By Chuck Corder

Todd Gilliland takes a more subdued approach with his celebrations.

Most of all, he eschews the most popular post-race theatrics: the burnout.

“I don’t wanna destroy anything,� said Todd, wise beyond his 16 years of age. “I like to pull the car into Victory Lane and then celebrate. My dad always preached, ‘Act like you’ve been there before and you’re going to be there again.' It’s something we’ve always done.�

The teenager has done it a lot of it in the last year, including a record stretch of four consecutive wins on the K&N Pro Series that had the sport all abuzz.

Todd Gilliland, son to NASCAR driver David Gilliland, will carry his milestone run into Five Flags Speedway on Friday Night when the Deep South Crane Blizzard Series resumes with the Rubber and Specialties 100.

“It’s awesome to be able to get back down to Five Flags,� he said. “You look at the list of all the young guys who’ve won here in recent years. All guys, people like me look up to. You always wanna win at every track you go to. But, Pensacola is definitely one you wanna mark off your list.�

Todd came to the famed half-mile asphalt oval twice last year. The first was to race a Blizzard event and the second was when he failed to qualify for the 48th annual Snowball Derby in his family’s Super Late Model.

This week, Todd will be in a Kyle Busch Motorsports car, beating and banging with the nation’s top SLM drivers for the second Blizzard Series race.

It also marks the fourth race of the touring Southern Super Series, which is hosting a 100-lap Memorial Day doubleheader this weekend along the Gulf Coast. The cars will also race 100 laps Saturday at Mobile International Speedway.

Beef “O� Brady’s Pro Trucks (40 laps), The Dock on Pensacola Beach Sportsmen (25) and the Butler U-Pull-It Bombers (20) round at Friday's schedule.

Gates open at 4 p.m. with heat races set for 8 p.m. Admission is $15 for adults; $12 for seniors, military and students; $5 for children ages 6-11; free for kids 5 and under.

Competing mostly on the K&N Pro Series, a launching pad to NASCAR’s three marquee divisions in recent years, Gilliland has stood out thanks to a series of firsts.

After becoming the youngest driver to win an ARCA race two days after his 15th birthday last May, Todd became the youngest K&N Pro Series winner at Phoenix six months later.

“Right before the ARCA race in Toledo,� he said, “my dad and crew chief sat me down, and we discussed that I needed to learn how to finish races in order to move to the next level. I had to be smarter. It really showed at Toledo.�

It continued to show as the calendar turned to 2016 and Todd swiped three straight K&N checkered flags to begin this season to match a 50-year-old record.

From down in south Florida at New Smyrna Speedway to out west in California at Irwindale and Kern County, Gilliland left a path of domination that echoed through all levels of racing.

“It went super fast,� the high school sophomore said of the winning streak that ended April 16 in Bristol with a ninth-place finish.

“But, I definitely got to enjoy it quite a bit. It shows our team how good everyone is working together. Even though the win streak has been broken, everyone’s still been doing a great job. I hope we continue at being consistent.�

Consistency is something that Todd is just now getting comfortable with. After a decorated quarter midgets career, he dove headfirst into late models when he was 14.

The baby steps weren’t immediately what he and his Sprint Cup Series father were looking for. Like any teen, driver or otherwise, Todd wanted to go fast.

He admits now he should’ve been more concerned with understanding the differences between a late model's handling and that of a quarter midget.

“It was totally different from a quarter midget or anything I had experienced from a racing perspective,� Todd said. “The biggest thing I learned was patience. I didn’t finish very many races at the beginning. I didn’t learn much because of that.�

His tenacity got the better of his terrific talent.

“I was just trying to take a fifth place car and finish second,� Todd said. “I was running into people and doing the kind of stuff that makes other people unhappy and also ruins your chances.�

Things clicked after David Gilliland and Chris Lawson, Todd’s crew chief, had the talk before the ARCA race last May in Toledo, OH.

The light bulb went off and has yet to dim 12 months later. Todd hopes it shines bright Friday night in Pensacola.

“There is some tough competition down there,� Todd said. “Bubba Pollard, all those guys have raced down there for years. To go down there and try and beat ’em, it’s one of the hardest things about the sport. But you can’t be intimidated. I plan on going out there, and try to do what I’ve been doing these last months.