Gilliland Fights for a 14th-Place Finish at Bristol

Todd Gilliland, No. 38 Speedco Ford F-150
Start: 11th (based on qualifying formula)
Finish: 14th

• Stage One: 17th
• Stage Two: 18th
• Stage Three: 14th

• Todd Gilliland started 11th at Bristol (Tenn.) Motor Speedway on Thursday night in the No. 38 Speedco Ford F-150. This marked the first race of the Round of 10 in the NASCAR Gander RV & Outdoors Series playoffs. His truck was extremely loose early in the race and he lost a lap to the leader before the stage ended. The track was very green since it had rained all day and washed away any rubber on the surface. He was 17th when Stage One ended on lap 55 and he came to pit road for four tires, fuel and a big track bar adjustment to help tighten up the truck.

• When the second stage began, Gilliland restarted 18th and still a lap down since he was not able to get the free pass. He told his Front Row Motorsports team the truck was still loose, but not as bad as the first run. He was never able to regain his lap in the second stage and finished it 18th on lap 110. He pitted again for more adjustments for the end of the race.

• When the final stage began, Gilliland was 18th, but the first truck a lap down. A caution on lap 163 of 200 was just what the team needed as Gilliland got the free pass and returned to the lead lap. He used the caution to pit for new tires and more chassis adjustments to finish the race. The race resumed with 34 laps to go and Gilliland tried to gain as many positions as he could. He was up to 16th with six laps remaining and finished the race in 15th. After post-race inspection, the fifth-place competitor was disqualified moving Gilliland up to 14th place.

• Gilliland is seeded 10th in the playoff field heading into the next race in the Round of 10 at Las Vegas Motor Speedway on Friday, Sept. 25.

Gilliland on Bristol: "That was definitely not how we wanted to start the playoffs, but now we'll just have to work even harder at Las Vegas next week. The truck was so loose at the start of the race. We thought it was just because of the green track from the rain, but it did not get any better until we were able to pit for adjustments at the end of Stage One. We got better throughout the race, but it took so long to get our lap back that there wasn't much time left to gain track position. We'll have to put this behind us and focus on the Vegas race next Friday. Several playoff trucks also had a tough race so it would have been nice to capitalize on that, but we did what we could with what we had tonight. I have to thank Speedco, Delo and Ford Performance for their support tonight."