Jeb Burton, driver of the No. 13 Estes Express Toyota Tundra, entered the ninth annual fred’s 250 at Talladega Superspeedway hoping to play spoiler and earn his first victory of the 2014 NASCAR Camping World Truck Series season. After running inside the top-15 for the majority of the day, Burton lost drafting help on the final lap relegating the Estes driver to a 16th-place finish.
Starting in the seventh position, Burton ran inside the top-10 from the drop of the green flag. Under a caution period at lap 13, crew chief Jeriod Prince brought Burton to pit road for Sunoco race fuel. Burton restarted 17th and patiently held his position through a long green flag run that included a cycle of pit stops. On lap 49, Burton came to the attention of his Estes Express team for two right side tires and fuel. Burton made his final pit stop on lap 59 for fuel only and rejoined the field in the eighth position.
Burton remained a threat throughout the final 30 laps, running inside the top-10 until the final green-white-checkered restart. Restarting in seventh position on lap 94, Burton positioned himself to challenge for the win on the final lap. Burton made a move to the outside on the back-straightaway but was hung out to dry without ample drafting help and would cross the finish line in 16th position behind race winner, Timothy Peters.
Notes:
• According to NASCAR’s Loop Data statistics Burton had an Average Running Position of 10.242 in the fred’s 250
• Through 18 races, Burton has scored one top-five and six top-10 finishes
• Burton remains ninth in the 2014 NCWTS driver point standings
• Timothy Peters won the fred’s 250, totaling 14 NCWTS wins for Toyota in 2014
• ThorSport Racing teammate and defending NCWTS champion Matt Crafton leads the NCWTS point standings with four races remaining
• Up next for the No. 13 ThorSport Racing team is the Kroger 200 at Martinsville (Va.) Speedway on Saturday, October 25, 2014
Quote – Jeb Burton:
“We weren’t in the best spot at the end to try and win. I made some moves on the last lap and made it up to about third. I needed to get clear into the top three and thought we might have a chance to win it. I wasn’t able to finish the pass and get clear. We got put in the middle, and ended up 16th. It’s frustrating to not get the finish we deserved because we had a good Toyota Tundra. If we keep bringing trucks this good, we’ll win a race.”
Practice: 20th, 51.513 seconds (185.895 mph)
Qualifying: 7th, 51.686 seconds (185.273 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.