Jeb Burton drove his No. 13 Estes Express Toyota Tundra to a season-best, second-place finish in Friday night’s WinStar World Casino & Resort 350 at Texas Motor Speedway (TMS) in Fort Worth. The runner-up result marks Burton’s second top-five finish of 2014, moving him to eighth in NASCAR Camping World Truck Series (NCWTS) driver point standings with only two races remaining this season.
Burton showed speed through both practice sessions on Thursday, and continued that performance in qualifying on Friday afternoon with a sixth-place effort. From the drop of the green flag, Burton moved forward and ran inside the top-five until the evening’s first yellow flag on lap 23. Under the caution, crew chief Jeriod Prince gave Burton four tires, fuel, and an air pressure adjustment to alleviate his “free” handling condition. Restarting fifth on lap 27, Burton continued his strong showing in the top-five, holding his position through a cycle of green-flag pit stops at lap 71. Burton received an alternative air pressure adjustment to improve a tight condition under the green flag, and was scored seventh at the race’s second caution period on lap 77.
On the ensuing run, Burton reported his Estes Express Toyota was “really free”, and received four tires, fuel, and an air pressure adjustment during a lap 97 caution. Prince’s adjustments allowed Burton to advance to fourth as numerous caution flags waved in the late stages of the 147-lap event. When the fifth caution flag was displayed on lap 139 for a three-truck accident on the frontstretch, Burton opted to give-up track position, pit for four tires and restarted 13th on lap 142. In three laps, Burton rocketed through the field to the fifth position before making contact with his teammate on the frontstretch at lap 146, which brought out the sixth caution flag of the night, ultimately setting the field up for a Green-White-Checker finish. On the final restart at lap 147, Burton charged through traffic to take the checkered flag in the second position behind race winner Kyle Busch.
Notes:
• Jeb Burton’s second-place finish at Texas Motor Speedway (TMS) in Friday night’s WinStar World Casino & Resort 350 was his second top-two finish in four starts at the 1.5-mile track
• Through 20 races in 2014, Burton has scored two top-five and seven top-10 finishes
• Burton moved up to eighth in the 2014 NCWTS driver point standings as a result of his runner-up finish, seven markers out of seventh
• Kyle Busch won the WinStar World Casino & Resort 350 at TMS followed by Burton (second), Timothy Peters (third), Tyler Reddick (fourth) and Matt Crafton (fifth)
• Busch’s victory clinched the 2014 NCWTS Manufacturers’ Championship for Toyota – their seventh championship in 11 years
• Up next for the No. 13 ThorSport Racing team is the Lucas Oil 150 at Phoenix (Ariz.) International Raceway on Friday, November 7
Quote – Jeb Burton:
“That was probably the best race truck we’ve had all year and it was cool to have a Toyota one-two finish. It’s cool to see them get the manufacturer’s championship too — so it was a good night for Toyota. We had a good race. I wish we could have had another restart once we got there in second and maybe we would have had something for Kyle (Busch).”
“We’ve come a long way in a short period of time with this No. 13 team. It was really good to have a good run for Estes and all my guys. They have been working really hard all year. I wish we could have had one more restart. We were pretty good there with new tires and that thing that happened with my teammate that was a thing I didn’t want to happen. He (Johnny Sauter) checked up a little bit and I had the run and I got into him a little bit. He was already sideways and slid through the grass.”
1st Practice: 3rd, 30.094 seconds (179.438 mph)
2nd Practice: 2nd, 30.008 seconds (179.952 mph)
Qualifying: 6th, 29.835 seconds (180.995 mph)
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.