NASCAR Gander Outdoor Truck Series Overview
Event: NASCAR Hall of Fame 200 (Race 21 of 23), 200 Laps –50/50/100; 105.2 Miles
Location: Martinsville (Va.) Speedway (0.526-mile oval)
Date/Broadcast: Oct. 26, 2019 at 1:30 p.m. ET on FS1, MRN and SiriusXM NASCAR 90
What You Need to Know
- Todd Gilliland and the No. 4 Mobil 1 team head to Martinsville (Va.) Speedway this weekend for the NASCAR Hall of Fame 200. Gilliland has four starts at the paperclip-shaped half-mile with a best finish of fifth in October of 2017. He also earned his first-career pole at the Virginia short track in October of 2018 and has an average starting position of 10.0 across four starts and an average finish of 11.5.
- Two weeks ago, Gilliland earned a runner-up finish at Talladega (Ala.) Superspeedway, tying his career-best finish in the Gander Trucks Series for the third time.
- 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 24 Gander Trucks races with two victories. Ward’s drivers have three Gander Outdoors Truck Series starts at Martinsville with one win in spring of 2016 with owner-driver Kyle Busch behind the wheel.
- Voting for the NASCAR Gander Outdoors Truck Series has begun. To cast your vote for Gilliland, go to www.nascar.com/ganderoutdoorsmostpopulardriver Follow and show your support with hashtag #Vote4Todd
- The world’s leading synthetic motor oil brand, Mobil 1 features anti-wear technology that provides performance beyond our conventional motor oils. This technology allows Mobil 1 to meet or exceed the toughest standards of car builders and to provide exceptional protection against engine wear, under normal or even some of the most extreme conditions. Mobil 1 flows quickly in extreme temperatures to protect critical engine parts and is designed to maximize engine performance and help extend engine life.
Todd Gilliland, Driver Q&A
How do you feel going into this weekend with some experience at Martinsville under your belt?
“I probably have my most starts of anywhere at Martinsville, so it goes back to that short track mentality that all of us have grown up with, cutting our teeth on the short tracks. It’s funny, you can’t wait to get to mile-and-a-half’s when you’re on the short tracks and then you can’t wait to get back down to the short tracks once you’ve run the mile-and-a-half’s. I’m just really excited to get back to the slower speeds, less aero side of it and more mechanical grip. It brings everyone back to their roots and is usually a good race.”
What do you think makes Martinsville different than other short tracks?
“I think it’s just what people think about going into Martinsville is that you can hit everyone. I think that’s why you see it get really rough just because that’s what people think is the normal there and when people think it, it becomes the normal. You just have to be really aggressive but also really smart, because if you’re the guy bumping someone, there’s always going to be another guy up there that’s getting bumped that’s not going to be very happy. You have to balance risk versus reward and the beginning of the race versus the end of the race. There’s times that you make friends and that you’re going to lose a lot of friends out there, so just balancing that throughout the entire race.”
Todd Gilliland Career Highlights
- In 45 career Gander Trucks starts, has collected two poles, 11 top-five and 24 top-10 finishes and led 268 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, as well as a second-place finish at Talladega Superspeedway in Oct. of 2019.
- Has posted two wins, two poles, six top-five and eight top-10 finishes resulting in an average finish of 5.6 across nine 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 24 NASCAR K&N Pro Series East starts has accumulated seven wins, two poles, 16 top-five and 22 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 Mobil 1 Tundra:
KBM-025: The No. 4 Mobil 1 team has prepared chassis KBM-025 for the Hall of Fame 200 at Martinsville Speedway on Saturday. This chassis was last used by Gilliland at Eldora Speedway in Rossburg, Ohio. In 15 starts, the chassis has been piloted to two wins, the first by Christopher Bell at Gateway in 2016 and the second by Noah Gragson at Martinsville in 2017.
KBM Notes of Interest
- KBM drivers have earned seven wins and four poles at the famed paperclip-shaped facility in 51 starts, as well as 21 top-five and 35 to-10 finishes resulting in an average finish of 8.5.
- Denny Hamlin owns the first two Martinsville victories for KBM in the fall races in 2011 and 2012, and Bubba Wallace captured the next two in the fall races in 2013 and 2014. Owner-driver Kyle Busch also has two wins for KBM, in the spring races of 2016 and 2019 and Noah Gragson earned a win in the fall race of 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).
