Gilliland Leads Flag-to-Flag In K&N West Win In Spokane
Story By: ZACH CATANZARETI / NASCAR – SPOKANE, WA – The rain may have tried, but Todd Gilliland owned the night at Spokane County Raceway.
Starting from point for the sixth consecutive week, Gilliland went on to lead every lap in the Toyota/NAPA Auto Parts 150 to score his 11th career NASCAR K&N Pro Series West victory in 20 starts. It was as his fourth consecutive win.
It was the second straight race the 16-year-old from Ford Sherrills, North Carolina, has led flag-to-flag.
His Bill McAnally Racing teammate Derek Kraus was his closest competitor of the night, having multiple runs at the No. 16 NAPA Auto Parts Toyota after the first half of the 150-lap feature. The 15-year-old Sunoco Rookie of the Year candidate came home second, tying his best career finish in the series.
Though it didn’t affect Gilliland, the weather had quite the impact on the day’s on-track events. Delaying the start of the race by nearly two hours, the race did not go green until the cars turned 102 laps behind the pace truck as a last ditch effort to dry the racing surface.
Stopping for fuel before the initial green, it was the Gilliland show from there on.
Chris Eggleston made it a BMR sweep of the podium, while Garrett Archer and Michael Self finished fourth and fifth, respectivley.
Nicole Behar, Julia Landauer, Owen Riddle, Braeden Havens and Kody Vanderwal rounded out the top 10.
With the win, Gilliland extended his championship points lead to 20 over Eggleston and 46 points over Kraus. Archer and Behard round out the top five in points.
The Toyota/NAPA Auto Parts 150 from Spokane County Raceway will air on NBCSN Thursday, May 18 at 10 p.m. PT.
The NASCAR K&N Pro Series West will be back in action Saturday, May 20 at California’s Orange Show Speedway with the Orange Show 150. The green flag is scheduled for 8:30 p.m. PT.
| Fin | Str | Car | Driver | Team | Laps | Points | B/Points | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1 | 16 | Todd Gilliland | NAPA Auto Parts Toyota | 150 | 48 | 5 | Running |
| 2 | 2 | 19 | Derek Kraus * | Carlyle Tools Toyota | 150 | 42 | Running | |
| 3 | 3 | 99 | Chris Eggleston | NAPA Filters Toyota | 150 | 41 | Running | |
| 4 | 7 | 27 | Garret Archer * | Dirt Fish Ford | 150 | 40 | Running | |
| 5 | 6 | 9 | Michael Self | Lucas Oil/Eibach/Sunrise Ford Ford | 150 | 39 | Running | |
| 6 | 8 | 33 | Nicole Behar | Custom Welding & Fabrication/A Pro Auto Body | 150 | 38 | Running | |
| 7 | 4 | 6 | Julia Landauer | Lucas Oil/Eibach/Sunrise Ford Ford | 150 | 37 | Running | |
| 8 | 9 | 55 | Owen Riddle * | Don Riddle Excavating Ford | 150 | 36 | Running | |
| 9 | 12 | 61 | Braeden Havens | Western Rail, Inc. & RTTI Ford | 149 | 35 | Running | |
| 10 | 13 | 32 | Kody Vanderwal * | Trident Processes/ Billtrite Sign/Becker Safety Ford | 149 | 34 | Running | |
| 11 | 10 | 10 | Matt Levin | Risk Management Chevrolet | 149 | 33 | Running | |
| 12 | 14 | 13 | Todd Souza | Central Coast Racing Toyota | 149 | 32 | Running | |
| 13 | 16 | 14 | Andrew Engberson * | The Patriot Motorsports Group Ford | 148 | 31 | Running | |
| 14 | 17 | 11 | Takuma Koga | ASHxTHEES CKB-JKR Chevrolet | 145 | 30 | Running | |
| 15 | 22 | 36 | Jesse Iwuji | Champion Parts/Lights Out/ Bullet Proof Energy | 144 | 29 | Running | |
| 16 | 21 | 30 | Stafford Smith * | Kart Idaho/Famous Idaho Potatoes/Red List Gr. Ford | 143 | 28 | Running | |
| 17 | 20 | 39 | Andrew Tuttle * | Derek Cate Music/Mirage Trailers/Price Enterprise | 140 | 27 | Running | |
| 18 | 15 | 21 | Blaine Perkins | Four Star Fruit Chevrolet | 139 | 26 | Running | |
| 19 | 11 | 7 | Will Rodgers * | Solvang Brewing Company Ford | 139 | 25 | Running | |
| 20 | 5 | 40 | Ron Norman | Port of Tucson Chevrolet | 123 | 24 | Running | |
| 21 | 18 | 38 | Salvatore Iovino * | Salvatore Iovino Chevrolet | 73 | 23 | Accident | |
| 22 | 19 | 84 | Rich DeLong III | Country Girl Saloon/Ron’s Rear Ends Chevrolet | 10 | 22 | Accident |
RACE STATISTICS
Fastest Qualifier: Todd Gilliland, Time: 18.481 Seconds, Speed: 97.397 mph
Time of Race: 1 hrs., 8 mins, 41 secs Average Speed: 65.518 mph Margin of Victory: 2.360 Seconds
Caution Flags: Laps 12-33 (21, 84, 36 & 38 Acc T4 – Free Pass 39); 68-74 (38 Spun Back Straight – Free Pass 14); 81-87 (Break – Free Pass 7). 3 for 36 laps.
Lap Leaders: Todd Gilliland 1-150.
Total Laps Led: Todd Gilliland 150. 0 changes involving 1 drivers.
Top 10 Driver Points: Todd Gilliland 234, Chris Eggleston 214, Derek Kraus * 188, Garret Archer * 185, Nicole Behar 185, Will Rodgers * 183, Julia Landauer 173, Blaine Perkins 167, Kody Vanderwal * 164, Matt Levin 160
* Denotes a Sunoco Rookie Driver
