Todd Gilliland on Fan4Racing Radio at 8:40 pm ET Monday, May 15, 2017 Photo – Lindsey Wasson/Getty Images
Todd Gilliland is our guest on Fan4Racing NASCAR & Race Talk, Monday, May 15, 2017 at 8:40 pm ET. Call 929-477-1790 or tweet @Fan4RacingSite or @Sal_Sigala with any questions or comments during our LIVE broadcast.
NASCAR Next driver, Todd Gilliland Dominating with Near Perfect K&N Pro Series West Season
Although rain was challenging throughout the event, Todd Gilliland and his team kept their focus at Spokane County Raceway, adding to their near perfect K&N West season!
After earning his sixth consecutive Pole, Gilliland led every lap of the Toyota/NAPA Auto Parts 150 to score his 11th career NASCAR K&N Pro Series West Victory and his fourth consecutive win of the season.
“When we unloaded, we were not very good to start,” said Gilliland after winning at Spokane County Raceway. “Everyone really put their heads down and kept digging and didn’t worry about speed or whatever anyone else was doing. We really just focused on our NAPA Toyota and the feel of it. We got it driving quite a bit better. We were fastest in qualifying and that set us up great for the race. We were able to get out to the lead and manage it from there.”
It was the second straight race the 16-year-old from Ford Sherrills, North Carolina, has led flag-to-flag after a dominating performance last time out at California’s Irwindale Event Center. With five starts this season, the only time Gilliland hasn’t won, is his second-place finish in the season opener at Tucson Speedway.
Derek Kraus, a Bill McAnally Racing teammate, was Gilliland’s closest competitor of the night. Kraus had several runs at Gilliland’s No. 16 NAPA Auto Parts Toyota after the first half of the 150-lap feature. The 15-year-old Sunoco Rookie of the Year contender came home second for his best career finish in the series.
The rainy weather didn’t have an effect on Gilliland’s night, but it did delay the start of the race by nearly two hours. Postponing the green flag start, competitors drove 102 laps behind the pace truck trying to dry the racing surface.
Stopping for fuel before the green, Gilliland and his No 16 NAPA Toyota was the show from start to the finish.
Behind the 2016 K&N West champ, there was some close competition and tough breaks for those trying to catch him. A crash on lap 14 with Blaine Perkins and Rich DeLong III brought out the first of two red flag sessions. The second was due to a puddle of water dropped by one of the safety trucks during the cleanup.
Following a lengthy rain delay, the race didn’t see the checkered flag until well after midnight on the West Coast.
Another BMR driver, Chris Eggleston came home third while Garrett Archer and Michael Self finished fourth and fifth.
Nicole Behar, Julia Landauer, Owen Riddle, Braeden Havens and Kody Vanderwal rounded out the top-ten finishers.
Set your DVR’s for the Toyota/NAPA Auto Parts 150 from Spokane County Raceway as NBCSN will air the race on Thursday, May 18 at 10 pm PT.
The NASCAR K&N Pro Series West will be back in action Saturday, May 20 at California’s Orange Show Speedway for the Orange Show 150. The green flag will wave at 8:30 pm PT.