NASCAR Gander Outdoors Truck Series Overview
Event: NASCAR Gander Outdoors Truck Series Season Finale (Race 23 of 23), 134 Laps – 30/30/74; 201 Miles
Location: Homestead-Miami (Fla.) Speedway (1.5-mile oval)
Date/Broadcast: Nov. 15, 2019 at 8 p.m. ET on FS1, MRN and SiriusXM NASCAR 90
The Beat on Burton:
- Harrison Burton and the No. 18 Safelite AutoGlass team head to Homestead-Miami (Fla.) Speedway to wrap up the 2019 NASCAR Gander Outdoors Truck Series season. The second-generation driver has posted seven top-five and 11 top-10 finishes while recording an average starting position of 8.3 and an average finish of 11.9 across 22 Gander Truck Series starts in his first full-time season in one of NASCAR’s National Divisions. Burton finished the regular season sixth in the point standings, but did not qualify for the playoffs because four drivers behind him in points collected a victory. The North Carolina native has posted a Gander Trucks career-best third-place finish six times across his 37 career starts.
- Burton and his No. 18 team participated in a two-day rookie test at Homestead-Miami Speedway in early August. Over the course of the test, the team made over 350 laps around the 1.5-mile oval in preparation for this weekend’s event. In his Homestead-Miami Speedway debut, Burton qualified 14th and finished 11th in last year’s Truck Series season finale.
- It was announced in mid-October that Burton will be competing full-time in the No. 20 for Joe Gibbs Racing (JGR) in the NASCAR Xfinity Series in 2020. The 19-year-old driver has one top-five and four top-10 finishes in seven NASCAR Xfinity Series starts for JGR in 2019. He will be pulling double duty this weekend at Homestead-Miami Speedway, as he will be driving the No. 18 Supra in Saturday’s NASCAR Xfinity Series finale in addition to his regular Gander Truck Series duties.
- 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. Hillman Jr.’s drivers have posted two wins, one pole, six top-five and six top-10 finishes resulting in an average finish of 9.8 across 12 starts at Homestead-Miami Speedway. He earned his wins with Bodine in the 2005 and 2008 events.
- www.nascar.com/ganderoutdoorsmostpopulardriver Follow #VoteHarrisonMPD
- 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 Gander Trucks schedule in 2019.
Harrison Burton, Driver Q&A
What did you learn testing at Homestead-Miami Speedway earlier this season that you can apply to the race?
“After going to test there earlier this year, I feel really confident going into the race. I think Homestead is a tough track that you really have to go there once before you can have success there. I learned a lot last year when I ran there and then I also learned a lot at the test this year – about how to maintain speed over the long run and a lot of important stuff like that. I’m also going to be double duty this weekend with running the Xfinity car and the more laps you get in a race vehicle, the better, so I think that is going to be a lot of fun, and the extra practice I get on that side Friday afternoon is going to help me in the truck race on Friday night.”
How does Homestead-Miami compare to other mile-and-a-half tracks on the schedule?
“Racing at Homestead compares to racing at other tracks in zero ways. There are so many differences between Homestead and places like Kentucky and Texas. There are places like Chicago and Atlanta that are somewhat similar, but Homestead is kind of its own animal. The way that you have to attack that place is really, really tough and it brings out the best drivers.”
Harrison Burton Career Highlights:
- Across 37 career Gander Trucks starts has collected one pole, 88 laps led, 11 top-five and 18 top-10 finishes resulting in an average finish of 11.2.
- Has one top-five and four top-10 finishes in seven NASCAR Xfinity Series starts for Joe Gibbs Racing this season.
- Has three career ARCA Racing Series victories across 17 starts, including the 2019 season opener at Daytona (Fla.) International Speedway.
- 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-62: The Safelite AutoGlass team will unload a brand-new Tundra, KBM-62, for Friday night’s Gander Trucks season finale at Homestead-Miami Speedway.
KBM Notes of Interest:
- KBM drivers have collected four wins, one pole, 291 laps led, nine top-five and 12 top-10 finishes resulting in an average finish of 10.6 across 23 starts at Homestead-Miami Speedway.
- Owner-driver Kyle Busch has two victories at Homestead-Miami (2010 and 2013), while Darrell Wallace Jr. (2014) and William Byron (2016) each have one.
- KBM holds the NGOTS records for most career wins (75) 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.
