Best of 2016: K&N Pro Series West

Todd Gilliland had a historic NASCAR K&N Pro Series West season.

Todd Gilliland won his first two NASCAR KN Pro Series West starts of 2016
and finished with six wins en route to becoming the youngest champion in series history.

The 16-year-old from Sherrills Ford, North Carolina, broke a couple records en route to his 2016 title.

The NASCAR Next driver kicked-off his season by matching a 50-year-old record set by Dan Gurney and then ended the season by becoming the youngest champion in NASCAR, both national and touring series, history with six wins, 11 top fives and 13 top 10s.

Gilliland’s road to the championship wasn't easy. Battling him throughout the entire season was K&N Pro Series West veteran Ryan Partridge. The 28-year-old Rancho Cucamonga, California, driver notched three wins, 10 top fives and 13 top 10s to challenge Gilliland for the title down to the very last race of the season.

Top Driver

Todd Gilliland: Todd Gilliland had the dream season. After he won his debut in the 2015 finale, the teenager kicked of the season winning the first four K&N Pro Series East and West races and kept his momentum going the remainder of the year. He sat a top the NASCAR K&N Pro Series West standings until June when a misfortune at  California’s Sonoma Raceway caused him to drop out of the top spot. He rebounded quickly, winning the next three races on the schedule. The NASCAR Next driver ended the year with six victories and top 10s in all but one of the 14 races. Gilliland led a total 564 laps throughout the season and had average start of 2.7 and an average finish of 4.0. He made some history along the way: He match Dan Gurney’s record by winning his first four career NASCAR K&N Pro Series starts, became the third driver in West Series history to win both the championship and the Sunoco Rookie of the Year honors in the same season, and became the youngest champion of a national or touring series in NASCAR history. The son of David Gilliland and grandson of Butch Gilliland announced he will be competing in both the K&N Pro Series East and West in 2017.

WATCH: TODD GILLILAND CHAMPION PROFILE | TODD GILLILAND AWARDS SPEECH

Ryan Partridge (Honorable Mention): Ryan Partridge fell just short of a championship once again this year. His remarkable season produced three wins, five poles and top 10s in 13 of 14 events to finish 13-points behind Gilliland. The California driver started the season strong finishing in the runner-up position in the first three events. At the third race at Arizona’s Tucson Speedway, he scored his first win of the year after leading 127 laps of the 156 laps feature. He went on to win two more times, at Oregon’s Douglas County Speedway and California’s All American Speedway. Partridge completed all 1,879 laps this season and led the most laps with 794. He produced an average start of 3.1 and an average finish of 4.4.

Top Team

Bill McAnally Racing: In their 26th season in the NASCAR K&N Pro Series West, Bill McAnally Racing had a phenomenal season. BMR earned eight victories, 33 top fives and 45 top 10s and the most important win of all: the championship title for the second consecutive year. In addition to the title, BMR drivers finished fourth, sixth and seventh in the standings. Their part-time driver finished 17th in the standings with six starts. 

Gilliland brought home wins at California’s Irwindale Speedway and Kern County Raceway Park, Idaho’s Stateline Speedway and Meridian Speedway, Iowa Speedway, and Washington’s Evergreen Speedway while the 2015 K&N West champion, Chris Eggleston took home victories at California’s Orange Show Speedway and his home track, Colorado National Speedway. Bill McAnally Racing, recently announced that Gilliland would be returning in 2017 to defend his title and that they’d be partnering with David Gilliland Racing for the K&N Pro Series East season.

Jefferson Pitts Racing (Honorable Mention): Jefferson Pitts Racing returned for their second season with Noah Gragson and Gracin Raz. While their season wasn’t as successful as their inaugural campaihn, they still were one of the top teams at the track week in and week out. JPR produced a total of two wins, 17 top fives and 23 top fives. Gragson took home both victories for the team when he swept the weekend at Utah Motorsports Park. The team also led a total of 182 laps in 2016.

