David Gilliland's best finish in his debut Cup season was 15th, at Talladega and again at Atlanta. Credit: Autostock

Yates turns to Gilliland, ? to start win string anew

Team in transition went without a victory for first time since 1989

It was one of those many moments that were lost in the Jimmie Johnson-soaked crowd.

When the checkered flag flew in the Ford 400 at Homestead, it officially ended Robert Yates Racing's incredible streak of 17 consecutive seasons with at least one victory.

Inside the Numbers Robert Yates Racing victories Year Driver Wins 1989 D. Allison 2 1990 D. Allison 2 1991 D. Allison 5 1992 D. Allison 5 1993 D. Allison 1   E. Irvan 2 1994 E. Irvan 3 1995 D. Jarrett 1 1996 E. Irvan 2   D. Jarrett 4 1997 E. Irvan 1   D. Jarrett 7 1998 D. Jarrett 3 1999 D. Jarrett 4 2000 D. Jarrett 2 2001 D. Jarrett 4   R. Rudd 2 2002 D. Jarrett 2   R. Rudd 1 2003 D. Jarrett 1 2004 E. Sadler 2 2005 D. Jarrett 1

In all reality, that streak ended on Lap 173 when David Gilliland crashed in Turn 1, ending a legitimate shot at scoring the win in just his 15th Nextel Cup start. Gilliland was running sixth at the time and had been in the top-five all day.

"We came here and unloaded and felt like we had a great car from the time we unloaded and throughout the race," Gilliland said afterward. "It was definitely at car that was capable of running in the top-five all day."

It was a stretch to expect that Gilliland could pull off the upset in the Ford 400, but that was the way it went in 2006 for RYR, which had won at least one race since its inception in 1989.

Previously, the streak had two close calls, both involving Dale Jarrett.

Jarrett, who announced in mid-season that he was joining Michael Waltrip Racing for 2007, started driving for Yates in 1995 while Ernie Irvan recuperated from injury.

Jarrett didn't have a good year in 1995 -- he finished 13th in the standings while driving a car considered to be the strongest in the Ford stable -- but he pulled off a fuel-mileage win at Pocono in July. It was his only victory that year.

The following season, Jarrett moved to the newly formed No. 88 Ford and went on to win 28 times in the next 10 years.

Yates' streak also appeared over as 2005 came to a close, but Jarrett pulled off a startling rally to win at Talladega, charging from 18th with 30 laps to go for the victory.

Yates' win streak was never really in jeopardy until 1995.

Inside the Numbers David Gilliland's Cup stats Starts 15 Wins 0 Top-5s 0 Top-10s 0 Poles 1 DNFs 1 LLFs 2 Avg. Start 22.1 Avg. Finish 28.3 • Complete 2006 stats, click here Leilani ReportsOvernight success was a long time coming for David Gilliland Sign up for TrackPass now BUY THE NEXTEL i836

Davey Allison won two races each season from 1989 to 1991, then exploded with five wins each in 1991 and 1992. He had scored only one win by the time he was fatally injured in a helicopter crash in July of 1993, but Irvan was hired to drive Allison's No. 28 with six races to go and won twice.

With veteran drivers Jarrett and Elliott Sadler headed to new teams for 2007, Yates will rely on Gilliland and a yet-unnamed driver to return the team to form.

"I want to be here for a long time, and if we would've gone to a one-car team, who knows what would've happened," Gilliland said. "But, I know that with two cars next year and a great driver to bounce ideas off of, a good teammate, and a good team, I think it can only help."

It won't be easy. Gilliland has just a half-season of experience, and Jarrett's Talladega victory notwithstanding, the team hasn't won a non-restrictor plate race in two years.

Gilliland's inexperience is such that he signed to drive the majority of the 2007 Busch schedule for Team Rensi.

"Being the new guy coming in is just so tough," Gilliland said. "It's just tough. I haven't seen many of these racetracks before. Next year we're going to run 25 Busch races and I think that will help cut down my learning curve as well."