Todd Gilliland, Bill McAnally Racing Reuniting in Memphis

Todd Gilliland will be back behind the wheel of a Bill McAnally Racing Toyota this weekend for the first time since 2017, as he’ll pilot the No. 19 NAPA Power Premium Plus Toyota at Memphis International Raceway.

Gilliland will be filling in for Hailie Deegan, who will be competing in an ARCA Menard’s Series race at Pocono Raceway over the weekend. The two-time K&N Pro Series West champion (2016 and 2017) of Sherrills Ford, North Carolina has 19 career wins in NASCAR K&N Pro Series competition, and is excited to get back after it with his old team.

“I‘m really looking forward to kind of getting back with some of my old team members,” Gilliland told NASCAR.com. “The seat was open, Bill (McAnally) said he was still bringing three cars to Memphis and luckily I had just talked to him, so I think I was fresh in his mind. Got the call and really excited to be back.”

Sponsored by NAPA Auto Parts for his two championships and his three seasons at BMR, team owner Bill McAnally is excited to have Gilliland back on board and on site for a big NAPA event.

“It‘s really great that Todd will be there to participate in the event,” McAnally said in a release. “We look forward to having him back with us at Memphis — with the two series championships he won with us and his relationship with NAPA.”

Can‘t wait ud83eudd29 https://t.co/JcRuBSmb0X

— Todd Gilliland (@ToddGilliland_) May 28, 2019

Gilliland drives for DGR-Crosley Racing, co-owned by his father David Gilliland, and has done so since the team’s inception a couple years back. DGR and BMR have shared drivers in the past, as current K&N East and West points leader Derek Kraus piloted the No. 1 DGR Toyota last season at New Hampshire.

“My dad always wants me to race as much as possible,” Gilliland said. “Obviously it‘s a little different. I see the DGR guys everyday at the shop and get to hang out with them. But I‘ve made sure to tell them all that I‘m gonna beat ‘em all. Already getting in their head.

In his one previous series start at Memphis two years ago, he led 45 laps, but a flat tire with less than 20 laps to go took him out of contention and left him to finish eighth.

Racing-Reference: Todd Gilliland Career Statistics

“Going back there I just want to win even more,” he said of the 0.75-mile Tennessee oval. “It‘s a really cool race track, you‘ve gotta be conservative on your tires and restarts are really important. It looks easy to pass but its actually really hard, everyone’s sliding around. You‘ve gotta get a good restart every time, make it happen, have a good long run car and hopefully end up in Victory Lane.”

Currently competing in the NASCAR Gander Outdoors Truck Series for Kyle Busch Motorsports, Gilliland is coming off two consecutive top 10 results, and hopes a solid run at MIR can help propel him and the No. 4 team to their first win together in the series.

“Anytime I go back to the K&N Pro Series I have a lot of confidence,” he said. “It feels really good to go back to the race track and have that. I‘m not sure how we‘ll be but hopefully we‘ll be right up there contending for the win. I didn‘t know that Derek Kraus was leading the East points, so that‘s pretty cool to be able to go in there, support him, hopefully beat him.”

The Memphis 150 presented by AutoZone is scheduled to go green at 6 p.m. ET on Saturday, June 1. The race will be live streamed on FansChoice.TV.