Jeb Burton, driver of the No. 13 Estes Express Toyota Tundra, qualified a track-best 13th for the Lucas Oil 150 at Phoenix (Ariz.) International Raceway on Friday. The ThorSport Racing driver showed speed early, but was relegated to a 25th-place finish after making contact with another competitor, forcing him behind the wall for numerous laps in the race-delayed, caution-plagued event. The result marks Burton’s first finish outside the top-20 in 12 races (June, 2014).
Burton, who showed speed in both NASCAR Camping World Truck Series (NCWTS) practice sessions on Thursday, maintained a top-12 position through the races first 27 laps, but made contact with the 23 machine in Turn 3 on lap 28, bringing out the races third caution. Crew chief Jeriod Prince brought the Estes Express Tundra to pit road four times under the six-lap caution, in an effort not to lose a lap to the race leader, to repair damage on the nose and take four tires. When racing resumed on lap 33, Burton was scored 23rd.
In the preceding laps, Burton complained that his Toyota Tundra was, “plowing so bad that it wouldn’t turn.” By lap 62 the ThorSport Racing driver lost a lap on the race track to the race leader and at lap 83, Prince brought the No. 13 machine to pit road and eventually to the garage to make repairs to the radiator and oil cooler. Burton would spend 24 laps behind the wall and return to the race track in the 25th position, which is where he crossed the stripe when NASCAR waved the seventh caution flag, and eventually called the race shy of the 150-lap mark, due to a second power outage at the Arizona track.
Thorsport PR
