K&N West Makes Annual Visit To Evergreen
• Family Tradition Continues For Gilliland At Monroe Track
ROSEVILLE, Calif. (Aug. 9, 2016) – NASCAR K&N Pro Series West drivers will compete this week at one of the most historic tracks on the circuit when they travel to Evergreen Speedway for the NAPA AUTO PARTS 150 presented by Toyota on Saturday.
Fifty-five series races, dating back to 1964, have been contested on the oval track in Monroe, Washington.
Rookie Todd Gilliland will be the third generation of his family to compete in K&N West action at the speedway. His father, David, won a pole and had a top-five finish in two series starts at the fairgrounds track and his grandfather, Butch, scored two wins in 11 series starts there.
Gilliland, 16, is part of this year’s driver lineup for Bill McAnally Racing. He and fellow rookies, Riley Herbst and Julia Landauer, team with defending series champion Chris Eggleston. They are joined by Cole Moore, who is gaining series experience in racing select events on this year’s schedule.
Gilliland, who drives BMR’s No. 16 NAPA AUTO PARTS Toyota Camry, leads the championship standings and also tops the chase for this year’s rookie title. The Sherrills Ford, North Carolina driver is coming off a big victory in the NASCAR K&N Pro Series East-West combination race at Iowa Speedway, in which he scored his fourth win in the first eight races this season. In addition to the victories, Gilliland has seven top-five finishes.
Herbst, a 17-year-old from Las Vegas who drives the No. 19 NOS Energy Drink Toyota Camry, is also coming off a strong performance in the combination race at Iowa. He shadowed the leader for part of the race and finished sixth overall, third among K&N West drivers. He is eighth in the series standings and fourth in rookie points – with three top-five and six top-10 finishes.
Eggleston, who finished third last year at Monroe, is fourth in the championship standings – driving the No. 50 NAPA Filters / H20 Fire Protection Toyota Camry. The Erie, Colorado driver has two wins and six top-five finishes this year.
Landauer is sixth in the overall standings and second in rookie points, driving BMR’s No. 54 Curb Records Toyota Camry. The 24-year-old New York native – who resides in Charlotte, North Carolina – has three top-five and seven top-10 finishes this season.
Gilliland and Landauer are members of the NASCAR Next program that spotlights NASCAR’s rising stars.
Moore, who pilots the No. 20 JM Environmental Toyota Camry, will be making his third series start – the fourth of his career. The 19-year-old second-generation driver from Granite Bay, California finished 14th in his two previous starts this season.
Activities at Evergreen Speedway on Saturday include a VIP NAPA Hospitality.
The NAPA AUTO PARTS 150 presented by Toyota, the ninth event on a 14-race schedule, will be televised on NBCSN on Aug. 25 at 8 p.m. ET.