Photo Credit: Jared C. Tilton/Getty Images
David Gilliland has competed in 400 NASCAR races in his career. He’s even won once before, but no race will be as special for him as this afternoon’s NASCAR Camping World Truck Series event. He’ll be racing against (and likely trying to beat) his son, 17-year-old Todd Gilliland.
“It’s exciting. It’s obviously super special. I’ve gone into a lot of races in my career, and I’ve looked forward to a lot of them, but nothing’s been like this,” David Gilliland said after Truck Series practice at Dover International Speedway on Thursday.
“This is our first time racing against each other in a NASCAR series. It’s just super special getting to race with your son.”
Todd Gilliland will be competing in just his eighth Truck Series start this weekend, but he’s been highly touted as a future NASCAR superstar. The Kyle Busch Motorsports driver has 20 wins between the NASCAR K&N East and West Series. Those 20 wins come in just 50 starts — that’s nearly winning in half of his starts.
The younger Gilliland, though, hasn’t had the results at Dover he might like. In two starts between the K&N East and Truck Series, he’s yet to score a top-10 finish. He’ll be leaning on his dad for some advice.
“He’s always a good guy to lean on for me,” Todd Gilliland said. “Now, with his first-hand experience at the race track, the same track conditions that I’m dealing with right now, it’s going to be a little bit of an advantage.”
At the end of the day, David and Todd Gilliland are both racers, so they want to beat each other, but David’s soaking in the opportunity to race his son.
“This is one of my favorite race tracks, so [it’s a] special weekend,” David said.
David Gilliland will drive the No. 54 DGR-Crosley Toyota Tundra, while Todd Gilliland will drive the No. 4 Kyle Busch Motorsports Tundra in the race later Friday evening.
