NASCAR Camping World Truck Series Overview
Event: JEGS 200, Race 5 of 23, 200 Laps – 45/45/110; 200 Miles
Location: Dover (Del.) International Speedway (one-mile oval)
Date/Broadcast: May 4, 2018 at 5 p.m. ET on FOX Sports 1, MRN and SiriusXM NASCAR 90
What You Need to Know
- Sunoco Rookie of the Year contender Todd Gilliland returns to Dover where he had a strong run last year in his NASCAR Camping World Truck Series debut. He finished the second stage in fourth place, but suffered a broken wheel in the final stage which took him out of the race.
- It will be a “double dog” weekend for PEDIGREE® as the brand’s colors will also adorn team owner Kyle Busch’s No. 18 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota Camry for Sunday’s AAA 400 Drive for Autism Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series race at Dover.
- There will be two Gillilands competing in Friday’s NCWTS race. David, Todd’s father, will take on the role of owner and driver behind the wheel of the No. 54 DGR-Crosley Tundra.
- Gilliland competed in six races in 2017, posting a pair of top-five and three top-10 finishes. He had a best finish of third at New Hampshire and crossed the line fifth at Martinsville in the fall. He opened his 2018 schedule with a 14th-place finish at Martinsville in March after leading a lap and running up front most of the race. A late-race pit stop did not give him enough time to return to the front of the field.
- PEDIGREE® will be Gilliland’s primary sponsor for six NCWTS races this season. The PEDIGREE® Brand is the No. 1 brand of dog food and treats in the world, feeding more dogs than any other brand. The PEDIGREE® Brand offers a wide variety of products and formats for dogs at every life stage. The PEDIGREE® Brand is built on an unwavering love for all dogs and a commitment to dog adoption. For more information, visit www.pedigree.com.
Todd Gilliland, Driver Q&A
What have you been doing to stay busy since the last truck race at Martinsville?
“Since Martinsville I’ve been catching up on a lot school work, we’ve gone to a few different tests, I raced Bristol in the DGR-Crossley car and we were able to come away with a win there, so we’re getting more confidence working with the same Kyle Busch Motorsports team I’ll have the rest of the year. I just want to be as best prepared as possible.”
You had a strong run at Dover last year, so does that give you more confidence going into this race?
“I think it really helps out starting out my 2018 season with Martinsville and Dover, the two tracks I’ve been to last year and two tracks I really like. We’ll start back after a few weeks off at Dover and hopefully have a strong run.”
Since your Dad (David) is in the truck race at Dover will you race him any differently than the other drivers?
“No, I’d say I’ll race my Dad the same and maybe even harder! I don’t know about that one yet. He’s just another truck out there and we all want to win just as much as each other. That’s where I get my competitiveness from, so it probably goes both ways. We’ll see how it goes.”
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
Todd Gilliland’s No. 4 PEDIGREE® Tundra:
- KBM-041: The No. 4 PEDIGREE team will race KBM-041, for Friday’s JEGS 200 at Dover International Speedway. This is the same Tundra Kyle Busch won with at Chicago in 2016. Spencer Davis finished 13th at Las Vegas with this truck in March.
KBM Notes of Interest
- After Martinsville, the No. 4 team has two poles with David Gilliland (Daytona) and Kyle Busch (Atlanta) and is ranked seventh in the owner’s championship standings.
- KBM holds the NCWTS records for most career wins (66) 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).
- KBM drivers have collected three wins, two poles, 760 laps led, seven top-five and 10 top-10 finishes resulting in an average finish of 10.5 across 19 starts at the Monster Mile
- Owner-driver Kyle Busch has collected all three of his team’s wins at the one-mile track (2011, 2013 & 2014)