Top Breakthrough Driver

Julia Landauer: The New York City driver had a stellar rookie season notching seven top-five and 13 top-10 finishes to finish fourth in the championship standings. The 24-year-old Bill McAnally Racing driver joined her teammate Todd Gilliland in the history books this season, she tied the record for the highest finishing female in a race with her second place finish at Idaho’s Meridian Speedway. She also became the highest finishing female with her fourth-place finish in the 2016 NASCAR K&N Pro Series West championship standings. The NASCAR Next driver had an average start of 8.5 and an average finish 6.3 en route to her runner-up finish in the Sunoco Rookie of the Year standings to Gilliland.

Julia Landauer became the highest finishing female finisher in the history of the
NASCAR K&N Pro Series West with her fourth-place in the final championship standings.

Riley Herbst (Honorable Mention): Like his Bill McAnally Racing teammates Gilliland and Landauer, Herbst, 17, from Las Vegas Nevada, had a great rookie season. Herbst finished seventh in the championship standings after tallying seven top-five and 10 top-10 finishes. He also finished fourth in the Sunoco Rookie of the Year standings. Herbst, earned his best career finish with third-place runs at Iowa, Evergreen and Douglas County. He led 13 laps this season, all at Utah Motorsports Park, and produced an average start of 6.2 and an average finish of 7.6.

Top Races

Toyota/NAPA Auto Parts 150, Stateline Speedway, June 11: The Toyota/NAPA Auto Parts 150 was the first of three wins that gave  Todd Gilliland a commanding lead in the 2016 NASCAR K&N Pro Series West championship standings. Gilliland took the checkered flag after edging past fellow NASCAR Next driver, Noah Gragson, by mere inches.Gilliland crossed the finish line .004 seconds in front of the 17-year-old from Las Vegas, and it was the only lap the 16-year-old from Sherrills Ford, North Carolina, led all night. Multiple cautions pushed the race to a second green-white-checkered finish and to 166 laps. Gragson led the final restart and was a nose ahead at the line taking the white flag. But Gilliland got a strong run off Turn 4 coming to the checkered, and powered forward despite having his car pinched against the outside wall by Gragson as they crossed under the flag stand.

Utah 110 presented by Ken Garff Volvo, Utah Motorsports Park, Sept. 10: Gragson’s win over Gilliland in the first Utah double-header race set the tone for his weekend sweep. After finishing second to Chase Elliott at Sonoma (Calif.) Raceway, the first road course on the K&N Pro Series West’s 2016 schedule, Gragon achieved redemption. The Las Vegas driver took the lead from Gilliland with nine laps to go to earn his first win of the season out west. The NASCAR Next driver started the race in fourth and spent most of the race behind Ryan Partridge and Gilliland, conserving his tires and waiting for the perfect opportunity to strike. His window opened when Partridge cut a tire with 13 laps to go and it continued when Gilliland made a mistake late in the race. Gragson capitalized on the error and bumped Gilliland out of they way to take the lead and cruise to Victory Lane. It was a banner year for the 17-year-old on road courses, he recorded two wins and a runner-up finish on the road courses out west and notched a victory at New Jersey Motorsports Park, one of three road courses on the K&N Pro Series East schedule.

Noah Gragson gets underneath Ryan Partridge en route to sweeping the road course
doubleheader in September at Utah Motorsports Park.

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4. Raz Works To Finalize 2017 Plans
5. Will Landauer Return To The NASCAR K&N Pro Series West?
6. Gragson To Drive For Kyle Busch Motorsports

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Photo Source:NASCAR via Getty Images

Will Partridge Return to the K&N Pro Series West?

Ryan Finished His Season 2nd in the Points

Ryan Partridge celebrated in Victory Lane following his third win of the season
at All American Speedway in Roseville, California, on Saturday night.
Jonathan Moore/NASCAR via Getty Images

Ryan Partridge outlasted defending series champion Chris Eggleston and NASCAR Next driver Julia Landauer in a green-white-checkered finish to the Toyota/NAPA Auto Parts 150 at California's All American Speedway in the K&N Pro Series West  2016 season finale.

