Gilliland Looks to Capture Second Straight K&N
Pro
Series East Win with DGR-CROSLEY
MOORESVILLE, N.C. (April 10, 2018)
- Todd Gilliland will be back behind the wheel of a DGR-CROSLEY prepared Toyota this weekend for the NASCAR K&N Pro Series East (NKNPSE) Zombie Auto 150 at Bristol (Tenn.) Motor Speedway. Gilliland, the most recent winner in the NKNPSE, will be piloting the No. 98 Mobil 1 Toyota alongside his current NASCAR Camping World Truck Series (NCWTS) teammate Noah Gragson and NKNPSE regular Tyler Ankrum.
The 17-year-old NASCAR K&N Pro Series Champion has two previous starts at the historic half-mile track where he finished inside the top-10 in both races. In 2017, Gilliland started 21st and worked his way to eighth in just 70 laps before the race was called due to rain. While he only has two starts at Bristol Motor Speedway, Gilliland is a special talent on short tracks. Across 16 starts in the NKNPSE series the young driver has six wins, 11 top-five's and has scored no less than a top-10 in all 16 races.
"It's always fun when I can come back to race in the K&N Series," said Gilliland. "I'm looking forward to working with the DGR-CROSLEY guys again. They gave me a fast car at New Smyrna [Speedway], and we were able to take them to victory lane. Hoping we can do the same this weekend at Bristol with Mobil 1 on the car."
Both Gilliland and Gragson are taking advantage of the five-week break in the NCWTS schedule and getting valuable track time at Bristol Motor Speedway- a track that they will visit later in the season.
"We have several weeks off before our next race in the Truck Series - being able to get behind the wheel helps keep me sharp and focused," said Gilliland. "Bristol is one of the most challenging short tracks that we visit on the circuit, so getting this opportunity to run and gain more experience here will help me when I come back later in the season with the Truck Series."
Although Gilliland has competed in the last two NKNPSE events at Bristol Motor Speedway, the race will have a different feel this year after NASCAR officials announced a new format for the Auto Zombie 150. The series tacked on 25 laps and added an additional five-minute break, creating an exciting 50-lap shootout to the end.
Gilliland and his teammates will battle for the prized sword trophy in the Zombie Auto 150 on Saturday, April 14 at approximately 4:00 p.m., ET, immediately following the NASCAR XFINITY race.
