Ryan Gifford converted a little patience into his elusive first NASCAR K&N Pro Series East victory Thursday night at Richmond International Raceway.

The 24-year-old from Winchester, Tenn., drove away from runner-up Brandon Gdovic and third-place Cole Custer on a late-race restart to take the win in the Blue Ox 100. It was redemption for Gifford, who was in contention last year at Richmond until a cut tire in the closing laps ended his night.

This time, Gifford qualified 11th, conserved his tires and methodically worked his way to the front.

“This is something I’m going to remember for the rest of my life,” said Gifford. “To come up short so many times and be able to go out and do this is just awesome. I feel like there’s a thousand pounds lifted off my shoulders.”

It didn’t come easy for Gifford, whose car did not roll out of the hauler as one capable of winning the race.

“We struggled all day in practice,” said the victor. “The team worked their tails off to get the car right.”

The close calls and lack of wins weighed on the psyche of Gifford.

NASCAR.COM VIDEO: POST-RACE PRESS CONFERENCE WITH RYAN GIFFORD | CLOSING LAPS

“I hadn’t been racing a lot beyond the K&N East in 2010 and 2011. Last year I got in my dirt car a bunch and won a few races,” Gifford stated. “And I was like I’m still a fairly decent race car driver and I can still go out here and win. Just that last year gave me the confidence I could go out and win.”

Gifford took the lead from Custer on Lap 78 and then had to wait out a red flag for a multi-car wreck on Lap 88.Gifford became the fourth different driver to win a race in the series for Rev Racing since the organization began to field cars for NASCAR’s Drive For Diversity in 2010. Gifford has been with the team since its first year and was making his 44th career start.

Gdovic, who collected his first win on April 6 at Greenville (S.C.) Pickens Speedway, wanted a little bit of a longer run at the end of the race.

“I think if we had a few more laps there at the end, we could have gotten to Ryan,” said Gdovic. “I think we had the car to beat at the end.”

Cole Custer finished third for his best series effort in four starts while veteran Eddie MacDonald finished fourth followed by Gifford’s teammate Mackena Bell in fifth.

Points leader Brett Moffitt ended up sixth, followed by Austin Hill, Michael McGuire, Austin Wayne Self and Matt Tifft.

After four races, Moffitt leads Gifford by seven points and Gdovic by 12.

In the previous 26 years of the K&N Pro Series East there had not been a top-five finish by a female driver, but with Bell’s fifth-place effort it has been done the last three races. Kenzie Ruston scored top fives at Greenville Pickens Speedway on April 6 and at Five Flags Speedway in Pensacola, Fla. on April 13.

Earlier in the day, Gray Gaulding broke Chase Elliott’s record for youngest pole winner in series history at 15 years, 2 months and 15 days. He led the first 58 laps before contact with Corey LaJoie for the lead took the top two qualifiers out of contention.

The NASCAR K&N Pro Series East will return to the track Saturday, June 1 for the NASCAR Hall of Fame 150 at Bowman Gray Stadium in Winston-Salem, N.C.

RESULTS | LAP-BY-LAP RECAP | AUDIO: POST-RACE INTERVIEW WITH RUNNER-UP BRANDON GDOVIC |AUDIO: POST-RACE VIDEO WITH THIRD-PLACE COLE CUSTER