DARLINGTON, N.C. — Friday's NASCAR Camping World Truck Series (NCWTS) event promises to be memorable for Blacks Tire & Auto Service (BTS).
The Whiteville, N.C.-based family-owned tire dealership will have two Ford F-150 trucks competing in the LiftKit4Less.com 200 at Darlington Raceway on May 7, driven by the father-son duo of David Gilliland and Todd Gilliland.
David Gilliland Racing's No. 17 entry will feature Black's Tire colors, with team owner David Gilliland driving the Ford F-150.
Meanwhile, David's son, Todd Gilliland, will be driving No. 38 Front Row Motorsports F-150, featuring a throwback paint scheme that honors Ricky Benton Racing's 1998 NASCAR Winston Racing Series Atlantic Seaboard Late Model Stock Car championship.
Mr. Benton owns Black's Tire and BTS Tire and Wheel Distributors, with 48 locations throughout North and South Carolina. Its wholesale business services hundreds of dealers in in the region.
Mr. Benton recalled the "great" season experienced in 1998.
"It's always special to win a championship, but to do it in NASCAR's 50th-anniversary season was that much sweeter," Mr. Benton said. "It is going to be great to see Todd on track in a truck that looks like the 1998 car that meant so much to us."
The younger Mr. Gilliland said it is "special for us to be running this throwback, especially with a sponsor with so much history racing around the Darlington area. It's a clean scheme and looks really cool on the truck."
David Gilliland's vehicle will have the same Black's Tire paint scheme that he drove to 14th place at Daytona in February. The elder Mr. Gilliland drove for Ricky Benton Racing in the NCWTS in 2015 and in the 2018 Daytona 500.
"It's always fun when we get to partner with Ricky at the race track," he said. "To be representing the Black's Tire family with Todd in Darlington is special; this is essentially a home game for those guys, and we are looking forward to putting on a good show for them."
Todd Gilliland said his experience in last year's NCWTS race at Darlington will help him this year.
"Darlington has quite the reputation — and it's well deserved," he said. "It is a tough track to get around. Last year was the first time I was able to get any laps in there, but I learned a lot, and the team learned a lot that we can use to improve. I am looking forward to going back and doing it again."
Mr. Benton is looking forward to the race.
"Darlington is such a great place, not just because of the history, but because we have so many great partners and Black's Tire family members in the area," Mr. Benton said. "We are proud to have David and Todd representing all of our team on track this week."
The NCWTS LiftKit4Less.com 200 begins at 7:30 p.m. It will be televised on FS1 and broadcast on MRN and on SiriusXM Channel 90 on the radio. John Hunter Nemechek's No. 4 Kyle Busch Motorsports Toyota is on the pole.
The tire industry will be well-represented at the Darlington track.
On Sunday, the Goodyear 400 will run, with Brad Keselowski in the pole position.
Mr. Keselowski's No. 2 Team Penske Ford finished third last weekend at Kansas Speedway and won the race before that at Talladega Superspeedway.
The Steakhouse Elite 200, part of the NASCAR Xfinity Series, will be held Saturday, with AJ Allmendinger's No. 16 Kaulig Racing Chevrolet on the pole.
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