Date: October 13, 2018
Event: Fr8Auctions 250 (Race 19 of 23)
Series: NASCAR Camping World Truck Series
Location: Talladega (Ala.) Superspeedway (2.66-mile oval)
Format: Three Segments; 20 laps/20 laps/54 laps
Start/Finish: 6th / 20th (accident, completed 82 of 94 laps)
Winner: Timothy Peters of GMS Racing (Chevrolet)
Todd Gilliland made his first superspeedway start on Saturday at Talladega Superspeedway. It was a special day for him. Not only was it his first superspeedway start, but one of his Kyle Busch Motorsports (KBM) teammates was his father, David Gilliland. Both were driving PEDIGREE® Toyota Tundras and even adopted a new family member (an eight-week-old puppy they named Winston) from the Greater Birmingham Humane Society during a PEDIGREE® appearance on Thursday. Both family members had a shot to win at the end, but the younger Gilliland was spun on lap 83 ending his bid for the win.
Stage One Recap:
- Gilliland started sixth, but fell back through the field in the outside lane early in the race.
- He worked his way back up and was sixth when the stage ended on lap 20 and pitted for fuel only on lap 23.
Stage Two Recap:
- When the next 20-lap stage began Gilliland quickly moved up to third and was second by lap 36.
- Gilliland made his move to the lead on lap 38 and won the second stage of the race. When pit road opened, he brought in his No. 4 PEDIGREE® Puppy Tundra in for four tires and fuel.
Stage Three Recap:
- The final 54-lap stage began with Gilliland in eighth place.
- His Dad was working his way up through the field after a pit road penalty earlier in the race so the father and son could draft together.
- The “big one” struck on lap 59 taking out several competitors, but luckily both Gillilands made it through the carnage. Both pitted for fuel before the race resumed and returned to the track with Todd second and David third.
- Shortly after the restart they made a move to the front with Todd leading David for several laps.
- With 22 laps to go they fell back to fifth and sixth place. David’s line fell even farther back, while Todd moved back up to second place.
- While running second, the younger Gilliland made a move for the lead, but was spun across the track into the wall by Grant Enfinger. Luckily, he was not injured, but his race was over in 20th place.
Todd Gilliland, driver of the No. 4 PEDIGREE® Puppy Tundra for Kyle Busch Motorsports:
What happened that caused you to spin?
“I was just trying to get under the 98 (Grant Enfinger) while I could and I felt like it was a good situation. I could see him coming up and I got into him a little bit in the middle of (turn) four and he got really far up off the bottom. I tried to fill the hole and I was to his wheel and he came back down. Just racing here –that’s what it’s all about I guess. I just was having a lot of fun up until then and my PEDIGREE® Puppy Tundra was fast. That was a lot of fun. I guess we’ll just rebound and we won a stage, so we’ll just focus on Daytona next year I guess. This was my first time doing it, so I guess not too bad.”
Fr8Auctions 250 Recap:
Fr8Auctions 250 Recap:- Timothy Peters won the race followed by Myatt Snider, KBM’s David Gilliland, Justin Haley and Wendell Chavous rounded out the top-five finishers.
- The race featured six cautions for a total of 21 laps. There were 22 lead changes among 12 drivers. Gilliland led twice for 13 laps while his KBM teammate Noah Gragson led three.
How Gilliland’s KBM Teammates Fared:
- Noah Gragson, driver of the No. 18 Toyota, finished 13th
- David Gilliland, driver of the No. 51 Toyota, finished 3rd
NCWTS Championship Standings:
The No. 4 remains 11th in the Truck Series Owner’s Championship Standings, while Gilliland remains 10th in the Driver Championship Standings.
Next Race:
The Truck Series takes a weekend off and returns to action on Saturday, Oct. 27 at Martinsville Speedway. Live coverage of the race begins at 1 p.m. ET on FS1.
