NASCAR Gander Outdoors Truck Series Overview
Event: Camping World 225 (Race 12 of 23), 150 Laps – 35/35/80; 225 Miles
Location: Chicagoland Speedway in Joliet, Ill. (1.5-mile tri-oval)
Date/Broadcast: June 28, 2019 at 9 p.m. ET on FS1, MRN and SiriusXM NASCAR 90
The Beat on Burton:
- Harrison Burton and the No. 18 Safelite AutoGlass Racing team head to Chicagoland Speedway for the Camping World 225. Burton has never made a start in any series at the 1.5-mile tri-oval, so to get extra track time in preparation for Friday night’s Gander Trucks event he’s also competing in Thursday’s ARCA Menards Series event. The second-generation driver’s most recent outing on a mile-and-half track was a fifth-place finish in the June event at Texas Motor Speedway in Fort Worth. He’ll be piloting the same chassis, KBM-59, that he raced at Texas for this week’s race.
- Burton had a strong run in last week’s Gander Trucks event at World Wide Technology Raceway at Gateway in Madison, Ill., but unfortunately didn’t have the result to show for it. The No. 18 team was running third when the final round of pit stops began with 30 laps remaining, but shortly after stops cycled through, he got tangled up with Sheldon Creed and just as Burton appeared to make a great save, got clipped in the right rear and went sliding up into the outside wall. After visiting pit road for repairs to the extensive damage to the Safelite Tundra, the 18-year-old driver was forced to limp home to a disappointing 16th-place finish.
- Across 11 Gander Truck Series starts this season, the 18-year-old has posted four top-five and six top-10 finishes while recording an average starting position of 7.5 and average finish of 11.0. Burton sits sixth in the driver point standings and currently leads the Rookie of the Year standings by 33 points over Creed.
- Burton’s crew chief, Mike Hillman Jr., is a two-time champion atop the pit box in the Gander Truck Series. He guided Todd Bodine to Toyota’s first-ever National Series title in 2006 and the duo won the championship again in 2010. Across 20 starts working together since October of 2017, Hillman Jr. and Burton have posted an average starting position of 8.2 and an average finish of 9.1.
- Hillman Jr.’s drivers have posted two poles, 135 laps led, four top-five and five top-10 finishes resulting in an average finish of 9.1 across 8 starts at Chicagoland Speedway. Hillman Jr. has sat atop the pit box for three-runner up finishes at Chicagoland, twice with Bodine (2009 and 2010) and most recently with Chase Briscoe (2017).
- Safelite AutoGlass, the nation’s largest provider of vehicle glass repair and replacement services, will adorn the hood of Burton’s Tundra for 19 of the 23 events on the NGOTS schedule in 2019.
Harrison Burton, Driver Q&A
Will running the ARCA race on Thursday help you get more experience before Friday’s Gander Trucks race?
“I think just experience on the race track – I’ve never ran at Chicago before, so it’s going to be really nice to get in the ARCA car and get more laps there and kind of figure out the race track. I’m excited to go jump in the ARCA car and get to work there and then after I learn as much as I can, we’ll be in the truck and ready to go practice.”
As you prepare for your first start in any series at Chicagoland, how do you think it will compare to other 1.5-mile tracks?
“It looks like a lot of fun definitely. It looks pretty worn out and you can run kind of anywhere, so I definitely look for the top to come in — which should be really, really fun. I love running the top, especially at mile-and-a-halves, so hopefully we can get the Safelite Tundra dialed in to run the top there and pass some trucks.”
Harrison Burton Career Highlights
- Across 26 career Gander Trucks starts has collected one pole, 80 laps led, eight top-five and 13 top-10 finishes resulting in an average finish of 10.5
- Has one top-five and two top-10 finishes in two NASCAR Xfinity Series starts for Joe Gibbs Racing this season
- Has three career ARCA Racing Series victories across 15 starts, including the 2019 season opener at Daytona.
- Captured the 2017 NASCAR K&N Pro Series East title after registering a series-high five wins
- Has numerous Super Late Model victories including the 2018 Rattler 250 at South Alabama Speedway in Kinston, Ala., and the 2017 ARCA/CRA SpeedFest at Crisp Motorsports Park in Cordele, Ga.
- Son of former Monster Energy Cup Series driver and current NBC Sports Analyst Jeff Burton.
Harrison Burton’s No. 18 Safelite AutoGlass Tundra:
KBM-59: The Safelite AutoGlass team will unload KBM-59 for Friday’s Camping World 225 at Chicagoland. The Tundra has finished inside the top 10 in both of its starts with Burton this season, most recently a fifth-place finish in the June event at Texas Motor Speedway in Fort Worth.
KBM Notes of Interest
- KBM drivers have 21 starts at Chicagoland Speedway and have earned four wins, 10 top-five and 16 top-10 finishes, with an average starting position of 7.9 and an average finish of 8.0.
- Owner-driver Kyle Busch has earned all four wins for KBM at Chicagoland Speedway in 2010, 2013, 2014 and 2016.
- KBM holds the NGOTS records for most career wins (74) and most wins in a single season (14 in 2014). In addition to collecting a series-record six Owner’s Championships, the organization has produced two championship-winning drivers; Erik Jones (2015) and Christopher Bell (2017).
- The No. 18, the number which was on the first Tundra that went to victory lane for KBM in 2010, has 21 career victories.
