Event: World of Westgate 200, Race 18 of 23, 134 Laps – 30/30/74; 201 Miles
Location: Las Vegas (Nev.) Motor Speedway. (1.5-mile oval)
Date/Broadcast: Sept. 14, 2018 at 9 p.m. ET on FS1, MRN and SiriusXM NASCAR 90
What You Need to Know
- Gilliland has no prior NASCAR Camping World Truck Series (NCWTS) starts at Las Vegas Motor Speedway. He was unable to compete in the race there in March due to age restrictions. In his four starts on 1.5-mile tracks since he turned 18 in May, he has three top-10 finishes. His best finish is sixth at Texas Motor Speedway in June.
- After capturing Rookie of the Race honors at Canadian Tire Motorsports Park, Gilliland moved up to second place in the Sunoco Rookie of the Year standings. He is currently only one point out of first place.
- Gilliland earned his best career finish in the NCWTS at Gateway Motorsports Park in Madison, Ill., on June 23 when he jumped up to second place during a two-lap shootout on the final restart.
- In 13 NCWTS starts this season, Gilliland has three top-five, eight top-10 finishes and has led 91 laps. He led a race-high 62 laps at Texas Motor Speedway in June.
Todd Gilliland, Driver Q&A
Are you getting more comfortable racing on the intermediate tracks?
“Yes, for sure. I think a good run at Michigan a few weeks ago kind of really started our momentum. After that we’ve had really great runs at Bristol, a short track, and even up on the road course in Canada. I feel like our team can be good at any type of race track and I think the Vegas race is kind of similar to Michigan. That’s what people have told me. Hopefully we can be just as fast as we were there.”
Now that you are within a point of the Rookie of the Year lead, what would it mean to you to win that award?
“It would mean the world. It’s all we can focus on right now since we’re out of the playoffs, so we don’t have a chance at a championship, but we’ve made up a lot of points on the guys in front of me and being within one point with six races left I really believe we’ll have a really good shot at it. It’s just going to be about staying consistent. We can’t have finishes back in the pack. That’s what it’s going to take.”
Will you get to do anything fun while you are in Las Vegas?
“No, not really. We get into these race tracks so soon and leave right after the race. We’re going to try and hit the NASCAR K&N Pro Series West race at the Vegas dirt track. I think that will be a cool event – their first time on dirt. I definitely won’t want to miss that one.”
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
- 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
Todd Gilliland’s No. 4 JBL/SiriusXM Tundra:
KBM-041: The No. 4 JBL/SiriusXM team will race KBM-041, for Friday’s race at Las Vegas. Gilliland has raced this Tundra twice this year at Dover International Speedway (finished 10th) and Iowa Speedway (finished 29th after an accident).
