In a dramatic green-white-checkered finish at Talladega Superspeedway, Todd Gilliland captured a runner-up finish in his Toyota Tundra.
Toyota Racing Post-Race Recap
NASCAR Gander Outdoors Truck Series
Talladega Superspeedway
Race 20 of 23 – 201 miles, 134 laps
TOYOTA FINISHING POSITIONS
1st, Spencer Boyd*
2nd, TODD GILLILAND
3rd, RILEY HERBST
4th, Brett Moffitt*
5th, Stewart Friesen*
6th, AUSTIN HILL
7th, TYLER ANKRUM
11th, HARRISON BURTON
13th, KORBIN FORRISTER
15th, ANTHONY ALFREDO
16th, NATALIE DECKER
19th, JESSE IWUJI
25th, CLAY GREENFIELD
26th, BRENNAN POOLE
*non-Toyota driver
• Todd Gilliland tied a career-best runner-up finish in the NASCAR Gander Outdoors Truck Series race at Talladega Superspeedway on Saturday afternoon.
• Gilliland was the highest-finishing Toyota driver as four Tundras finished in the top 10, including Riley Herbst (third), Austin Hill (sixth) and Tyler Ankrum (seventh).
• Hill and Ankrum remain in contention for the Playoff title as the series heads to Martinsville Speedway where drivers will continue the Round of 8 in the Truck Series Playoffs.
TOYOTA QUOTES
TODD GILLILAND, No. 4 Mobil 1 Toyota Tundra, Kyle Busch Motorsports
Finishing Position: 2nd
Talk about your runner-up finish today.
“It was good. Our Tundra just wasn’t fast enough all day. We made a lot of good moves and just every time I’d get to the front, I was not fast enough and they’d put me right to the back again. It was everything I could do to stay in front of some of those guys. It was fun to run up front there at the end. I wish we could’ve just been faster the whole race.”
RILEY HERBST, No. 51 Monster Energy/Advance Auto Parts Toyota Tundra, Kyle Busch Motorsports
Finishing Position: 3rd
Could you have done anything diffrent when Johnny Sauter forced you below the yellow line?
“Yeah, I could have absolutely stayed in the throttle and wrecked the whole field. I didn’t think that was necessary though. Tony Hirschman (spotter) put me in a good spot. He gave me a huge run off of (Turn) 4 and I faked (Johnny) Sauter to the high side and he bought it. I went to the bottom and he drove me all the way to the grass. I’m glad NASCAR made the right call there. I’m bummed that he did drive me in the grass because I feel like we could’ve ended up in victory lane for sure. All in all, it was a good day in the 51 Tundra. I’m happy with the result.”
AUSTIN HILL, No. 16 United Rentals Toyota Tundra, Hattori Racing Enterprises
Finishing Position: 6th
Talk about your day.
“It was kind of frustrating. The KBM (Kyle Busch Motorsports) guys, we kind of talked to them before the race started and we were supposed to really work with each other and it didn’t really happen that way. I was really frustrated all day about that. I didn’t really have any help from anybody – whether a Toyota was behind me or anyone else. It didn’t matter. No one seemed to want to work with me. It was tough all day. We were leading that second stage and with two (laps) to go, they had such a big run, there was no way to really block that outside lane coming. I tried to stay on the bottom because I knew I had two Toyotas behind me and then they bailed on me. It’s just been a frustrating day. I felt like we didn’t really have as good of a truck as we did at Daytona. For whatever reason, it didn’t draft good. It would suck up okay if I had somebody behind me, but if nobody was behind me, it just caused a lot of buffer for me and the guy in front of me. We’ll go back and we’ll look at it. Still a decent points day, just not what we wanted. At least we didn’t end up on the wrecker like a few of them did. All in all, it was a decent points day and we’ll go on to Martinsville.”
TYLER ANKRUM, No. 17 May’s Hawaii/Modern Meat Company Toyota Tundra, DGR-Crosley
Finishing Position: 7th
How was your day overall?
“It was a good day overall. We gained some points, but I think it could’ve been a lot better day if I just hadn’t made a mistake on the pit stop and been speeding on pit road. I ended up wheel hopping turning down off the apron and just totally ruined my day. I thought we could’ve had a shot at winning it. When it comes to these plate races, anyone really can win it. With the way things turned out, I don’t think it was that bad. I think we’re going to go to Martinsville and Phoenix and we’re going to be better.”
Talk about coming back from that speeding penalty to finish in the top 10 today.
“A very up and down day, but it was a decent points day. I just messed up on the green-flag pit stop. I started wheel hopping and I ended up speeding on entry. We would’ve actually, I think we would’ve had a shot at winning it if I didn’t do that. It sucks, but we still finished inside the top 10. We gained some pretty good points on the field and we’ve got Martinsville next. I think that’s going to be the real test after this one and then Phoenix. We’ll go and try and win those two.”
Do you feel good about your chances of making the Championship Four at Homestead-Miami Speedway?
“I think we keep on getting better and better as a team. I think I keep getting better and better with the more experience I gain. We’re going to tracks we’ve been to already. I love Phoenix and we’re working on Martinsville. I think our chances are good.”
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