Todd Gilliland’s Star Shines Brightest in Family Night at Irwindale

Todd Gilliland is our next guest on Fan4Racing Fan2Fan NASCAR & Race Talk on Monday, July 21, 2014 at 9:30 pm ET. Call 347-996-5176 during the LIVE broadcast to interact with Todd Gilliland and the Fan4Racing panel. 

Following the footsteps of his father David Gilliland, a Sprint Cup Series driver and grandfather Butch Gilliland, a K&N West champion, Todd Gilliland’s star was the brightest at Irwindale Event Center on July 19th.

Saturday night, 14-year-old Todd finished third in the Super Late Models main event, the first time that all three generations of Gillilands have raced each other. Their goal was to finish with all three cars among the top-five. But a ‘twist of fate’ wreaked havoc for one.

Ryan Partridge and David Gilliland collided on lap 30, which literally and figuratively wrecked the family dream for the night. But all was not lost as the other two went on to finish in the top-five, including Todd’s third-place.

It’s been since 2002 since Butch Gilliland has raced competitively; but once again behind the wheel, he showed that racing still runs in his veins, finishing in fifth-place.

Three generations of Gillilands at Irwindale Speedway made their ‘Family Night’ a special event.  And Todd Gilliland proved his bright star is rising as he follows his dad and grand dads’ footsteps into the future.