliland said of his early-season performance.  "I'm loving every minute of it."

Gilliland will also drive the No. 25 FreeCreditReport.com Ford Fusion for Team Rensi Motorsports in the Busch race this weekend.  This event marks Gilliland’s first NASCAR Busch Series race at the California Speedway.  “Any time I go to California Speedway it’s like going home,"Gilliland said.

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