Gold Line: Todd Gilliland, 2026 First Phase Ford

In 2023 I had the opportunity to attend the annual Front Row Motorsports 'Fan Day.' The race team opened up their shop to both fans and team partners in order to give back to Fan the opportunity to interact with the team, the drivers, and the race shop. I wrote about that experience on the Adventures in Racing Blog here. While I was there, I was able to get Todd Gilliland to sign this 1/64 copy of his 2022 First Phase 1/64 scale diecast replica. For a closer look at this race car, read on...

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Above: Todd Gilliland gets his FirstPhase Mustang for the Daytona 500 dialed in during practice on February 15th. (Photograph by Jared C. Tilton, Getty Images, Jayski.com).

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Conclusion:
FirstPhase ended up purchasing about ten races during the 2022 season. The debut race for the FirstPhase Mustang ended up in disappointment when Todd Gilliland wound up in a crash on 190 while riding his own business. The car was hooked into the outside wall due to no fault of Gilliland. The best result that Gilliland could muster in the FirstPhase Ford occurred during the 9th race of the year at the Bristol Dirt race. There, Gilliland was able to navigate the chaotic event to finish on the lead lap and in the top 20 with a 17th place finish overall. 

The car itself is a nice one. This version of the Next Gen Mustang continues to be my favorite. The distinctive nose, and sleek side profile lines gave the car character and an identity. The diecast itself is a nice one from Lionel. The all black base provides a good contract to the white and teal details that cover the entire car. The car's details are well applied, and this car also has some extra character as it sports the yellow bumper stripes that rookie drivers were required to maintain in 2022. This is one of my favorite Front Row Motorsports diecast cars, it's a shame FirstPhase didn't stick around. 

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Sources:
-Jayski.com
-Lionelracing.com
-Nascar.com
-racing-reference.info
​-Youtube.com