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David Gilliland Racing sets driver-crew chief lineup for Truck Series season

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NASCAR Camping World Truck Series team David Gilliland Racing confirmed its driver-crew chief lineup for the upcoming season on Thursday.

DGR’s Truck Series program features full-season drivers Hailie Deegan and Tanner Gray. Additionally, Taylor Gray, one of DGR’s drivers in the ARCA Menards Series, will run seven Truck races.

Deegan, an incoming Truck rookie, will work with crew chief Mike Hillman Jr. on the No. 1 Ford.

Hillman guided Todd Bodine to the 2006 and ’10 Truck championships with the former Germain Racing. He joins DGR after working with Kyle Busch Motorsports since the tail end of the 2017 season.

Last season at KBM, Hillman was crew chief for Raphael Lessard. Together, they earned a win at Talladega Superspeedway and seven top-10 finishes. Lessard has since moved to GMS Racing.

Tanner Gray retains his partnership with crew chief Shane Wilson entering a second season in the No. 15 Ford. Last season, he finished 14th in the Truck standings with four top-five and eight top-10 finishes.

As for Taylor Gray, he will work with former NASCAR Cup crew chief Chad Johnston for his seven-race Truck schedule in the No. 17 Ford, which begins Apr. 17 at Richmond Raceway.

Johnston also will be Taylor Gray’s crew chief for the full ARCA Menards Series East schedule, as well as the Sioux Chief Showdown series within the ARCA Menards Series national tour.

A seven-time winner at the Cup level, Johnston was replaced as crew chief for the No. 42 Chip Ganassi Racing team last August. He had been in that role since the 2016 season.