NASCAR Gander Outdoor Truck Series Overview
Event: Gander RV 150 (Race 14 of 23), 60 Laps – 15/15/30; 150 Miles
Location: Pocono Raceway in Long Pond, Pa. (2.5-mile tri-oval)
Date/Broadcast: July 27, 2019 at 1 p.m. ET on FS1, MRN and SiriusXM NASCAR 90
What You Need to Know
- Todd Gilliland and the No. 4 JBL/SiriusXM team are heading to the Poconos for the Gander RV 150 on Saturday at Pocono Raceway in Long Pond, Penn. Gilliland has one NASCAR Gander Outdoors Truck Series start at the Tricky Triangle in 2018, where he started second and finished seventh. The young driver also has one ARCA Menards Series start at the 2.5-mile facility, starting second and finishing sixth in 2018.
- This weekend Gilliland will also do double duty, racing in the ARCA Menards Series event on Friday afternoon.
- So far in 2019, Gilliland has recorded one pole, 39 laps led, two top-five and seven top-10 finishes and has an average starting position of 8.2 and an average finish of 11.6. He currently is eighth 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. He served as Gilliland’s crew chief for the June Texas race earlier this year, where Gilliland captured the pole and led 31 laps before being relegated to a 27th-place finish after a lap-69 accident.
- 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
You are doing double duty this weekend at Pocono with the Gander Trucks and ARCA Series, how does affect your weekend?
“I’m really excited to run both again. I did it there last year and it was a really busy day. This year it’s even busier. I think everyone is kind of back and forth, so it’s going to be a lot of fun. Jumping back in the ARCA cars they feel a lot faster, but about the same speed, so the Trucks are easier when you jump back in it with more downforce, so hoping that’s the case this weekend.”
How do you think the racing will be with the PJ1?
“I think the racing will be better. Through three and four it’s really flat and there’s really nowhere you can go. There’s only so low, because of the grass, and once you get in dirty air, especially in the trucks you just lose the nose really bad. I think the PJ1 will be able to catch you a little bit and hopefully it makes some more side-by-side racing and promote another lane a little bit more and if nothing else try something. So, I’m really happy that they’re trying it.”
Todd Gilliland Career Highlights
- In 38 career Gander Trucks starts has collected two poles, eight top-five and 19 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, one pole, five top-five and seven top-10 finishes resulting in an average finish of 6.0 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-057: The No. 4 JBL team has prepared chassis KBM-057, Gilliland put this Tundra on the pole at Texas Motor Speedway in June, and finished seventh at both Charlotte Motor Speedway and Las Vegas Motor Speedway earlier this season.
KBM Notes of Interest
- KBM drivers have 20 starts at Pocono Raceway and have earned four wins, nine top-five and 16 top-10 finishes, with an average starting position of 7.8 and an average finish of 7.6.
- KBM drivers have won the last four Gander Trucks races at Pocono Raceway with owner-driver Kyle Busch victorious in 2015 and 2018, while William Byron triumphed in 2016 and Christopher Bell won in 2017.
- 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).
