Though Kyle Busch Motorsports’ Truck program closed its doors in 2023, it once ran like a well-oiled machine, dominating the Camping World Truck Series with wins coming thick and fast. The team made a record with 85 career victories and 14 wins in a single season (2014).
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Along the way, it secured seven Owner’s Championships and developed two title-winning drivers: Erik Jones in 2015 and Christopher Bell in 2017. So when Todd Gilliland couldn’t find Victory Lane until 2019, his final season with the team, Kyle Busch didn’t shy away from taking jabs at him.
But late in that same year, Gilliland finally broke through, winning at Martinsville with just three races remaining in the season. Fueled by months of frustration and feeling left out in the cold, he fired back at Busch over the radio: “Stay in your f*cking motorhome.”
However, the moment passed quickly. In Victory Lane, Gilliland offered an olive branch: “It was just kind of heat of the moment, really. Just a lot of emotions. Everyone has heard what he (Kyle Busch) said, and obviously it’s true, we should’ve been running better…” He later posted a public apology on social media.
In a recent appearance on the 12 Questions segment with Jeff Gluck, Gilliland was asked to reflect on the toughest period of his career—one he’s still proud of for how he handled it. Without missing a beat, he brought up his time at KBM:
“The toughest time was when I was racing at Kyle Busch Motorsports in the Truck Series, but definitely not happy with how I responded to it, obviously, in the long run there. But overall, I became so much stronger from all of that.”
He recalled how, leading up to the KBM opportunity, he had been riding high, winning multiple races in the K&N Pro Series, finishing P2 in points, and capturing back-to-back ARCA Menards Series West titles in 2016 and 2017. But the tide turned when he stepped into the #4 Toyota Truck. Things didn’t pan out as expected, and the pressure he put on himself began to take its toll.
“That crushed me and took away all of my confidence,” he admitted. The weight of unmet expectations was evident, especially in his emotional post-win outburst.
Now, with time and perspective, Gilliland acknowledges those struggles were part of the learning curve. They helped him grasp that racing isn’t all checkered flags and celebrations—it’s a grind that demands resilience week in and week out.
He conceded that his prior success had made him less patient with setbacks. On top of that, Kyle Busch’s blunt remarks — that not every young driver gets such opportunities and that Gilliland wouldn’t have many more — pushed him over the edge. In that moment at Martinsville, the pressure cooker finally burst.
