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15-Year-Old Todd Gilliland Joins Truck Series Drivers Bell and Byron
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MOORESVILLE, N.C. (Jan. 29, 2016)– Kyle Busch Motorsports (KBM) announced today that its Super Late Model team is scheduled to compete in over 20 different events around the country during the 2016 season. Fifteen-year-old third-generation driver Todd Gilliland has been added to the team’s Super Late Model driver lineup and will split the schedule with KBM NASCAR Camping World Truck Series drivers Christopher Bell and William Byron, with each driver competing in at least five races.
Gilliland, the son of NASCAR Sprint Cup Series driver David Gilliland and grandson of 1997 NASCAR Winston West champion Butch Gilliland, collected wins in three different racing series in 2015. The racing prodigy won a CARS Late Model Stock race at Southern National Motorsports Park in March, became the youngest winner in ARCA Racing Series’ history with a win in his debut at Toledo (Ohio) Speedway in May and capped off the season with a win in his K&N Pro Series West debut at Phoenix (Ariz.) International Raceway in November. Gilliland’s KBM debut will come at the 2nd Annual Winter Showdown at Kern County Raceway Park in Bakersfield, Calif., Feb. 28. Other races currently on his schedule include the PASS races at Greenville (S.C.) Pickens Speedway on May 14 and at Concord (N.C.) Speedway on May 27.
Bell, an open-wheel dirt standout, began his stock car pavement career in a KBM Late Model in 2014 and has produced seven victories across his 22 career Late Model starts. In 2015, he collected six victories in 15 starts, including his first marquee win last March in the Rattler 250 at South Alabama Speedway in Kinston, Ala. The 21-year-old will open his 2016 Late Model season in the PASS Winter Meltdown at Greenville (S.C.) Pickens Speedway on Feb. 6. Other races currently on his schedule include the Winchester 400 at Winchester (Ind.) Speedway on Oct. 9 and the 49th Annual Snowball Derby at Five Flags Speedway in Pensacola, Fla., on Dec. 4.
Byron, the 2015 NASCAR K&N Pro Series East champion, began his Late Model career in 2014 when he produced one win, seven pole awards and 15 top-five finishes en route to a second-place finish in the championship standings in the NASCAR Whelen Late Model Series at Hickory (N.C.) Motor Speedway. Last season, he collected a victory in the CARS Super Late Model Tour at Hickory in May, finished second in the Denny Hamlin Short Track Showdown at South Boston (Va.) Speedway and came home eighth in his Snowball Derby debut. Byron will open his 2016 Late Model season at SpeedFest at Crisp Motorsports Park in Cordele, Ga., this Sunday, Jan. 31. Other races currently on his schedule include the Redbud 300 at Anderson (Ind.) Speedway onJuly 16, the Winchester 400 on Oct. 9 and the 49th Annual Snowball Derby on Dec. 4.
Byron’s Camry will carry primary sponsorship from Liberty University, the largest private, nonprofit university in the nation, the largest university in Virginia, and the largest Christian university in the world.
“Super Late Model racing is something that I am very passionate about and I’m excited that with the schedule we’ve laid out for our team in 2016 KBM will have a presence at the majority of the marquee events this season,” Busch said. “Competing in these events is a great way for Christopher (Bell) and William (Byron) to get quality seat time while competing against some of the best drivers around the country. Todd (Gilliland) was really impressive last year at such a young age winning races in the CARS Tour, ARCA Series and the K&N Pro Series West — we’re really pumped to have added another up-and-coming talent to our lineup this year.”
Notable wins for the KBM Late Model team since its inception in 2007 include: Wisconsin All-Star 100 at the Milwaukee Mile (Kyle Busch 2008), Red Bud 300 at Anderson Speedway (Kyle Busch 2009), Winchester 400 at Winchester Speedway (Kyle Busch 2009 and Erik Jones 2013 & 2014), Snowball Derby at Five Flags Speedway (Kyle Busch 2009 and Erik Jones 2013), SpeedFest at Lanier National Speedway (Kyle Busch 2009 & 2010), SpeedFest at Watermelon Capital Speedway (Kyle Busch 2012), Rowdy 251 at Berlin Raceway (Kyle Busch 2010, 2011 & 2012), All-American 400 at Fairgrounds Speedway Nashville (TJ Reaid 2010), Slinger Nationals at Slinger Super Speedway (Kyle Busch 2011), the Oxford 250 at Oxford Plains Speedway (Kyle Busch 2011), Denny Hamlin Short Track Showdown at Richmond International Raceway (Kyle Busch 2013), the Howie Lettow Memorial at the Milwaukee Mile (Kyle Busch 2013 and Erik Jones 2014) and the Rattler 250 at South Alabama Speedway (Christopher Bell 2015).
-KBM –
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