Todd Gilliland wins ARCA race at Talladega

TALLADEGA, Ala. -- Friday afternoon's ARCA Menards Series race provided a boost for Todd Gilliland, who held off fellow NASCAR Next alum Riley Herbst for his first win of 2019. It also added a special father-son moment for the family as David Gilliland had two reasons to beam -- one as a proud pop, the other as the winning car owner. The elder Gilliland cheered from atop the DGR-Crosley No. 4 team pit box at Talladega Superspeedway as his son captured his first ARCA Series win since 2015. The victory pepped up the 18-year-old driver, who has had a slower than desired start to his first full-time NASCAR Gander Outdoors Truck Series campaign. https://twitter.com/zack_albert/status/1121922446054035462?s=20 "This is really big for us," Todd Gilliland said. "Obviously, my confidence has been down a little bit, but racing with these DGR-Crosley guys is definitely something special. Being able to come to the race track with such confidence in myself and everyone around me is huge. I think as soon as we can get that on the truck side, it's definitely going to be a lot of wins coming." Gilliland made just his second ARCA start of the year at Talladega, following his runner-up effort in the series opener at Daytona International Speedway. It was just his seventh ARCA appearance overall; he prevailed in his debut at Toledo Speedway four years ago, setting a youth mark for the venerable series as a 15-year-old. His move to Gander Trucks, which included 19 of 23 races last season, has been a steeper learning curve. That's added pressure, some self-imposed and some from team owner Kyle Busch, who fields his No. 4 Toyota entry in the tailgate tour. "It's been a struggle," says Gilliland, a two-time champ in the NASCAR K&N Pro Series West. "Just, I give 110% every single time I go to the race track. The last year, it's gotten me in trouble sometimes, and sometimes right when I start to go 98% and race under my truck, I need to go harder. I don't know. It's just the balance I need to learn. I come to the ARCA Series or the K&N Series, I have so much confidence that when it comes down to a late-race restart, I can beat them. I don't know how or what, but I need to be able to take that to the truck and just have confidence in myself." https://twitter.com/zack_albert/status/1121923242040745986?s=20 Friday's triumph gave a needed lift, both for father and son. "After the year he's had, with all of the ups and downs, it's great for him to come here and get a win like this," David Gilliland said. "I had some really good runs here and finished second behind my teammate here one time. But watching this was better. Todd is a fighter. He's a winner. He never gives up and I think this will be the boost he needs for the rest of the year."