Unfortunately for Partridge, his third win of the season in the No. 9 Sunrise Ford/Eibach Springs/Lucas Oil Ford wasn't enough to catch Todd Gilliland, who won the 2016 K&N West Championship by a mere thirteen points over the veteran driver from Rancho Cucamonga, Calif.

Partridge was fastest in both practices Saturday morning at All American, and started on the front row after rain washed out qualifying. He dominated the evening's race (led 153 laps of the 154-lap race), which was delayed several hours because of the weather. Noah Gragson finished fourth and Nicole Behar fifth

Partridge finished third in K&N West points last year with one win (Colorado National Speedway), six top fives and 10 top-10 finishes. But he had some bad luck last year, and Partridge believes that is the main reason why he wasn’t able to beat Chris Eggleston and Noah Gragson to win the championship.

This year, Partridge mentioned his bad luck with flat tires at the end of a few races for coming up short.

NASCAR Race Mom scoured Ryan’s website (which appears to have been dormant since 2013) and his social media sites; however, @FlyinRyan48's  plans for 2017 are a NASCAR Mystery for the moment. However, last year Ryan stated that he was entering the second year of a two-year deal with Bruncati and Sunrise Ford, and he did not expect to be back with the team next year.

Partidge did mention on the Fan4Racing Radio that he was planing on doing some SRL and Modifieds next year.  He also mentioned that he was still working on a deal to return to the K&N Pro Series West for his third season. 

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5. Dale Earnhardt Jr. Medically Cleared

Todd Gilliland Breaks #NASCAR Records to a Championship

The NASCAR K&N Pro Series West will wrap up its 2016 season under the lights Saturday night at All American Speedway in Roseville, California with the Toyota / NAPA AUTO PARTS 150 presented by TriCo Welding Supplies. The event featured twenty-three ‘up and coming’ NASCAR driving talent. 

While challenger Ryan Partridge did everything in his power to deny sixteen-year-old Todd Gilliland  from his quest to collect even more NASCAR history, Todd, a third generation racer, was not to be denied.

Gilliland – a California native who now resides in Sherrills Ford, North Carolina was leading the championship standings by 25 points heading into this final event. He needed a mire twenty-first or better finish to wrap up the title. He had already secured this year’s Rookie of the Year Award.

Partridge was fastest in both practices Saturday morning, and started on the front row. Qualifying had been canceled due to rain. He then dominated the evening's race. Last year’s champion Chris Eggleston and talented female racer Julia Landauer rounded out the podium. Todd Gilliland finished eight.

That top-ten finish was good enough to propel Gilliland to the title as he became the youngest champion in the history of the NASCAR national or touring series at sixteen years, five months.

It was just the latest NASCAR historic mark Gilliland matched or eclipsed in his first full season.

Gilliland’s six 2016 series victories matched the win total posted by Greg Pursley (2011), Brendan Gaughan (2001) and Doug George (1995) as the most in the NASCAR K&N Pro Series West since Jimmy Insolo won nine in 1978.

Gilliland joins Scott Lynch (2003) and Lance Hooper (1996) as the only drivers to win both the Sunoco Rookie of the Year title and the championship in the same year. He joins his grandfather as a NASCAR champion. Butch Gilliland won the 1997 West crown, while Todd's father David had his best series points finish of third in 2009.

The Toyota / NAPA AUTO PARTS 150 presented by TriCo Welding Supplies will be televised to a national audience on NBCSN on Oct. 20 at 7 p.m. ET.

Gilliland, Partridge and other top performers from the NASCAR K&N Pro Series West will be honored on Saturday, Dec. 10 in Charlotte for the NASCAR Night of Champions Touring Awards celebration. The event will be held at the NASCAR Hall of Fame at the Charlotte Convention Center for the seventh consecutive year.

