Year after year, the Iowa Speedway K&N race has brought together a joint race between both the East and West series to compete on the same turf.
Each series will reward points only based on the location they finish of their own respective series.
So, if a West driver wins and an East driver places second, then both will earn the same amount of points because they finished atop each of their series.
This Friday, though, Todd Gilliland will enter Iowa Speedway with a unique opportunity.
Todd Gilliland enters Iowa Speedway with eyes set on two titles
Gilliland leads the K&N Pro West Series standings by 11 points, but at the same time he sits second to Harrison Burton in the East series by 14 points.
“It’s great,” Gilliland said. “I couldn’t do it without Napa and Toyota. It’s definitely some really good experience to move up into the NASCAR ranks and prepare me for the next step.”
Bill McAnally Racing has won each of the past two K&N Pro West Series Championships, but is now able to compete for the East series championship at the same time.
“I think it’s a good thing for both series to see where the [competition] is on both coasts,” Bill McAnally Racing’s Todd Gilliland said. “I think it’s definitely [cool] to race against all of them to feel a little bit more comfortable and [to have gained] a little bit more respect from [all of the drivers].”
In the past, NASCAR had ruled that drivers wishing to compete in both series would have to declare which series they were racing prior to the Iowa Speedway East/West shootout.
Noah Gragson was in a similar situation last season, where he was in the top five in both of the series heading into Iowa. He ultimately chose to run in the West series where he finished third.
Now, NASCAR has ruled that competing in both series is fair, giving Gilliland an opportunity to win two titles in the same season.
“Bill McAnally Racing gives me fast cars every week,” Gilliland said. “That really allows me to work on my skills to get better.”
Point Standings
| NASCAR K&N Pro West Series Standings | |||||
| Position | Driver | Wins | Points | Behind | |
| 1 | Todd Gilliland | 4 | 354 | – | |
| 2 | Chris Eggleston | 3 | 343 | 11 | |
| 3 | Derek Kraus | 0 | 298 | 56 | |
| 4 | Will Rodgers | 0 | 286 | 68 | |
| 5 | Michael Self | 0 | 272 | 82 | |
| NASCAR K&N Pro East Series Standings | |||||
| Position | Driver | Wins | Points | Behind | |
| 1 | Harrison Burton | 4 | 387 | – | |
| 2 | Todd Gilliland | 2 | 373 | 14 | |
| 3 | Chase Purdy | 0 | 335 | 52 | |
| 4 | Ronnie Bassett Jr. | 1 | 331 | 56 | |
| 5 | Ruben Garcia Jr. | 0 | 321 | 66 | |
Main Photo
