Whitehead: Gilliland needs to be parked

I must say this right up front: I like David Gilliland. I like him as a second-generation NASCAR driver and enjoy watching him race for Yates Racing. His improbable path to the Cup level, complete with an underdog win in 2006, is a story line that comes along very rarely. That being said, NASCAR should have parked the 32-year-old Californian this week and kept away from Phoenix and Homestead for the last two races. Gilliland, whose birthday is April 1, made a fool out of himself in his retaliation wreck of Juan Pablo Montoya late in the Texas race. If you've ever attended a short track race, you've seen that dirty move -- called a hook -- before. If you need a good example, just check out video of Dale Earnhardt turning Darrell Waltrip into the guardrail at the old Richmond Fairgrounds Raceway in 1986. Kyle Petty, then running fifth, recorded his first win, but it was that nasty wreck that's most remembered from that race. It's a cheap-shot move, and it was Sunday when Gilliland pulled it on Montoya. It's one thing to do that at the old Richmond -- a slow half-mile track back then -- but another to do it at the high-speed Texas, one of the fastest 1.5-mile superspeedways. Montoya, of course, is no saint on the track. He's arguably the most aggressive driver around, and if he wanted to wreck Gilliland for being in the way -- Montoya was on the lead lap, the No. 38 laps down -- the Havoline driver could have easily finished off the Ford driver. Gilliland tried to explain it away with typical guilty driver nonsense, using words like: "unfortunate, misjudged, shame, feel real bad" and others. But bottom line, hooking for revenge is something a driver can get away with at a Martinsville or Bristol, not at 180 mph at Texas. Luckily, Montoya walked away unhurt and karma bit Gilliland hard, too, wrecking him in the process. But it's a move that could have seriously injured or killed the Colombian driver, especially since it occurred on a part of the track where there was no SAFER barrier. After Earnhardt's death and others on the track, do we need a death certificate, rides to the hospital or broken bones to produce a harsh penalty for a driver who's done something so stupid? Remember: Kevin Harvick and Robby Gordon received 1-race "parkings" for much less. Gilliland is not a dirty driver, and a few drivers came to his defense. I don't even think you would call him aggressive, but he lost his composure, moved down a couple of lanes and let Montoya have it. And this newly improved, safety-conscious NASCAR shouldn't tolerate that. Oddly, Yates Racing has been quiet. The same Yates Racing that's had all these drivers either compete for them or be affiliated with its racing family then die or be seriously injured on the track: Davey Allison, Clifford Allison, Kenny Irwin Jr., Ernie Irvan, Donnie Allison and Bobby Allison. If NASCAR won't penalize Gilliland, Yates Racing, which has witnessed more grief than any other racing organization, should teach its driver a hard lesson and have him watching Phoenix and Homestead on TV.(Bill Whitehead is an auto-racing writer for Scripps Treasure Coast Newspapers and can be reached at wwhitehe@ircc.net.)