RACE STATISTICS Fastest Qualifier: Blaine Perkins *, Time: 999999 Seconds

Time of Race: 1 hrs., 0 mins, 52 secs Average Speed: 50.552 mph Margin of Victory: .221 Seconds

Caution Flags: Laps 11-17 (07 & 27 Made contact T1 - 36 Free Pass); 21-28 (39 Spun T 1 - 15 Free Pass); 33-55 (39 & 15 Made Contact T4 - 27 Free Pass); 82-89 (06 Spun 55 made Contact T4 -No FP); 118-124 (15 Spun T4 - 14 Free Pass); 129-133 (19 Spun T4 - 18 Free Pass); 147-151 (18, 06 &38 Spun T4 - 19 Free Pass). 7 for 63 laps. 

Lap Leaders: Ryan Partridge 1-151, Chris Eggleston 152, Ryan Partridge 153-154. 

Total Laps Led: Ryan Partridge 153, Chris Eggleston 1. 3 changes involving 2 drivers. 

Top 10 Driver Points:

1. Todd Gilliland * 594
2. Ryan Partridge 581
3. Noah Gragson 552
4. Julia Landauer * 528
5. Gracin Raz 524
6. Chris Eggleston 518
7. Riley Herbst * 510
8. Cole Rouse * 509
9. Blaine Perkins * 475
10. Jesse Iwuji * 404 

Photo credit: Sal Sigala Jr.

K&N Pro Series West at Evergreen Speedway

The NAPA Auto Parts 150 Presented By Toyota

Todd with father David - Family Tradition Continues For Gilliland At Monroe Track

With the K&N Pro Series West just over  the halfway point, rookie Todd Gilliland holds a three-point lead over Ryan Partridge and a twenty-four and twenty-five point lead over Noah Gragson and Chris Eggleston, respectively.  

Evergreen Speedway is  one of the most historic tracks on the circuit. Located in Monroe, the facility contains a 5/8 mile paved outer oval with a 3/8 mile inner oval inside, a 1/5 mile oval, 1/8 mile dragstrip and a Figure 8 track. Fifty-five series races, dating back to 1964, have been contested on the oval track in Monroe, Washington. 

Rookie Todd Gilliland will be the third generation of his family to compete in K&N West action at the speedway. His father, David, won a pole and had a top-five finish in two series starts at the fairgrounds track while Todd's grandfather, Butch, scored two wins (1996 & 1998) in 11 series starts there.

Selected Driver Highlights:

Todd Gilliland (No. 16 NAPA Auto Parts Toyota)

• • Holds the top spot in the standings headed into the weekend with four wins and seven top fives.
• • Earned his victories at California’s Irwindale Speedway and Kern County Raceway Park, Idaho’s Stateline Speedway and Iowa Speedway.
• • This will be his first series start at Evergreen.
• • Is a member of the 2016-17 NASCAR Next class.

Ryan Partridge (No. 9 Sunrise Ford/Eibach Springs/Lucas Oil Ford)

• • Is second in the standings with one win, six top fives and eight top 10s.
• • Won earlier in the year at Tucson.
• • At Evergreen last season, he finished second after starting third.

Noah Gragson (No. 7 SPEEDVEGAS/AlertID/Colliers International Ford)

• • Is third in the championship standings with four top fives and eight top 10s.
• • Last year at Evergreen, he finished fifth after starting fourth.
• • Is a member of the 2016-17 NASCAR Next class.

Chris Eggleston (No. 50 NAPA Filters Toyota)

• • Heads into Evergreen ranked fourth in the standings with two wins and six top fives.
• • In his first start at Evergreen last season, he finished third after starting fifth. 

 Gracin Raz (No. 27 Montana Tech Ford)

• • Is ranked fifth in the K&N Pro Series West standings with five top fives and six top 10s.
• • In his two series starts at Evergreen, he finished sixth (2014) and fourth (2015).

