NASCAR Gander Outdoor Truck Series Overview
Event: Eldora Dirt Derby (Race 15 of 23), 150 Laps – 40/50/60; 75 Miles
Location: Eldora Speedway in Rossburg, Ohio (.5-mile clay oval)
Date/Broadcast: Aug. 1, 2019 at 9 p.m. ET on FS1, MRN and SiriusXM NASCAR 90
What You Need to Know
- Todd Gilliland and the No. 4 JBL/SiriusXM Tundra team will travel to Rossburg, Ohio to Eldora Speedway for the Eldora Dirt Derby. Gilliland has one start at the half-mile clay oval in 2018, where he won his heat race and started second before getting involved in a late race spin.
- Last weekend at Pocono Raceway, in Long Pond, Pa., Gilliland picked up another top-10 finish with a seventh-place finish after battling the ill handling condition of his Toyota Tundra for most of the race.
- So far in 2019, Gilliland has recorded one pole, 39 laps led, two top-five and eight top-10 finishes and has an average starting position of 8.1 and an average finish of 11.3. He currently is seventh in the NASCAR Gander Outdoors Truck Series driver point standings and is virtually in a must- win situation to earn a spot in the Gander Trucks playoffs.
- Wes Ward, who has served as shop foreman at KBM since 2015, moves over to the role of full-time crew chief and will be atop the box for Gilliland for the remainder of the 2019 season. Ward is a veteran crew chief with more than 300 Xfinity Series races on his resume, as well as 17 Gander Trucks races with two victories.
- JBL will adorn the hood of the No. 4 Tundra. JBL creates the amazing sound that shapes life’s most epic moments. From iconic events like Woodstock and concerts at Madison Square Garden, to games at Yankee Stadium and weekend road trips, JBL elevates listeners’ experiences with award-winning audio that lets them make the most of every moment. With unmatched professional credentials and over 70 years of delivering industry leading innovation, JBL is the authority in engineering superior sound. JBL is part of the HARMAN portfolio of brands admired by audiophiles, musicians and the entertainment venues where they perform around the world. HARMAN designs and engineers connected products and solutions for automakers, consumers, and enterprises worldwide, including connected car systems, audio and visual products, enterprise automation solutions; and services supporting the Internet of Things. More than 50 million automobiles on the road today are equipped with HARMAN audio and connected car systems. In 2017, HARMAN became a wholly-owned subsidiary of Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd.
Todd Gilliland, Driver Q&A
What are the unique challenges of racing dirt at Eldora?
It is really challenging. You know on an asphalt track once you start getting passed, you can drive a little bit harder maybe and find that extra little bit and either maintain or pass some guys back, but on Eldora last year I felt like every time I got passed, I’d try and get in the gas a little bit harder and just spin the tires worse and worse and lose more spots. It takes a little bit extra discipline to be really smooth and consistent throughout the race.
What are your goals going into this weekend?
Well, last year we ran pretty good. I won my heat race and started second in the main event, so I think I could win. It’s just another race track, just another circle. Somebody’s got to win it and I feel like we could.
Todd Gilliland Career Highlights
- In 39 career Gander Trucks starts has collected two poles, eight top-five and 20 top-10 finishes and led 247 laps. Gilliland earned a career-best second-place finish at World Wide Technology Raceway at Gateway in Madison, Ill., in June of 2018, and followed up with another runner-up finish at Gateway in 2019.
- Has posted two wins, two poles, six top-five and eight top-10 finishes resulting in an average finish of 5.6 across eight career ARCA Racing Series starts. He became the youngest winner in series history with his victory at Toledo (Ohio) Speedway two days after his 15th birthday in May of 2015 and his most recent win came at Talladega (Ala.) Superspeedway on May 3, 2019.
- 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. Won a second consecutive 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.
- In 23 NASCAR K&N Pro Series East starts has accumulated seven wins, two poles, 15 top-five and 21 top-10 finishes resulting in an average finish of 4.5. His most recent victory came at Bristol (Tenn.) Motor Speedway in April of 2018.
Todd Gilliland’s No. 4 JBL Tundra:
KBM-025: The No. 4 JBL team has prepared chassis KBM-025, Gilliland raced this chassis earlier this year at Martinsville Speedway to a 15th place finish. Previously Noah Gragson raced it to a win at Martinsville in 2017 and Christopher Bell was victorious with it at Gateway in 2016.
KBM Notes of Interest
- KBM drivers have collected two wins, one pole, 302 laps led, five top-five and 10 top-10 finishes resulting in an average finish of 11.4 across 17 starts at Eldora.
- Darrell Wallace Jr. won the event in 2014 and Christopher Bell was victorious in 2015.
- KBM holds the Gander Truck Series records for most career wins (74) 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).
