Concord, NC (May 11, 2015) – Todd Gilliland, the son of current NASCAR Sprint Cup driver David Gilliland, will make his ARCA Racing Series presented by Menards racing debut with Venturini Motorsports (VMS) at Toledo Speedway on Sunday, May 17th during the Menards 200 presented by Federated Auto Care.
Todd Gilliland will make his ARCA debut behind the wheel of his No.55 Core Power-Hostetler Almonds Toyota. Veteran Crew Chief, Jeff McClure, will be atop the pit box for VMS at Toledo.
Gilliland, who will celebrate his 15th birthday just two days before his first ARCA start, will also become age eligible to compete the same day under ARCA’s minimum age requirement. In doing so Gilliland will become the youngest driver in series history to start a race.
“It’s super exciting getting an opportunity to run an ARCA race in really good equipment. Of course I want a solid finish but the main goal is to gain experience and earn the respect of the other drivers. I just want to make the most of this opportunity,” said Gilliland.
In preparation for Toledo, Gilliland tested at Motor Mile Speedway (Radford, Va.) last week alongside VMS teammate and ARCA series veteran Frank Kimmel.
“Todd did a great job. I was really impressed how quickly he adapted to the extra power and how he was able to adjust throughout the course of the day. It was a successful test,” said Frank Kimmel.
After years of success in the quarter midgets ranks Gilliland has transitioned to Late Models and Super Late Model racing under the David Gilliland Racing (DGR) driver development banner.
In 2013, competing as a 12-13 year old, Gilliland won two Western Quarter Midget Championships and one National Quarter Midget Championship. At 13, he also made three Limited Late Model starts earning a career best second place finish at Myrtle Beach in the season ending event.
In 2014, Gilliland earned two poles and picked up his first Limited Late Model win at Ace Speedway (Altamahaw, NC). As the season progressed Gilliland moved up to the Late Models and Super Late Models earning numerous top-5 finishes.
Earlier this year, Gilliland won his first Late Model race at Southern National Motorsports Park in the CARS Late Model Series.
Gilliland, a third generation driver, is currently competing in selective CARS Late Mode Stock and Super Late Model Stock Tour events. In addition to Gilliland’s first ARCA start, his plans also include to “pick and choose” bigger Late Model races as opposed to running for a point championship.
The Menards 200 presented by Federated Car Care will spread out over two days, Saturday andSunday, May 16 and 17. Practice for the Menards 200 will include two sessions from 11:45am to 12:30pm ET and final practice from 1:00pm to 1:45pm Saturday afternoon with Menards Pole Qualifying presented by Ansell at 3:30pm. Menards 200 race day festivities get underway Sunday with pre-race ceremonies and driver introductions at 1:30pm, with the green flag to follow at 2:00pm. The Menards 200 presented by Federated Car Care will air live on the CBS Sports Network.
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ABOUT VENTURINI MOTORSPORTS:
Venturini Motorsports (VMS), fielding cars for over 30-years in the ARCA Racing Series presented by Menards, is one of the premier NASCAR driver development programs in the country. Multiple team championships and consistent on-track success, VMS has evolved into one of the most recognizable names in motorsports. Since 2007, VMS has assisted in the career development of notable NASCAR drivers such as Joey Logano, Justin Allgaier, Brian Scott, Alex Bowman, Ryan Blaney, Brennan Poole, John Wes Townley, Brandon Jones, and Justin Boston. Over the years the Venturini name has become synonymous with modern-day racing in America. In 2012, the Venturini family was inducted into the National Italian American Sports Hall of Fame (www.NIASHF.org) and now find themselves enshrined with such sports icons as Joe DiMaggio, Mario Andretti, Vince Lombardi, Tommy Lasorda and Rocky Marciano.
Official: www.VenturiniMotorsports.com | Twitter: @VenturiniMotor | Facebook: Venturini Motorsports
