Todd Gilliland Plans to Race in Both K&N Pro Series East and West
- Mar 8, 2017
Gilliland, the 2016 K&N Pro Series West champion, led for 20 laps in the East Series race at New Smyrna Speedway. He finished in ninth place, but he earned some valuable points toward the championship. “We picked up right where we left off last year,” said Gilliland, who drives for Bill McAnally Racing. “We were fast in practice and ultimately in the race. We were leading and we blew a right front tire, actually cut a right front tire, from some debris. To be able to come back and still finish ninth, we controlled everything we were able to control. That’s all that a good team can do. We wish it could have been better, but it could have been a ton worse.” The first race in the K&N Pro Series West is March 18 at Tucson Speedway in Arizona. It is the start of a four-race stint in eight days in the K&N Pro Series West. But it is not the busiest part of his NASCAR K&N Pro Series schedule. “This is probably the most races I’ve ever run,” Gilliland said. “It’s definitely going to be a lot of upkeep, a lot of travel. My strategy is hopefully to get better with every race. Hopefully we can learn twice as much as someone that’s just running one of the series.” From June 3 with the K&N Pro Series East race at Memphis International Raceway in Tennessee to Aug. 26 with the K&N Pro Series West race at Douglas County Speedway in Oregon, Gilliland will race almost every weekend. It amounts to 11 races in 13 weeks.
Gilliland and his team have been getting ready for running in the K&N Pro Series East and West since the end of the NASCAR season in Roseville, California, in October. After winning the West Series championship with an eighth-place finish in the race at All American Speedway, Gilliland was busy making plans for the 2017 season. “Preparation began probably five months ago,” Gilliland said. “Right from Roseville, our last race, to get to this season opener. I’m very excited about how well-prepared our team has become. I think we are going to be ready, Sadly, we didn’t get to test, but we’ve had a lot of practice, so we’ll see how it goes.” One race he is looking forward to is the K&N Pro Series event at Bristol Motor Speedway in Tennessee. It was a race he did not do particularly well at last year and he wants a chance to redeem himself. “I am really looking forward to going back to Bristol on the K&N East,” Gilliland said. “That was probably one of our worst runs with just speed. We finished ninth, which isn’t bad.I would say that was where we were off the most. I feel like we’ve gained so much on it since then. I think we’d be better there.” As for his chances of winning both championships in the K&N Pro Series East and West, Gilliland said he is confident in his team. “We figured it would be a great opportunity to run both this year,” Gilliland said. “Everyone at Bill McAnally Racing has been super open to the idea. It’s definitely going to be a lot of hard work. Everyone is definitely up for it. That’s what it’s going to take, a lot of hard work.
K&N as the title sponsor of the Pro Series West and East provides opportunities for drivers to get noticed. Gilliland said he wants to make the most of this opportunity. “Anytime a big sponsor like K&N can take the first step and initiate advertising and everything for younger drivers like myself, and everyone in the K&N Pro Series names out there that some people haven’t heard yet, that’s huge for us,” Gilliland said. “It’s a great opportunity to have them on board.” | ||||
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