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Todd Gilliland to run full K&N Pro Series West schedule in 2016

todd gilliland

Todd Gilliland

The quick progression of young Todd Gilliland up the racing ladder continues.

The 15-year-old son of NASCAR driver David Gilliland will compete full-time in the K&N Pro Series West in 2016 for six-time and defending series championship team Bill McAnally Racing, it was announced Wednesday.

Gilliland drew a great deal of attention two weeks ago when he won his K&N West debut at Phoenix, making him the youngest winner in series history.

“We finished the year strong, with Chris clinching the championship at Phoenix and Todd scoring the win in his series debut,” team owner Bill McAnally said in a release. “We plan to work hard in the off-season to carry that momentum forward into next season.”

Gilliland is a third-generation competitor in the K&N Series. Father David won the rookie title in 2004 and grandfather Butch won the 1997 series championship.

“Hopefully, I can carry on the family tradition,” the youngest Gilliland said in a team release. As for the 2016 season, he added, “It’s going to be a great learning experience. It will be good to have a championship driver like Chris Eggleston to lean on and learn from, especially early in the season.”

Gilliland will be teammates with defending 2015 K&N West championship driver Chris Eggleston, as well as Riley Herbst.

All three drivers will race the full K&N West schedule, along with select events in the K&N East Series.

Eggleston won the 2015 K&N West championship for BMR in his first full season in the series and will return to defend his title in 2016.

A native of Erie, Colorado, the 26-year-old Eggleston has three wins, 11 top-five and 12 top-10 finishes in 17 career starts in the K&N Pro Series West.

Much like Gilliland did with his win at Phoenix, Eggleston won his first race with BMR in 2014, leading McAnally to put him in a full-time ride that resulted in the championship in 2015.

Herbst, meanwhile, will make his debut in the K&N West Series in 2016. In 2015, Herbst won the championship in Speed Trucks as a rookie at Irwindale (California) Speedway.

“It’s great to have Chris return to defend his title and to have such talented young drivers as Todd and Riley join the team,” McAnally said. “We have high expectations, based on what we have seen from all three of them.”

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