NASCAR Gander Outdoor Truck Series Overview
Event: Sugarlands Shine 250 (Race 20 of 23), 94 Laps – 20/20/54; 250.04 Miles
Location: Talladega (Ala.) Superspeedway (2.66-mile superspeedway)
Date/Broadcast: Oct. 12, 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 are on the way to Talladega Superspeedway for the Sugarlands Shine 250 on Saturday afternoon. Gilliland has one start at the 2.66-mile superspeedway in 2018, where he led 13 laps, won the second stage and was running second late in the final stage, but wrecked after contact with another vehicle. In the spring, Gilliland won the ARCA Menards Series event at the famed track.
- In the last outing for the NASCAR Gander Outdoors Truck Series at Las Vegas (Nev.) Motor Speedway, Gilliland posted a fifth-place finish. So far in 2019, Gilliland has recorded one pole, 53 laps led, four top-five and 11 top-10 finishes and has an average starting position of 7.8 and an average finish of 11.5. Gilliland is ranked 12th in the NASCAR Gander Outdoors Truck Series driver points standings.
- 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 23 Gander Trucks races with two victories. Ward’s drivers have one Gander Outdoors Truck Series start at Talladega, a third-place finish in 2017 with Myatt Snider, and 11 NASCAR Xfinity Series starts at the 2.66-mile superspeedway.
- 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
You won the ARCA Menards Series race in the spring and last year you were second before you wrecked, are you looking forward to Talladega?
“Yeah, definitely. That was my last win, was in the springtime there at Talladega. It’s been a good track for us, last year in the truck was my first superspeedway race ever and I was running second when I wrecked with like 10 laps to go. Superspeedway racing is a lot of fun to me still at this point. I’ve still got a lot to learn. I’m really excited to be working with my spotter, Kevin Hamlin, there, I feel like he’s going to help me out a lot. Just really looking forward to it all around. We’ve got a really fast Mobil 1 Tundra also.”
What’s the difference between Daytona and Talladega?
“In my opinion, I think Talladega is just a lot more fun than Daytona. There’s tons of room at Talladega, where Daytona, running three-wide is kind of uncomfortable and you’re just right on top of each other, but at Talladega you can run three, almost four wide and just be really easy. I think it makes it a lot easier to pass and you get a lot more momentum just going around the race track. For those reasons, I think it’s going to put on a better race and be a lot more fun for the drivers.”
Todd Gilliland Career Highlights
- In 44 career Gander Trucks starts, has collected two poles, 10 top-five and 23 top-10 finishes and led 261 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 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-040: The No. 4 Mobil 1 team has prepared chassis KBM-040 for this weekend’s Sugarlands Shine 250. This chassis has been piloted most recently by Gilliland at Daytona (Fla.) International Speedway earlier this year, and at Talladega last season. The best finish it has attained was a sixth-place at Talladega in 2016 with Christopher Bell at the wheel.
KBM Notes of Interest
- KBM drivers have earned one win, 53 laps led, five top-five and 13 top-10 finishes resulting in an average finish of 11.3 across 22 starts at Talladega Superspeedway.
- Owner-driver Kyle Busch earned the organization’s first and only victory at Talladega Superspeedway in 2010, one of Rowdy’s eight wins in the team’s debut season.
- 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).
