The 2008 season has been a bit of a rebuilding year for Yates Racing, but judging from David Gilliland's finish Sunday at Infineon, things are looking up.

Struggling to secure a full-time sponsor for both teams has forced the entire Yates organization to balance what happens at the race track with the attempt at courting interest in sponsorship.

Gilliland's Nationwide Series - then the Busch Series - sponsor FreeCreditReport.com came on board to help out last year and has been the primary colors for the No. 38 for most of the season. As for the team's other entry, after losing the M&M's sponsorship to Joe Gibbs Racing, the No. 28 driven by Travis Kvapil has had an array of companies grace the hood, while also running a white unsponsored car.

Despite constantly having the sponsorship issue in the back of their minds, the Yates teams have run well. Kvapil was impressive at Darlington last month and Sunday's performance by Gilliland should be eye-opening to potential sponsors.

Starting a disappointing 31st, Gilliland and crew chief "Cully" Barraclough knew they would need pit strategy and a bit of luck to stay in contention for the Toyota/Save Mart 350. One of the earliest cars to pit, the No. 38 crew began to play the fuel mileage game from the get-go.

Benefiting from the cautions that flew shortly after making green-flag stops, Gilliland was able to gain the all-important track position he needed. The California-native restarted the race on Lap 32 from the sixth-spot and was able to maintain his top-10 position for the remainder of the event.

As the race wound down, Kyle Busch appeared to be cruising his way to victory until a string of caution flags bunched the field up - giving Gilliland a shot at his first Cup win.

Running fourth behind Busch, Jamie McMurray and Tony Stewart following a restart on Lap 104, Gilliland was able to capitalize when Kevin Harvick locked up the brakes and spun collection McMurray and Stewart. Gilliland avoided the spinning cars and drove off with the second-spot.

Holding off Jeff Gordon, Gilliland came home in second for a career best finish.

"Our strategy was pretty good," Gilliland explained. "We've done a lot of road course testing to try and get our fuel mileage the best we can, and you know, the cautions fell right for us today, too. It put us in a position to be able to run in the top six or seven there, and we were able to stay up there. Our car was good enough to stay up there, which is good.

"When you're back in the back, there's a lot more stuff that happens and you take more chances coming up through there," Gilliland went on to say. "Our fuel mileage was good. I was conserving fuel up until we had those last couple cautions and my crew chief just said go ahead and go and give it all you've got."

With the master of Infineon - Jeff Gordon - in his rearview mirror, Gilliland knew he would have his hands full, but never backed down. "It's not a comfortable feeling, I'll tell you that," Gilliland said of racing Gordon. "I grew up coming here, and so I wasn't really surprised about having him back there for sure."

Gordon was quick to point out though, "You didn't have anything to worry about, trust me."

Not only was this finish a boost of confidence to this team, it was also special for Gilliland who celebrated the third anniversary of his Cup Series debut this weekend at a track that holds a special place in his heart. Earlier in the week, the California-native talked about the importance of Sonoma and that first start.

"A driver's first Cup Series start is something that you never forget and the fact that my first start was at Sonoma, a track where my family has such a history of great racing, was the icing on the cake," Gilliland said. "I definitely go to Sonoma every year and think about the fact that it's a track that will always hold a special place in my heart. In our series everything happens so fast that when I go to Sonoma I always take a moment to take into account all that has happened in my career since my early days of racing there."

Make no mistake, when the series rolls around to the wine country of Sonoma next year, Gilliland will be all smiles as he reflects on the run he had on Sunday.

The entire Yates Racing team has proved they will work hard and do what it takes to run well. Speaking with HardcoreRaceFans.com last month at Dover, Gilliland explained, "Overall, our performance has been up and now we're selling what we've shown we can do." More runs like this one and they might just find themselves a full-time deal.

For more information on sponsorship opportunities with Yates Racing, visit www.SponsorYates.com.