Gilliland Grabs Second In First Visit To NHMS
• Makes Most Of Late-Race Restart In K&N Pro Series East
LOUDON, N.H. (July 16, 2016) – Todd Gilliland capitalized on a green-white-checkered finish to grab the runner-up spot in the United Site Services 70 NASCAR K&N Pro Series East race at New Hampshire Motor Speedway on Saturday.
The 16-year-old rookie from Sherrills Ford, North Carolina was making his first start at the 1.058-mile track known as the Magic Mile, driving the No. 16 Fire Alarm Services/Curb Records Toyota Camry for Bill McAnally Racing.
Gilliland, a member of the NASCAR Next program that spotlights NASCAR’s rising stars, had steadily moved up from seventh on the grid and was running third on the restart for a green-white-checkered finish. The third-generation driver made the most of the opportunity and gained one more spot in the final two laps.
“It was a tough race, hard fought,” Gilliland said. “It was pretty hard to pass. So you had to get all you could on restarts.”
Gilliland pointed out, meanwhile, that competing against veteran drivers such as race winner Corey LaJoie benefitted him.
“To run in the top three with some very experienced guys is always good and I learned a lot,” he said.
Gilliland praised his Bill McAnally Racing team for their preparation.
“The BMR guys worked hard yesterday, and we had limited practice,” he said. “They gave me a really good car.”
Saturday’s race marked Gilliland’s first event with Fire Alarm Services on board as his primary sponsor. He drives the No. 16 NAPA AUTO PARTS Toyota Camry while running the full schedule in the NASCAR K&N Pro Series West this season – as well as racing in select K&N East events during the course of the year.
Gilliland has one win, three top-five, and five top-10 finishes in five starts this season in the K&N East.
The New Hampshire race capped off Gilliland’s sixth consecutive weekend of competition. His schedule included three K&N East races: Connecticut’s Stafford Motor Speedway on June 17, Columbus (Ohio) Motor Speedway on July 2, and New Hampshire; and three K&N West races: Colorado National Speedway on June 11; Sonoma (California) Raceway on June 25; and Stateline Speedway in Post Falls, Idaho on July 9.
“I love racing every weekend,” Gilliland said. “I couldn’t ask for anything better.”
The United Site Services 70, the ninth event on a 14-race schedule, will be televised on NBCSN on July 21 at 11 p.m. ET.
The next event on the schedule is the NASCAR K&N Pro Series East-West combination race at Iowa Speedway in Newton, Iowa on July 29.