Ryan Partridge will look to take back the top spot in the championship standings
this weekend at Evergreen Speedway in Monroe, Washington.

 Click Here to Watch Lap By Lap Coverage

Entry List 

Event Schedule

Activities at Evergreen Speedway on Saturday include a VIP NAPA Hospitality. The NAPA AUTO PARTS 150 presented by Toyota, the ninth event on a 14-race schedule, will be televised on NBCSN on Aug. 25 at 8 p.m. ET.

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5. David Gilliland returns to Restrictor Plate Racing in Talladega

#NASCAR K&N Pro Series at Evergreen

Will Gilliland Remain On Top Or
Will Partridge Retake The Championship Lead

Todd Gilliland lead 116 laps to record the overall win at Iowa Speedway
in the combination race for the NASCAR K&N Pro Series
(Jonathan Moore/NASCAR via Getty Images)

Todd Gilliland's win at Iowa Speedway, his fourth NASCAR K&N Pro Series West victory of the season, allowed him to retake the championship lead from Ryan Partridge  as the series heads to the Pacific Northwest this weekend. The win also tied Todd for the #KNWest record of four wins by a rookie in a season, which was set by Lance Hooper in 1996.

It is a pretty sure bet that the youngster will break Hopper's twenty-year-old record before the season's end.

Last race, the 16-year-old NASCAR Next driver from Sherrill's Ford, North Carolina, took the green flag from the second starting position behind NASCAR Next alumnus Kyle Benjamin and swapped the lead with him twice before taking the point from Benjamin heading into the halfway break.

Once the contest restarted, Benjamin grabbed the lead once again on lap eighty-one, but was quickly tracked down by Gilliland two laps later. Then the #16 of Gilliland sped away from Benjamin and the rest of the field.  He led the final sixty-eight laps of the race.

After finishing twenty-fourth at Sonoma, Gilliland has picked up two straight wins to erase Partridge's lead. However, only three slim points separate the two.

Partridge finished second to David Mayhew at Evergreen last year. Noah Gragson and defending series champion Chris Eggleston are twenty-four and twenty-five points back, respectively, and both scored top fives in last season's visit to Washington.

The NAPA Auto Parts 150 this Saturday will be the series' 52nd race at Evergreen Speedway, the only NASCAR sanctioned track in the state of Washington.  Greg Pursley holds the qualifying record in his Gene Price Ford at 22.831 seconds at 101.862 mph on July 10, 2011. 

Evergreen Speedway is a located within the confines of the Evergreen State Fairgrounds in Monroe, Washington. The stadium can accommodate up to 7500 spectators in the covered grandstand and an additional 5000 in the uncovered modular grandstands.

The layout of the track is unique in that it incorporates a 5/8-mile paved outer oval, a 3/8-mile paved inner oval, a 1/5-mile paved inner oval, a 1/8-mile dragstrip, and a nationally renowned figure-eight track, a 1/5-mile oval and a 3/4-mile road course.

Evergreen Speedway was tabbed the “Super Speedway of the West” by David Pearson on one of his visits to the historic NASCAR track. Evergreen played host to many NASCAR 500 lap events before California and Nevada built their super speedways. Today Evergreen Speedway is home to the NASCAR Whelen All American Series, the K&N Pro Series West as well Formula Drift.

SHAPE: Semi-banked oval
SURFACE: Asphalt
LENGTH: .375 Miles & .646 Miles

TRACK ADDRESS
14405 179th Avenue
Southeast Build 300
Monroe, WA, 98272
(360) 805-6100

| Race Central Live | Entry List |

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K&N Pro Series West Races In Colorado Tonight

Ryan Partridge looks to defend his win at Colorado National Speedway

The NASCAR K&N Pro Series West will battle in the Rocky Mountains tonight for the NAPA/Toyota 150. Defending race winner, Ryan Partridge stands just four points behind rookie and NASCAR Next driver, Todd Gilliland in the championship points.

