Todd Gilliland Wins the Road Course Truck Race at COTA

Jared C. Tilton/Getty mages

AUSTIN, TX – RIS – The rains came and stayed on Saturday, but it did not stop Todd Gilliland at all.  The 21-year-old took his Ford F-150, won the first stage and after a pit penalty roared through the field and won the road race at the Circuit of the Americas (COTA) road course in what was a dominant day for the Front Row Motorsports driver. He won by 7.9 seconds. It is Gilliland’s second career series win. His previous Truck win came in October 2019 at Martinsville Speedway.

Kaz Grala finished second. He was followed by Tyler Ankrum, Grant Enfinger and Sheldon Creed, who led a race-high 14 laps.

Saturday’s race started in rain and ended with sun and the track drying in portions the trucks ran. Competitors ran rain tires the entire event on the 20-turn, 3.41-mile course. Tire wear was the biggest worry for the teams since rain tires wear out fast on dry pavement.  It didn’t deter Gilliland from taking the checkered flag.

Gilliland’s first stage win found him outdueling Grala on the final lap of the first stage. Gilliland had to restart the second stage at the back of the field after he was penalized for his pit crew going over the wall too soon. He used strategy and drove through field to have a chance to win the 41-lap race.

Gilliland picked up five playoff points for the race win and another playoff point for a Stage 1 win. Gilliland chased down Grala on the final lap to win Stage 1. However, his crew went over the wall too soon at the stage break, forcing the No. 38 Ford to start from the tail of the field for Stage 2.

Ben Rhodes benefitted from several trucks pitting in front of him before the stage break to pick up the Stage 2 win, his first stage win in 2021.

Also in Stage 2, Zane Smith had a left-rear tire go down on the No. 21 Chevrolet while he was running in the top three. Smith had to limp back to pit road and finished Stage 2 in 34th place. He battled back to finish the race in eighth place.

The Truck Series returns to the track Friday for the North Carolina Education Lottery 200 at Charlotte Motor Speedway (the final race in the Triple Truck Challenge).

Unofficial Results: Inaugural Toyota Tundra 225 - May 22, 2021, Circuit of The Americas - 3.41 - Mile Paved

