Todd Gilliland Wins the NASCAR K&N Pro Series Race at Iowa Speedway

Todd Gilliland won the NASCAR K&N Pro Series race at Iowa Speedway. It was his fourth win in the K&N Pro Series this season and the fifth of his career.

Todd Gilliland won the NASCAR K&N Pro Series race at Iowa Speedway, leading 114 laps of the Casey's General Store 150, and putting another notch in the belt of West Series teams.

The K&N Pro Series race at Iowa Speedway pits the drivers and teams from the West and East Series. Gilliland, who races for Bill McAnally Racing in the K&N Pro Series West, won his fourth race of the season and the fifth of his career.

"For the 16 car to win here three times in a row I think that really shows that the West is just as good if not the same or better than the East Coast," Gilliland said. "Everyone's been working super hard out there. I think it's a big boost of confidence to everyone out there."

Todd Gilliland won the NASCAR K&N Pro Series race at Iowa Speedway leading 114 laps of the Casey's General Store 150.

The K&N Pro Series East had six drivers in the top 10 at the race at Iowa Speedway. The K&N Pro Series West had four drivers in the top 10.

Gilliland started on the front row with pole winner Kyle Benjamin. Benjamin led the first 27 laps of the race before Gilliland past him on lap 28. The two drivers swapped the lead until lap 38, when Gilliland took over for 42 laps.

"It was kind of big tonight to be the leader on the restarts," Gilliland said. "Choose where you want to go and get the jump on them right away. Once you get out to the lead, you can kind of pace yourself out there. I'd say restarts were pretty big out there tonight."

His dad, David Gilliland, a driver in the NASCAR Xfinity Series, was Todd Gilliland's spotter in the K&N Pro Series race. David Gilliland told his son to be patient on the restarts. The strategy paid off as Todd Gilliland was able to put some distance between his car and the others in the field after every restart.

Kyle Benjamin (40) leads the field at the start of the NASCAR K&N Pro Series race at Iowa Speedway. Benjamin won the pole and led the first 27 laps of the race.

"It's always a little bit easier to learn the track when you have a great car right off the trailer," Gilliland said. "I felt that's what kind of helped me. The car was really good. I'd say that's just everyone working together really well. That's what let me move around and find where the car worked best."

Benjamin crossed the finish line in second place and was the first K&N Pro Series East driver. He led 26 laps in the race, but lost the lead on lap 84 to Gilliland. Gilliland led the last 66 laps of the race.

"I knew he would be tough to beat," Benjamin said. "I was tight behind him. I couldn't really do anything with him. He got away from us a little bit."

Benjamin posted his sixth top-five finish of the season in the K&N Pro Series East. He is second in the K&N Pro Series East standings and trails Justin Haley by 32 points after 10 races.

Kyle Benjamin won the pole for the NASCAR K&N Pro Series race at Iowa Speedway. It was his fourth pole position of the season and his second in a row.

Gilliland leads the K&N Pro Series standings by three points over Ryan Partridge after eight races. Gilliland has won four K&N Pro Series races and has seven top-five finishes. He also won the K&N Pro Series East season opener at New Smyrna Speedway in Florida. Gilliland has been tough to beat in the K&N Pro Series East and West.

"Once I got behind him, he would just take off and leave us," Benjamin said. "He pinned us down pretty hard on the initial start. Might have been able to do something with him but he was pushing pretty hard getting off on the corner. I couldn't keep my car in line."

Austin Theriault was third overall and the second-place driver from the East Series. He has three top-five finishes in a row and has six top-five finishes in 10 races. He was the runner-up in the K&N Pro Series East race at Columbus Speedway in Ohio and was third at the K&N Pro Series East race at Virginia International Raceway.

The next K&N Pro Series East race is the Bunny Hill Vineyards 100 at Watkins Glen International in New York on Aug. 5. The next K&N Pro Series West race is the Toyota/NAPA Auto Parts 150 at Evergreen Speedway in Washington on Aug. 13.