NASCAR K&N Pro Series East drivers will tackle their second road course of the season with the JUSTDRIVE.com 125 at New Jersey Motorsports Park on Saturday.
Todd Gilliland has taken over the lead in the championship standings as the series heads to the 2.25-mile track in Millville, New Jersey for one of two races remaining on the schedule.
The 17-year-old driver from Sherrills Ford, North Carolina has been on a hot streak in Bill McAnally Racing’s No. 16 NAPA AUTO PARTS Toyota Camry – scoring four wins in the past six races. Those four victories, along with a couple of runner-up finishes, propelled him from a 28-point deficit to a six-point lead in the standings.
Gilliland, who is running the full schedules in the East and West divisions of the NASCAR K&N Pro Series this year, is the first driver in the history of the series to lead both divisions at the same time.
He is optimistic about continuing to run strong as he prepares for his first race on the New Jersey road course.
“We were up there recently for a test and felt it went very well,” said Gilliland, a member of the NASCR Next program. “I’m really excited about what we’re bringing into New Jersey, with the momentum; and the fast NAPA AUTO PARTS Toyota Camrys that the BMR team gives me to drive every race. So, I think we’ll be in contention, just like any other race.”
This marks the second road course event on this year’s schedule. Gilliland finished second at New York’s Watkins Glen International last month. He also competed on a road course in a K&N West action earlier this season, finishing sixth at Northern California’s Sonoma Raceway in June.
Gilliland has been on a roll the past six races, netting an average finish of 1.33. That’s significantly better than his average finish of 5.5 in the first six events – when circumstances beyond his control impacted the outcome in three of those races.
He was leading in the season opener when an apparent piece of debris cut a tire with less than 50 laps remaining. He faced a similar situation in Tennessee at Memphis International Raceway, where he had a flat tire while leading with less than 20 laps to go.
It was weather that affected the outcome of the race at Bristol, meanwhile. Gilliland was relegated to start 21st after qualifying was cancelled due to rain. He worked his way to eighth by the midway break, but storms moved into the area before competition resumed and the race was called.
Despite the problems early in the season, Gilliland remained confident.
“I think the biggest thing for me was where we were running when we had trouble,” he said. “I knew if we just finished the race, we’d be in the top five, if not contending for the win.”
The JUSTDRIVE.com 125 is to be televised on NBCSN on Sept. 21 at 7 p.m. ET. The K&N East made its inaugural visit to New Jersey Motorsports Park last year.
BMR PR
