Gilliland Doubles Up In K&N West Events At Irwindale
Story By: ZACH CATANZARETI / NASCAR – IRWINDALE, CA – It was a clean night at Irwindale Event Center. And that’s just how Todd Gilliland wanted it.
Leading the field from pole, and hot off a win in the first NAPA Auto Parts Twin 100 feature, the 16-year-old from Sherrills Ford, North Carolina, held off a hard-charging Chris Eggleston to win for the third time in 2017 and 10th time in his NASCAR K&N Pro Series West career.
The victory, his second at Irwindale, also awards him a $10,000 prize for finishing in the top-three spots in the four-race NAPA 500 Challenge Series.
The NASCAR Next driver’s win also marked Bill McAnally Racing’s 14th victory at the California short-track.
With only one caution in the opening 92 laps, it looked as though it would come easy to the reigning K&N Pro Series West champion. However, a spin from Takuma Koga set up a mad dash to the checkered with four laps to go.
Eggleston, diving his No. 99 NAPA Filters Toyota into Turn 1, grabbed the race lead for the first time of the night from Gilliland… for about 40 feet.
A swift over-under maneuver from Gilliland and his No. 16 NAPA Auto Parts Toyota quickly gave him the lead back by the time they reached Turn 3.
Repeating the show with two laps to go, Eggleston was unable to make the move work for the win. A second-place finish marks the fourth straight top-five finish for the 28-year-old Erie, Colorado, native.
Michael Self, 26, from Park City, Utah, was the only other man to win anything Saturday at Irwindale, as he took the top spot in final practice in his No. 9 Sunrise Ford/Eibach Springs/Lucas Oil Ford. In the race, Self grabbed a third-place finish followed by Derek Kraus and Will Rodgers, who earns a fourth straight top five, in fifth.
Julia Landauer finished sixth with Garrett Archer, who rebounded from a start-line violation, Nicole Behar, Blaine Perkins and Todd Souza completing the top 10.
The NAPA Auto Parts Twin 100s will air on NBCSN, Saturday, April 1 7p.m. ET/4 p.m. PT and 8 p.m. ET/5 p.m. PT.
The NASCAR K&N Pro Series West will be back in action May 13 at Washington’s Spokane County Raceway.
| Fin | Str | Car | Driver | Team | Laps | Points | B/Points | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1 | 16 | Todd Gilliland | NAPA Auto Parts Toyota | 100 | 48 | 5 | Running |
| 2 | 2 | 99 | Chris Eggleston | NAPA Filters Toyota | 100 | 42 | Running | |
| 3 | 7 | 9 | Michael Self | Lucas Oil/Eibach/Sunrise Ford Ford | 100 | 41 | Running | |
| 4 | 6 | 19 | Derek Kraus * | Carlyle Tools Toyota | 100 | 40 | Running | |
| 5 | 10 | 7 | Will Rodgers * | Craft Beer Racing Ford | 100 | 39 | Running | |
| 6 | 4 | 6 | Julia Landauer | Lucas Oil/Eibach/Sunrise Ford Ford | 100 | 38 | Running | |
| 7 | 5 | 27 | Garret Archer * | Recruit 4 Business/Dirt Fish Ford | 100 | 37 | Running | |
| 8 | 13 | 33 | Nicole Behar | Custom Welding & Fabrication Toyota | 100 | 36 | Running | |
| 9 | 12 | 21 | Blaine Perkins | Four Star Fruit Chevrolet | 100 | 35 | Running | |
| 10 | 11 | 13 | Todd Souza | Central Coast Cabinets Toyota | 100 | 34 | Running | |
| 11 | 9 | 40 | Ron Norman | Port of Tucson Chevrolet | 99 | 33 | Running | |
| 12 | 3 | 10 | Matt Levin | Risk Management Chevrolet | 99 | 32 | Running | |
| 13 | 8 | 61 | Johnny Borneman | Borneman Trucking Ford | 99 | 31 | Running | |
| 14 | 14 | 30 | Stafford Smith * | Kart Idaho/The Red List Group/Wax4Dads Ford | 98 | 30 | Running | |
| 15 | 16 | 32 | Kody Vanderwal * | Trident Processes/ Billtrite Sign/Becker Safety Ford | 98 | 29 | Running | |
| 16 | 15 | 84 | Rich DeLong III | Country Girl Saloon/Ron’s Rear Ends Chevrolet | 98 | 28 | Running | |
| 17 | 18 | 18 | Bill Kann | B&B Motorsports Toyota | 97 | 27 | Running | |
| 18 | 17 | 36 | Jesse Iwuji | The Red List Group/Lights Out/Rabbit Coffee | 97 | 26 | Running | |
| 19 | 19 | 11 | Takuma Koga | ASHxTHEES CKB-JKR Chevrolet | 95 | 25 | Running | |
| 20 | 20 | 14 | Dan Phillippi * | Next Level Physical Therapy, J127, Inc Ford | 94 | 24 | Running |
RACE STATISTICS
Fastest Qualifier: Todd Gilliland, Time: 18.054 Seconds, Speed: 99.701 mph
Time of Race: 0 hrs., 37 mins, 9 secs Average Speed: 80.754 mph Margin of Victory: .415 Seconds
Caution Flags: Laps 44-49 (Debris – Free Pass 61); 93-96 (11 Spun Turn 1, Free Pass 13). 2 for 10 laps.
Lap Leaders: Todd Gilliland 1-100.
Total Laps Led: Todd Gilliland 100. 0 changes involving 1 drivers.
Top 10 Driver Points: Chris Eggleston 173, Will Rodgers * 158, Nicole Behar 147, Derek Kraus * 146, Garret Archer * 145, Todd Gilliland 143, Blaine Perkins 141, Julia Landauer 136, Kody Vanderwal * 130, Matt Levin 127
Next Race:5/13/2017
* – Denotes Sunoco Rookie of the Year contender
