They say that everything is bigger in Texas, and this weekend proved just that for Jeb Burton and the No. 4 Arrowhead team. The Turner Scott Motorsports (TSM) team had a solid run in the Lone Star State, starting on Thursday when Burton ranked fastest in practice with a time of 29.839 seconds. In his debut at Texas Motor Speedway, Burton qualified his No. 4 Arrowhead Chevrolet Silverado in third position to start Friday night’s WinStar Casino 400.
After the pack hit the 1.5-mile oval track, the No. 4 team quickly realized that victory could be theirs as Burton consistently reported that the truck felt great. Early in the race, Burton dropped back to the sixth position but battled back to fifth just before the first caution came out on lap 43. Burton communicated to the No. 4 crew that he needed more rear security, and crew chief Mike Hillman Jr. made the call for a slight air-pressure adjustment, along with four tires and fuel.
Burton restarted from fourth position on lap 50 and reported that the truck felt good, but a bit loose in the right rear. Hillman Jr., a six-time winner at Texas Motor Speedway, encouraged Burton to continue racing hard and let the adjustments correct themselves. By lap 76, Burton, still in fourth position, was running the same lap times as the top-two drivers and seemed to be very happy with how the truck was handling. Under the green flag, Hillman Jr. called a four-tire pit stop and fuel boost for the No. 4 Arrowhead Chevy on lap 99.
With 50 laps to go, Burton climbed the leader board to the third position. As the third yellow flag dropped on lap 140, Burton came to pit row for his final pit stop, receiving four new tires and fuel. Restarting in second, Burton quickly managed to slide by race leader Ty Dillon on lap 144 and remained at the head of the line until the checkered flag dropped.
As an excited and humbled Burton made his way into victory circle, he received Texas-sized congratulations from fellow NASCAR Camping World Truck Series (NCWTS) drivers, as well as his family, teammates and TSM co-owner Steve Turner. With it being Burton’s first time in victory lane, emotions ran high as his father Ward, a former NASCAR driver and Daytona 500 Champion, reached through the truck window and gave his 20-year-old son a hug and a proud pat on the back.
“We finally did it,” said Burton. “I’ve been telling everybody once we get one, they’re going to start stacking up. I’ve got the best team in the series and couldn’t have done it without all of them. My dad taught me how to be the best driver I could be and never stopped putting his time and money towards my career. This is just awesome; it took a lot of blood and tears to get here and it means a lot.”
Burton remains second in the NCWTS Driver Point Standings, trailing the current leader by only 23 points. The NCWTS has a two-week break until they hit the track again at Kentucky Speedway on June 27. The UNOH 225 will air live on SPEED at 8:00 p.m. EDT.
TSM PR
