Date: Aug. 25, 2019
Event: NGOTS 250 (Race 18 of 23)
Series: NASCAR Gander Outdoors Truck Series
Location: Canadian Tire Motorsport Park in Bowmanville, Ont. (2.459-mile, 10-turn road course)
Format: Three Stages; 20 laps/20 laps/24 laps
Start/Finish: 7th/21st (Running, completed 62 of 64 laps)
Winner: Brett Moffitt of GMS Racing (Chevrolet)
Making just his second NASCAR National Series road course start, Harrison Burton was running fourth late in Sunday’s NASCAR Gander Outdoors Truck Series event at Canadian Tire Motorsport Park when his engine expired leaving him with a disappointing 21st-place finish.
Stage One Recap:
- Burton earned the seventh starting position in Sunday morning’s two-round group qualifying session.
- The 18-year-old rookie maintained the seventh position until hitting pit road for a scheduled stop on lap 15. After getting four fresh tires and a full load of fuel, the Safelite Tundra returned to the track in the 15th position. He would gain one more spot in the closing laps of Stage One to finish 14th.
Stage Two Recap:
- When the rest of the field pitted between stages, Burton moved up to the third spot when Stage Two went green on lap 24.
- The second-generation driver communicated that his No. 18 Toyota was “too tight” as he began to lose positions. He had fallen back to the seventh spot when the second caution of the event occurred on lap 30.
- When pit road opened, veteran crew chief Mike Hillman Jr. summoned his young driver to the attention of the over-the-wall crew who administered a four-tire and fuel stop.
- Burton was scored in the 14th position for the lap-33 restart and over the final seven laps of Stage Two was able to maneuver his way up to the 10th spot.
Final Stage Recap:
- Burton was told to save fuel between stages to ensure that the No. 18 team could make it to the end of the race without having to pit again. The Safelite Tundra was scored in the fourth position when the Final Stage went green on lap 44.
- The talented teenager would maintain the fourth spot until his engine expired with two laps remaining in the event.
Harrison Burton, driver of the No. 18 Safelite AutoGlass Tundra for Kyle Busch Motorsports:
Talk about the rough finish, after running in fourth with just a couple laps to go.
“We had a pretty good run going, running fourth there at the end. Not sure exactly what happened, we just blew a motor somehow. I think a belt got knocked off somehow. Proud of our guys. They stuck with me all weekend. I’m not a road-course ace or anything, but I learned a hell of a lot and we had a good race. That’s all you can ask for. Proud of everyone at KBM (Kyle Busch Motorsports); they brought me a good Safelite Tundra. We had a good day going and it got cut short.”
NGOTS 250 Recap:
- Defending series champion Brett Moffitt scored his second consecutive and fourth overall victory this season. It was the 11th win of his Gander Trucks career. KBM driver Alex Tagliani finished 5.16 seconds behind Moffitt in the runner-up spot. Ben Rhodes, Sheldon Creed and Austin Hill rounded out the top-five finishers.
- The race featured three cautions for a total of nine laps. There were six lead changes among five drivers.
How Burton’s KBM Teammates Fared:
- Alex Tagliani, driver of the No. 51 Toyota, finished second
- Todd Gilliland, driver of the No. 4 Toyota, finished 18th
Gander Trucks Driver Standings:
Burton maintained the 10th position in the Gander Trucks driver point standings.
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 Sept. 13 at Las Vegas (Nev.) Motor Speedway. Live coverage of the World of Westgate 200 begins Friday at 9 p.m. ET on FS1.
