NASCAR Camping World Truck Series Overview
Event: Buckle Up in Your Truck 225, Race 12 of 23, 150 Laps – 35/35/80; 225 Miles
Location: Kentucky Speedway in Sparta (1.5-mile oval)
Date/Broadcast: July 12, 2018 at 7:30 p.m. ET on FOX Sports 1, MRN and SiriusXM NASCAR 90
What You Need to Know
- Gilliland has no prior starts in any series at Kentucky.
- This will be Gilliland’s fourth NASCAR Camping World Truck Series (NCWTS) race on a mile-and-a-half track since turning 18 in May. He finished 10th at Charlotte (N.C.) Motor Speedway, sixth at Texas Motor Speedway in Fort Worth and 16th at Chicagoland Speedway in Joliet, Ill.
- Earned his best career finish in the NCWTS at Gateway Motorsports Park in Madison, Ill., when he jumped up to second place during a two-lap shootout on the final restart.
- In seven NCWTS starts this season, Gilliland has one top-five, four top-10 finishes and has led 64 laps. He led a race-high 62 laps at Texas Motor Speedway. Despite only competing in seven of the 11 races due to age restrictions, he currently ranks 13h in the Truck Series championship standings and is 124 points out of the eighth and final playoff spot.
Todd Gilliland, Driver Q&A
This will be your fourth Truck Series race on an intermediate track. How are you adjusting to them?
“I think they are a lot of fun. You definitely have to race them a little bit different, but I think I’m getting a lot more experience. At Charlotte I kind of ran in the back all night, and after Texas getting to run in the lead a lot and Chicago being around the top five, I think that was definitely a lot to learn. Hopefully we can just keep building on it and I think our truck is going to be fast this weekend.”
What have you heard about Kentucky from the other drivers?
“It’s all about watching film and watching in-car cameras from years past. I was also able to go to a test there with the trucks just to watch, but it’s still always a good thing just to be around the race track. I think it’s just going to be like another 1.5-mile track.”
How do you handle this hot stretch of races in the summer months?
“I think the first few were really difficult, but we’ve done a few different things inside the truck to really make it a lot better, a lot cooler to keep us focused throughout the entire race. I think it won’t be an issue. If anything, just the temperature swing from day to night.”
Todd Gilliland Career Highlights
- Won this year’s season-opening NASCAR K&N Pro Series East race in January at New Smyrna (Fla.) Speedway and won again at Bristol (Tenn.) Motor Speedway in April
- Won a second consecutive NASCAR K&N Pro Series West championship in 2017 after recording six wins, seven poles, 937 laps led, 11 top-five and 13 top-10 finishes across 14 starts
- Ran six NASCAR Camping World Truck Series races for KBM in 2017, scoring a career-best third-place finish at New Hampshire Motor Speedway in Loudon
- Crowned the 2016 NASCAR K&N Pro Series West champion after collecting six wins, six poles, 11 top-five and 13 top-10 finishes, making him the youngest champion in the history of any NASCAR national or touring series
Todd Gilliland’s No. 4 Mobil 1 Tundra:
KBM-045: The No. 4 Mobil 1 team will race KBM-045, for Thursday’s race at Kentucky. Gilliland raced this Tundra at Charlotte earlier this year where he finished 10th. Kyle Busch raced this truck at Atlanta in February when he won the pole and led 67 laps.
KBM Notes of Interest
- KBM drivers have collected four wins, 672 laps led, 12 top-five and 15 top-10 finishes resulting in an average finish of 9.4 across 22 starts at Kentucky
- Driver-owner Kyle Busch claimed two of KBM’s victories in the Bluegrass state (2011 and 2014) along with William Byron (2016) and Christopher Bell (2017)
- After Chicago, the No. 4 team has two poles with David Gilliland (Daytona) and Kyle Busch (Atlanta), two top-five and five top-10 finishes and is ranked fifth in the owner’s championship standings
- KBM holds the NCWTS records for most career wins (67) and most wins in a single season (14 in 2014). In addition to collecting a series-record six Owner’s Championships, the organization has produced two championship-winning drivers; Erik Jones (2015) and Christopher Bell (2017).
