Jeb Burton earned a hard fought 11th-place finish in the rain delayed UNOH 200 at Bristol Motor Speedway (BMS) on Thursday morning, his track best finish in two starts at “Thunder Valley.”
Burton started the 200-lap event from the 15th position after fighting a perpetually loose condition in Wednesday afternoon’s lone practice session. However, the tides were turned at the drop of the green flag and the Estes Express Toyota Tundra swung to the tight side. Burton, who was initially trapped on the bottom side of the racetrack on the start, found himself outside the top-20 when the competition caution flew on lap 50. During the first half of the event, Burton radioed in to crew chief Jeriod Prince that his Toyota Tundra was, “really tight through the center and off the corner.” Prince and the ThorSport Racing team went to work trying to improve the handling through numerous chassis adjustments.
By the race’s third yellow flag at lap 112, Burton had gone a lap down to the race leaders, but that’s where the rally began. Prince made a gutsy strategy call to keep the No.13 Tundra on the race track and take the “wave around” to cycle back to the lead lap. On lap 147, the Estes Express team caught the caution they needed, and came to pit road for four fresh Goodyear tires, fuel, and another round of adjustments. After the lap 153 restart, Burton took advantage of the changes, driving through traffic and capturing his career best Bristol finish, finishing 11th in the 13th event on the 2014 NCWTS schedule.
Notes:
• Jeb Burton’s 11th-place finish in the UNOH 200 at Bristol Motor Speedway was his track-best finish in two NCWTS career starts
• Burton’s 15th-place starting position was a track-best for the ThorSport Racing driver
• The Estes Express driver ran has high as 10th and as low as 26th, spending 86 of 200 laps inside the top-15
• Burton remains 10th in the 2014 NCWTS driver point standings after 13 races this season
• In 2014, Burton has four top-10 finishes
• Brad Keselowski won the 17th annual UNOH 200 at BMS
• Darrell Wallace, Jr. (second), Ron Hornaday, Jr. (third), and Matt Crafton (fourth), and Johnny Sauter (fifth) rounded out the top-five in the UNOH 200
• Up next for the No. 13 ThorSport Racing team is the NCWTS 250 at Canadian Tire Motorsports Park in Bowmansville, Ontario, Canada on Sunday, Aug. 31, 2014
Quote – Jeb Burton:
“It was a great recovery to finish 11th after being as tight as we were. We made some changes in the wrong direction from practice and over adjusted the Estes Express Toyota Tundra. I wish we could have made it to the top-10, but it was still a good recovery to finish where we did. If we would have started as good as we ended the race, it would have been a lot better. Still, it’s a decent turnout and point’s day for this Estes Toyota team.”
Practice: 17th, 15.640 seconds (122.685mph)
Qualifying: 15th, 15.581 seconds (123.150mph)
ABOUT ESTES EXRESS LINES:
Headquartered in Richmond, Virginia, Estes is a leading, full-service freight transportation provider offering a complete range of shipping solutions including LTL, time critical, volume & truckload, global and custom solutions. Founded in 1931 by W.W. Estes and still owned by the Estes family, today’s Estes is the largest, privately-held LTL carrier in the nation. With more than 210 terminals across the country and a global service footprint, Estes has grown into one of the most respected total-solutions providers in the industry.
ABOUT THE CAROLINA NUT CO.:
Using unique handcrafted family recipes, The Carolina Nut Co. creates gourmet snacks and flavored nuts that are sure to please every nut lover. The Carolina Nut Co. is family-owned and located in Henderson, N.C. We have been creating delicious gourmet nuts and flavored nuts for more than 60 years. Our unique flavors and high-quality products are making their way across the country. Please keep an eye out for us at your local retailer and ask them about our nuts! For information go to www.carolinanut.com.
ABOUT THORSPORT RACING:
ThorSport Racing, based in a state-of-the-art 100,000-square-foot facility in Sandusky, Ohio, is the longest-tenured NASCAR Camping World Truck Series team. ThorSport, which has run in the Truck Series since 1996, in 2014 will run the No. 88 Menards Toyota Tundra driven by 2013 drivers’ champion Matt Crafton, the No. 98 Nextant Aerospace/Smokey Mountain Herbal Snuff/Carolina Nut Co./Curb Records Toyota Tundra driven by Johnny Sauter and the No. 13 Carolina Nut Co. Toyota Tundra driven by Jeb Burton in the Truck Series and the No. 13 Toyota Camry in the ARCA Racing Series presented by Menards.