Todd Gilliland Was “Super Nervous” and Feared for the Worst During the Charter Lawsuit Trial

2025 was a rough year for Front Row Motorsports driver Todd Gilliland. It was his second year with the Ford-backed team, and he finished 27th on the driver’s points table. But there was a big reason for him to breathe a sigh of relief at the end of the season. FRM had come out of the legal battle with NASCAR unscathed and was going to continue participating in the sport’s top tier.

He spoke about the emotions that surrounded him and his team during the tumultuous days when the courtroom drama was at its peak in a recent interview with Jeff Gluck. He admitted that he did not allow a lot of feelings to enter his heart during the racing season and was only focused on his performances. It was only after the season ended that questions stormed his mind.

He said, “But once the season ended, all the possibilities start popping into your mind, whether you want them to or not. As there was more talk about the trial and everything, it definitely crept in. Day one of the trial, I got super nervous. I was like, ‘Wow, this is literally going to come down to a handful of people on a jury.’ It’s hard not to think about the team not even existing.”

Fortunately, he did not have to live with that suspense for long. The involved parties agreed to settle the lawsuit, and the terms were largely in favor of the teams. When that decision came out, the Front Row Motorsports camp had celebrated quite merrily. All the uncertainties were gone, and their future was secure.

This week’s 12 Questions interview is with @ToddGilliland_. Always great to speak with The Toddfather. Free link: https://t.co/umkGI7jY4q

— Jeff Gluck (@jeff_gluck) February 25, 2026

Gilliland continued, “When it finally settled, we were supposed to have our team Christmas lunch that day. We pushed it back an hour so our team owner (Bob Jenkins) could come. Zane and I brought some beers into the shop. Everyone was super happy.” A tremendous amount of stress has been taken off everybody, and now, things are back to being as normal as ever.

Driving the No. 34 Ford Mustang, Gilliland has failed to finish both the opening races of the ongoing season. He travels to the Circuit of the Americas this Sunday with the hope of turning his luck around. With the event marking the first road course race of the season, it will be hard to count out the likes of Shane van Gisbergen and Tyler Reddick. However, going into turn 1 at COTA, you never know who gets the short end of the stick.