Fin, St, Driver, Truck, Laps, St1, St2, Tms Led, Laps Led, Playoff Pts, Pts, Status
1) 5, Todd Gilliland, No. 38 Crosley Brands Ford, 41, 1, 9, 2, 8, 6, 52, Running
2) 2, Kaz Grala, No. 02 Young's Building Systems Chevrolet, 41, 2, 6, 1, 11, , 49, Running
3) 1, Tyler Ankrum, No. 26 Circle B Diecast Chevrolet, 41, 3, 5, 1, 4, , 48, Running
4) 23, Grant Enfinger, No. 9 Good Sam Club Chevrolet, 41, , , , , , 33, Running
5) 3, Sheldon Creed, No. 2 Chevrolet, 41, 9, 4, 2, 14, , 41, Running
6) 21, Sam Mayer, No. 32 Camping World Chevrolet, 41, 6, 8, , , , 39, Running
7) 17, Carson Hocevar #, No. 42 PlainsCapital/MG Machinery Chevrolet, 41, , , , , , 30, Running
8) 15, Zane Smith, No. 21 MRC Construction Chevrolet, 41, , , , , , 29, Running
9) 9, Austin Hill, No. 16 United Rentals Toyota, 41, , , , , , 28, Running
10) 11, Ben Rhodes, No. 99 Bombardier LearJet 75 Toyota, 41, 5, 1, 1, 3, 1, 43, Running
11) 26, Paul Menard, No. 66 Mattei Air Compressors Toyota, 41, , , , , , 26, Running
12) 6, John Hunter Nemechek, No. 4 ROMCO Toyota, 41, 8, , , , , 28, Running
13) 13, Parker Kligerman, No. 75 Good Sam Club Chevrolet, 41, , , , , , 24, Running
14) 28, Hailie Deegan #, No. 1 Monster Energy Ford, 41, , , , , , 23, Running
15) 4, Matt Crafton, No. 88 Oklahoma Joe's/Menards Toyota, 41, 4, 2, 1, 1, , 38, Running
16) 29, Austin Wayne Self, No. 22 GOTEXAN/AM Technical Solutions Chevrolet, 41, , , , , , 21, Running
17) 16, Stewart Friesen, No. 52 Halmar International Toyota, 41, 7, , , , , 24, Running
18) 8, Parker Chase, No. 51 Vertical Bridge Toyota, 41, , , , , , 19, Running
19) 24, Camden Murphy, No. 11 Inox Supreme Lubricants Chevrolet, 41, , 10, , , , 19, Running
20) 12, Ryan Truex, No. 40 Freightliner Chevrolet, 41, , , , , , 17, Running
21) 19, Derek Kraus, No. 19 NAPA Auto Care Toyota, 41, , 3, , , , 24, Running
22) 27, Johnny Sauter, No. 13 AHI Facility Services Toyota, 41, , , , , , 15, Running
23) 32, Lawless Alan, No. 34 Auto Parkit Toyota, 41, , , , , , 14, Running
24) 22, Timmy Hill, No. 56 Good Sam Chevrolet, 41, 10, , , , , 14, Running
25) 30, Tate Fogleman, No. 12 Solid Rock Carriers Chevrolet, 41, , , , , , 12, Running
26) 14, Bayley Currey, No. 45 Chasco Constructors Chevrolet, 41, , 7, , , , 15, Running
27) 31, Chase Purdy #, No. 23 BamaBuggies.com Chevrolet, 41, , , , , , 10, Running
28) 33, Jack Wood, No. 24 Chevy Accessories Chevrolet, 41, , , , , , 9, Running
29) 25, Michele Abbate, No. 30 Scoshe Toyota, 41, , , , , , 8, Running
30) 34, Cory Roper, No. 04 CarQuest Auto Parts Ford, 41, , , , , , 7, Running
31) 36, Tanner Gray, No. 15 Ford Performance Ford, 40, , , , , , 6, Running
32) 18, Timothy Peters, No. 25 Rackley Roofing Chevrolet, 40, , , , , , 5, Running
33) 20, Chandler Smith #, No. 18 Safelite AutoGlass Toyota, 39, , , , , , 4, Running
34) 35, Roger Reuse, No. 3 I Heart Mac & Cheese Chevrolet, 38, , , , , , 3, Running
35) 10, Christian Eckes, No. 98 Farm Paint/Curb Records Toyota, 36, , , , , , 2, Suspension
36) 7, Cameron Lawrence, No. 33 Impact Health Chevrolet, 34, , , , , , 1, Running
(i) Ineligible for driver points in this series, (#) Rookie

Time of Race: 1 Hrs, 58 Mins, 30 Secs.
Race Length: 41 Laps, 139.81 Miles
Average Speed: 70.79 MPH
Margin of Victory: 7.941 Seconds

Stage 1 Top 10: 38, 02, 26, 88, 99, 32, 52, 4, 2, 56
Stage 2 Top 10: 99, 88, 19, 2, 26, 02, 45, 32, 38, 11

Comments: Todd Gilliland won the Toyota Tundra 225, his second career NASCAR Camping World Truck Series victory.

Prior to the start, the following trucks dropped to the rear of the field for the reasons indicated: Nos. 15 and 40 (engine change), No. 34 (transmission change) and No. 22 and 23 (unapproved adjustments).

Failed to Qualify: (7) 44 Logan Bearden, 41 Dawson Cram, 20 Spencer Boyd, 72 Samuel Lecomte, 49 John Atwell, 83 Brad Gross, 10 Jennifer Jo Cobb.

Caution Flags: 2 for 2 laps;
Laps: 14-14 (Stage 1 Conclusion [None]);
28-28 (Stage 2 Conclusion [3]).

Lead Changes: 8 among 6 drivers;
K. Grala 1-11;
T. Gilliland 12-13;
S. Creed 14-23;
B. Rhodes 24-26;
M. Crafton 27;
S. Creed 28-31;
T. Ankrum 32-35;
T. Gilliland 36-41.