Morton Buildings Driver Records Career-Best Tying Third-Place Finish at Iowa
Date: June 16, 2019
Event: M&M’s 200 (Race 10 of 23)
Series: NASCAR Gander Outdoors Truck Series
Location: Iowa Speedway in Newton (0.875-mile oval)
Format: Three Stages; 60 laps/60 laps/80 laps
Start/Finish: 10th/3rd (Running, completed 200 of 200 laps)
Winner: Brett Moffitt of GMS Racing (Chevrolet)
For the fourth time in his young career, 18-year-old Harrison Burton came home third in a NASCAR Gander Outdoors Truck Series race. Burton recorded a career-beset third-place finish in the 2018 race at Iowa Speedway and matched that result in Sunday’s M&M’s 200 at the 0.875-mile oval. The second-generation driver also scored third-place finishes last November at ISM Raceway in Avondale, Ariz., and earlier this season at Dover (Del.) International Speedway.
In a race that was postponed a day because of rain, it appeared that the Morton Buildings team would end the day with a fourth-place finish, but Ross Chastain’s team, who crossed the stripe as the winners, failed post-race technical inspection and were disqualified.
Stage One Recap:
- Burton started the 200-lap event from the 10th spot after Saturday’s qualifying session was cancelled due to rain and the field was set based on Gander Trucks owner’s points.
- The talented teenager communicated that his Morton Buildings Tundra was “tight landing and free on throttle,” in the early laps of Stage One as he ran 10th. After the first caution on the race occurred on lap 53, crew chief Mike Hillman Jr. summoned his young driver to pit road for four fresh tires, a full tank of fuel and a trackbar adjustment
- The No. 18 Toyota was scored in the 10th spot for the lap-58 restart and was able to gain one spot over the final two laps.
Stage Two Recap:
- With one truck ahead of him hitting pit road between stages, Burton moved up to eighth when Stage Two went green on lap 66. He entered the top five for the first time on lap 72, but on lap 80 fell back to sixth and would remain there when Stage Two came to a completion on lap 120.
- He communicated that his Morton Buildings Tundra was “tight center and loose on throttle,” before hitting pit road.
Final Stage Recap:
- Hillman Jr. ordered up a four-tire and fuel stop with a wedge adjustment. Burton exited the pits fifth, but his KBM teammate Chandler Smith was penalized for speeding on pit road, moving the No. 18 team up to fourth when the Final Stage went green on lap 129.
- Burton had fallen back to fifth when the fourth and final caution occurred on lap139. On lap 147 he gained the fourth spot back and would remain there throughout the final long green-flag run.
- Ross Chastain’s unofficial winning truck was disqualified in post-race technical inspection, moving the No. 18 team up to third for the official results.
Harrison Burton, driver of the No. 18 Morton Buildings Tundra for Kyle Busch Motorsports:
Were you expecting more out of your race?
“We had a tough race because we had really high expectations for Iowa. We had a chance to win last year and ran fourth this year, which isn’t bad. Had a good points day overall, just really had to battle there. Really struggled firing off and couldn’t get spots on restarts, but over the long runs we could maintain and get better and better. Pretty fun. I love this race track. It’s a lot of fun to pull slide jobs on people and things like that – it’s like a dirt track sometimes. I’m proud of the way we fought and had good pit stops and made it work.”
M&M’s 200 Recap:
- Ross Chastain crossed the finish line first but was disqualified after his truck failed post-race inspection. Brett Moffitt was awarded the win despite having never led a lap in the race. Ben Rhodes finished 5.596 seconds behind Moffitt in the runner-up spot. Burton came home third, Grant Enfinger was fourth and Stewart Friesen rounded out the top-five finishers.
- The race featured four cautions for a total of 25 laps. There were three lead changes among four drivers.
How Burton’s KBM Teammates Fared:
- Chandler Smith, driver of the No. 51 Toyota, finished eighth
- Todd Gilliland, driver of the No. 4 Toyota, finished 10th
- Riley Herbst, driver of the No. 46 Toyota, finished 15th
Gander Trucks Championship Standings:
Burton moved up two positions to sixth in the Gander Trucks championship standings. After 10 races he finds himself 93 tallies behind points leader Grant Enfinger.
Next Race:
Burton will be back behind the wheel of the No. 18 Safelite AutoGlass Tundra when the NASCAR Gander Outdoors Truck Series resumes action June 22 at World Wide Technology Raceway at Gateway in Madison, Ill. Live coverage of the Carshield 200 begins Saturday at 10 p.m. ET on FS1.