Gilliland, who started his rookie campaign with back-to-back wins, will look to return to the winner’s circle after a second- and a fourth-place finish in his last two outings.

Colorado National Speedway is a .375-mile paved oval with four degrees of banking in the straights and progressive banking of six to 12 degrees in the corners.

The garage is busy as teams prepare for the first practice session.

In the first thirteen K&N Pro Series West events at Colorado, eleven of the winners have finished in the top-three in qualifying. Four victors have also walked away with the pole – Eric Holmes (2008), Dylan Kwasniewski (2011), Derek Thorn (2013) and Ryan Partridge (2015).

You can follow the race via the internet – Click Here

You can view the practice results – Click Here  

The NAPA/Toyota 140 will air on NBCSN on Thursday, June 16 at 7 p.m. ET/5 p.m. MT.

Chris Eggleston is on the hunt for his second win of the season.

FAST FACTS:

The Race: The NAPA/Toyota 150 is the fifth race of the 2016 NASCAR K&N Pro Series West season. It is the fifth of 11 oval track events and 14 races overall on the schedule. This will be the series 14th visit to the semi-banked oval.

The Procedure: The starting field is 22 cars, including provisionals. The first 18 cars will qualify through two-lap time trials with the remaining four spots will be awarded through the provisional process. The race is scheduled for 150 laps covering 56.25 miles.

The Track: Colorado National Speedway is a .375-mile paved oval with four degrees of banking in the straights and progressive banking of six to 12 degrees in the corners.

The Record: Qualifying: Brian Ickler, June 2, 2007, 16.452 seconds (82.057 mph). Race: Derek Thorn, July 27, 2013, 50 minutes 32 seconds (66.788 mph).

Cole Moore will compete in select events for the Bill McAnally Racing.

Photo Credit: Getty Images for NASCAR

Partridge Cruises To Victory Lane (#nascar)

Earns Second K&N Pro West Win At Tucson Speedway

Ryan Partridge celebrates his first win of the season in the NAPA Auto Parts
Wildcat 150 at Tucson Speedway. (Jennifer Stewart/Getty Images for NASCAR)

Ryan Partridge put an end to Todd Gilliland’s three race win streak in the NASCAR K&N Pro Series West Saturday night at Arizona’s Tucson Speedway.

The 27-year-old from Rancho Cucamonga, California, held off a charging Gilliland on the Green-White-Checkered attempt to cruise to his second series victory after leading 127 laps.

In a similar fashion to his first career win at Colorado National Speedway last season, Partridge earned the Coors Light Pole Award earlier in the day before celebrating in the winner’s circle that night.

Gilliland, who leads the K&N Pro Series West standings as well as the Sunoco Rookie of the Year points, settled for second. The 17-year-old from Sherrills Ford, North Carolina, headed into Tucson on a three race win streak after collecting victories at last year’s season finale at Arizona’s Phoenix International Raceway, California’s Irwindale Speedway in this year’s season opener and most recently, at California’s Kern County Raceway Park.

Chris Eggleston, Gilliland’s Bill McAnally Racing teammate, finished third followed by Partridge’s Sunrise Ford Racing teammate Cole Rouse and Julia Landauer.

Matt Levin, Riley Herbst, Blaine Perkins, last year’s race winner Noah Gragson and Ron Norman completed the top 10. The race was slowed twice by cautions, including the halfway break.

Gilliland maintains a four point lead over Ryan Partridge. While Chris Eggleston, Cole Rouse and Riley Herbst round out the top five in points.

The NAPA Auto Parts WildCat 150 will air on NBCSN on Thursday, May 12 at 6:00 p.m. ET.

The NASCAR K&N Pro Series West will be back in action May 21 with the Sunrise Ford 150 at California’s Orange Show Speedway.

nascar.com press release