Ensuring due diligence was done, David Hovis, the communications manager for Clay Andrews Racing, sent an e-mail to the NASCAR media corps Sunday evening "as a refresher course on David Gilliland."
And to his credit it was necessary.
That should tell you something -- not even the so-called experts know much about this kid. And rest assured, none can say he or she saw Gilliland's improbable victory Saturday at Kentucky Speedway coming.

As the laps wound down, I debated with some friends whether it was the biggest upset in the last decade. The FX broadcast team went so far as to consider it the biggest upset in the Busch Series' 25-year history.

Is it?

Or was Andy Santerre's emotional return from a broken leg to win Pikes Peak in 1999 the biggest? Or possibly the bump-n-run pass of Tony Stewart by little-known Wisconsin driver Matt Kenseth in the third turn of the last lap at Rockingham in 1998? Maybe even local racer Johnny Rumley's out-of-nowhere win at Hickory Motor Speedway in an underfunded Oldsmobile in 1993?

Those were all great shockers, but they pale in comparison to Gilliland's triumph Saturday.

To the contrary, many responders don't consider it an upset at all, say it's just a good young driver with an experienced crew chief that qualified well then closed the deal.

This is true. Gilliland's car was hooked up throughout the weekend. But I still believe it to be the most unexpected win in series history.

The reason, you ask?

Look at the variables: An inexperienced driver competing for a part-time team that manufactures its own engines fends off the charge of eight Cup drivers to win under what might be the most daunting circumstances in series history for non-Cup affiliated programs.

And the kicker: Gilliland outran the Cup boys at Kentucky Speedway -- the unofficial official Nextel Cup Series test track. J.J. Yeley, Denny Hamlin, et al have hundreds, if not thousands of test laps there.

Gilliland had never even laid eyes on the place.

crashthe24: In this day and age of Buschwackers, I would have to say yes. The kid ran good all day and was very deserving (qualified fourth, also).

But who actually thought he could win? I just hope that he gets a sponsor or a good deal from this win. Unfortunately, since he is not a teenager or a 20-something or a pretty boy, I am afraid he is going to have to keep plugging (sponsors can be so stupid sometimes).

I can't recall an upset this big in NASCAR, period, since Greg Sacks won the Pepsi 400 in '85 (or Derrike Cope in the '90 500).

Can't disagree, Smoke. The last time I remember being this dumbfounded by a race's outcome was March 2001, when Kevin Harvick out-sprinted Jeff Gordon to win the Cup race at Atlanta Motor Speedway. In hindsight, of course, it shouldn't have been so surprising. But in the moment it left me wide-eyed, mouth agape.

Carl Edwards' win last year at Atlanta and Ricky Craven's smash-up-derby win over Kurt Busch at Darlington produced similar reactions. I guess I could go on for days ...

DontHate: I have a hard time calling it an upset. I would call it a surprise though. Of all the drivers one would expect to be the first non-Cup regular to win this season, you wouldn't expect it to be a driver running part-time from an underfunded team.

I figured Saturday would be Paul Menard's breakthrough night, or some other Cup-supported driver, perhaps even Todd Kleuver or Danny O'Quinn. But, in the end, it was Gilliland.

Major props to Clay Andrews and his team for focusing on doing one thing well. After missing the Charlotte race I'm sure spirits were low, but they are getting started the right way -- by concentrating on the intermediate tracks, rather than running every race on a tight budget.

I'm sure Saturday night was a real confidence booster for short-track drivers around the nation. But upset? No way. It was well-deserved and earned.

Sure it was well-deserved and well-earned, Ice-T, but your point regarding Cup-affiliated Busch drivers -- Menard, Kleuver, O'Quinn, etc. -- only bolsters the argument that Gilliland's triumph is an upset. Via the trickle-down effect, those programs are ultimately backed by Cup resources.

I do hope your inference regarding short-track drivers comes to fruition. It would be truly wonderful if Gilliland's victory opens eyes of owners and doors for aspiring talents trying to break into big-time stock-car racing.

smsracing: Mike Wallace at Daytona in 2004 was probably the biggest upset. That team was very much in the same position Gilliland was. But, his team was never up at the front at all.

They had partial sponsorship from Geico. He didn't even lead a full lap of the race, he lead half of Turn 3-4 and the frontstretch on the last lap of the race to win.

That was a big upset because he beat guys like Michael Waltrip and Dale Jr., who were both running at the front on the last lap. And at the time, DEI was still king of RP tracks.

Solid argument, Speeeyatch. Quite solid. But the fact is it was a plate race, and plate racing is all about key positioning at crucial moments. Plus, Mike Wallace is a damn fine plate racer.

Gilliland won on a high-speed downforce track, the type that create havoc for even the most-established teams, and often separate the haves from the have-nots.

Russell Watkins: A fluke? Maybe. Hard work paying off? Probably. The biggest upset in Busch history? Pluh-leeeese. The big boys can't win all the time.

Not all the time, Rusty, but dang close. Heading into Saturday night's race at Kentucky, Nextel Cup drivers had won 18 consecutive Busch Series races, and 26 of the past 27.

LessThanSte: I think it says more about the Busch Series as a whole. There's drivers complaining about all the Cup guys racing and not giving them a chance to post a decent finish, and then a basically unknown driver comes along and shows them how to do it properly.

Kinda tells you that the standard in the Busch Series isn't great, and that if someone really wants to, they will do well no matter how many big teams come along!

I see where you're going, Boris Becker, but it's just not that simple. This isn't Brewco. This isn't akin to a David Green victory. Even that would raise an eyebrow, but it wouldn't be completely shocking.

This is. Clay Andrews Racing doesn't run the entire schedule.

Cup-affiliated teams take sponsorship dollars and race-winnings away.

I'll let Dr. Emmett Brown explain it to you:

timewarp: How can this not be one of the biggest upsets that NASCAR can remember? The only thing that would be bigger is if one of the teams running limited races (like Hermie Sadler, Bill Lester and many others) did it in the Cup Series.

Gilliland doesn't have as much experience as the other big name drivers. Gilliland doesn't have the big funding and sponsors like the others. Gilliland doesn't have as good equipment to work with like the others. This is just an upset of huge proportions.

Heard that.

1FlyinRyan2: I would have to say yes, this is the biggest upset I can recall. This isn't your father's Busch Series -- when any team could win on any given day.

I believe that the lesser-funded teams have never been so seemingly incapable of winning as they are today. A hint of parity in the series? I hope so. Congrats David. Best race of the year.

Heard that, too.

How heartening is it to see David (literally) slay a field full of Cup Series Goliaths?

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