Date: Sept. 13, 2019
Event: World of Westgate 200 (Race 19 of 23)
Series: NASCAR Gander Outdoors Truck Series
Location: Las Vegas (Nev.) Motor Speedway (1.5-mile tri-oval)
Format: Three Segments; 30 laps/30 laps/74 laps
Start/Finish: 3rd/5th (Running, completed 134 of 134 laps)
Winner: Austin Hill of Hattori Racing Enterprises (Toyota)
Todd Gilliland and the No. 4 JBL Fest team earned a top-five finish at Las Vegas Motor Speedway in the World of Westgate 200. Friday morning, in the single two-hour practice, Gilliland was 12th-fastest. In one round of single-truck qualifying on a slick track Friday afternoon, Gilliland earned the third starting spot for the 134-lap event.
Stage One Recap:
- Gilliland began the race in the third position, behind teammate Christian Eckes who sat on the pole.
- The young driver dropped back early, reporting that his Tundra was tight on entry to the corner but loose everywhere else.
- Regardless of his handling conditions, Gilliland was able to climb to the third position, before reporting that his engine temperatures were climbing.
- The team determined that there was a piece of debris on the grille of the No. 4, restricting the air flow to cool the engine.
- When the caution flew to end the first stage, Gilliland reported that his right rear tire didn’t feel like it was gripping the track and that he was tight in the center and exit of the corner.
- Crew chief Wes Ward brought Gilliland down pit road for four fresh tires, adjustments and removal of the debris from the grille.
Stage Two Recap:
- Because the majority of other vehicles took only two tires after the first stage, Gilliland began the second stage in 16th.
- Gilliland quickly climbed back to the top-10.
- The young driver finished eighth in the second stage and Ward opted to bring him to pit road for four fresh tires and adjustments.
Stage Three Recap
- Gilliland began the final 74-lap stage in sixth.
- Under caution on lap 80, Ward called him to pit road for two tires and adjustments to set him up for the end of the race.
- After restarting in 10th, the talented teenager made his way to fifth in the closing laps, picking up his fourth top-5 of the season.
Todd Gilliland, driver of the No. 4 JBL Fest Tundra for Kyle Busch Motorsports:
How was your night?
“It was an up-and-down night. We qualified third, which was better than I expected. Ran decent in the first stage, finished fifth. Just on every restart, we were on the splitter a little bit and it just plowed for 15 laps till the air pressure came up, and after that, it would just take off. It shouldn’t be like that, so something was definitely up. But that’s up to me to relay to the team. I didn’t do a very good job of that.”
World of Westgate 200 Recap:
- Austin Hill won the race with Ross Chastain, Christian Eckes, Sheldon Creed and Todd Gilliland rounding out the top-five finishers.
- The race featured six cautions for 32 laps and 21 lead changes among five drivers.
How Gilliland’s KBM Teammates Fared:
Harrison Burton, driver of the No. 18 Toyota Tundra, finished ninth
Christian Eckes, driver of the No. 51 Toyota Tundra, finished third
NGOTS Championship Standings:
Gilliland remains in the 12th spot in the NASCAR Gander Outdoors Truck Series driver points standings after 19 races in the 2019 season.
Next Race:
Todd Gilliland and the No. 4 Mobil 1 team will return on Saturday, Oct. 12 at Talladega Superspeedway. Live coverage of the event begins at 1:30 p.m. EST on FS1.
