Date: June 7, 2019
Event: SpeedyCash.com 400 (Race 9 of 23)
Series: NASCAR Gander Outdoors Truck Series
Location: Texas Motor Speedway in Fort Worth (1.5-mile quad-oval)
Format: Three Segments; 40 laps/40 laps/87 laps
Start/Finish: 1st / 27th (accident, completed 69 of 167 laps)
Winner: Greg Biffle of Kyle Busch Motorsports (Toyota)
Todd Gilliland and the No. 4 Mobil 1 team won the pole for the SpeedyCash.com 400 at Texas Motor Speedway in Fort Worth and led twice for a total of 31 laps before falling prey to treacherous track conditions while battling for the lead and finishing 27th. The young driver posted the 12th, fifth, and sixth-fastest laps in three practices respectively on Thursday. Friday afternoon, Gilliland earned his second-career NASCAR Gander Outdoors Truck Series pole in one round of single-vehicle qualifying.
Under the lights, Gilliland quickly jumped to the lead and led the first five laps before dropping to second place. He remained at the front of the field, leading for a second time in Stage 2 for 26 additional laps before losing control on a restart and making contact with the wall, ending his night.
Stage One Recap:
- In one round of single-truck qualifying, Gilliland put his No. 4 Mobil 1 Tundra on the pole with a lap of 29.227 seconds and 184.761 mph.
- When the green flag flew, Gilliland pulled out to the lead, which he retained for the first five laps.
- Interim crew chief Wes Ward brought Gilliland to pit road with 12 laps to go in the stage for four tires and fuel.
- After restarting in 20th position after his pit stop, Gilliland gained eight spots in two laps before the next caution flag flew.
- Gilliland finished the first stage in the sixth position after restarting with two laps to go in the ninth position, earning five stage points.
Stage Two Recap:
- Gilliland began the second stage in the lead, after Ward opted not to pit between stages.
- The talented teenager hung on to the lead for 26 laps and several restarts.
- Then, on lap 69, Gilliland was just one of many drivers to succumb to a treacherous Turn 2, losing control while in a fierce battle for the lead.
- The young driver was unable to continue and ultimately finished in 27th, in a race marred by a record 13 cautions for a total of 63 laps.
Todd Gilliland, driver of the No. 4 Mobil 1 Tundra for Kyle Busch Motorsports:
What happened to take you out of the race?
“I just got away from the bottom. It’s racing here at Texas, but it’s not a lot of fun when it happens, when you’re on that side of it. I think we executed good until then. All through practice we made good changes and qualified on the pole. It still sucks that we are out of this race, but it was still a lot of fun racing out there. I was laying it all out there on the race track, and I thought we were going to have something out there for them tonight with just a couple more adjustments. I just need to be more patient. It’s not the end of the world there if the 99 (Ben Rhodes) gets by me right there and I finish the stage second or third. I just need to be a little bit smarter about that stuff. But it felt really good to run out front. I am proud of my Mobil 1 Toyota Tundra team. Hopefully, we can come back stronger. We have an important couple of weeks right here. We need to keep the morale up and go to the next one and get stronger.”
SpeedyCash.com 400 Recap:
- Greg Biffle won the race by 0.963 seconds followed by Matt Crafton, Tyler Ankrum, Grant Enfinger and Harrison Burton rounded out the top-five finishers.
- The race featured 13 cautions for 63 laps and 12 lead changes among 9 drivers
How Gilliland’s KBM Teammates Fared:
Harrison Burton, driver of the No. 18 Toyota Tundra, finished fifth
Greg Biffle, driver of the No. 51 Toyota Tundra, finished first
NGOTS Championship Standings:
Gilliland and the No. 4 team move to ninth in the Gander Trucks Driver Championship Standings following the ninth race of the season, 112 points behind the leader, Grant Enfinger. Gilliland is now 26 points out of the eighth and final playoff spot.
Next Race:
Todd Gilliland and the No. 4 team will return next week on Saturday, June 15 at Iowa Speedway in Newton. Live coverage of the M&Ms 200 begins at 8:30 p.m. EST on FS1.
