Photo – Sean Gardner/Getty Images
Jeb Burton is our next guest on Fan4Racing Fan2Fan NASCAR & Race Talk on Monday, July 28th at 8:55 pm ET. Call 347-996-5176 to interact with Jeb Burton during the LIVE broadcast.
Second-generation driver Jeb Burton has a history on dirt; racing go-karts and motocross in Virginia and North Carolina. So, returning to Eldora Speedway for the Camping World Truck Series’ second annual event gave Burton reason to smile, anticipating NASCAR’s only dirt race.
“Eldora has got to be one of the wildest, craziest things I’ve ever done. It’s a tough little race track, but we had a decent run there last year – won our heat race, ran in the top-12 until I got into the wall, but managed a top-20 finish. Track position is key and just surviving will help us manage a solid run. This race brings a lot of hype, a special format and it’s become a pretty cool stop on our schedule. It’s a historic event that I’m happy to be a part of.”
Earning a key starting spot on the track is exactly what Burton did by winning his heat race and lining up in second-place for the 150-lap feature event – his best start of the season. Burton ran inside the top-three throughout the first 60-lap segment, and for the first time this year he was a lap leader. For the last two segments, Burton raced inside the top-five. With changing track conditions, the No. 13 Estes Express team was dealing with a loose truck in the last 40 laps when Burton tagged the wall late in the race. Despite the setback, Burton finished in seventh-place for his third top-ten and second-best finish in 2014. His best finish is at Kansas in May finishing sixth.
Burton remains 11th in the series point standings and is gaining on tenth-place – now a mere eight points behind John Wes Townley.
“We had a great run today, something we haven’t done for a while. It was a good point’s night for our Estes Express Toyota Tundra, so hopefully we can keep gaining points every week and get back inside the top-ten where we deserve to be. We came here for a good finish, and it’s something we can take to Pocono and build on.”
According to NASCAR’s Loop Data Statistics, Burton had an Average Running Position at Eldora of 3.58, ranking third in Driver Rating with a 108.1, and he completed 100% of laps run inside the top-15 – impressive stats for Burton to build upon for the rest of the season.
Up next for Burton and his ThorSport Racing team is Pocono Raceway in the Pocono Mountains 150 on Saturday, August 2nd.