Gilliland Leads the Most Laps and Finishes Sixth at Texas

After celebrating his high school graduation during pre-race ceremonies, Todd Gilliland led a race-high 62 laps (of 167) in his Mobil 1 Tundra in his first appearance at the 1.5-mile Texas Motor Speedway. His sixth-place finish was the highest-finishing Toyota driver in Friday night’s NASCAR Camping World Truck Series race and was Gilliland’s third consecutive top-10 finish this season.
 
Stage One Recap:
  • Gilliland started second after missing the pole by just two one-hundredths of a second.
  • He remained second until a pit stop under caution shortly before the end of the stage for right-side tires and a track bar adjustment to free-up his Mobil 1 Tundra.
  • He was 11th when the race resumed and ended the stage in ninth. Once the trucks which hadn’t pitted earlier came to pit road, Gilliland moved up to third.
 
Stage Two Recap:
  • Gilliland started the second stage from third place on lap 47. By lap 50 he took the lead and stayed there until he pitted under caution on lap 75 before the end of the stage.
  • He pitted for four tires and no adjustments since he was pleased with his truck.
  • He was eighth when the race resumed since six trucks opted to stay out. He was fifth when Stage Two ended.
 
Stage Three Recap:
  • Once the remaining trucks cycled through the pits, Gilliland returned to the lead to start the final 87-lap stage.
  • He held off series veteran Johnny Sauter for several laps, but eventually fell back to fourth as the Tundra tightened-up.
  • He was third with 20 to go, but would have to pit again since he could not make it on fuel. A much-needed caution on lap 150 brought him to pit road for fuel and a wedge adjustment and he returned to the track in seventh place.
  • He was sixth with 10 to go, but a lengthy caution slowed his forward progress. In the few remaining green-flag laps he was not able to advance and finished sixth.

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