NASCAR Gander Outdoors Truck Series Overview
Event: NASCAR Hall of Fame 200 (Race 21 of 23), 200 Laps – 50/50/100; 105.2 Miles
Location: Martinsville (Va.) Speedway (.526-mile oval)
Date/Broadcast: Oct. 26, 2019 at 1:30 p.m. ET on FS1, MRN and SiriusXM NASCAR 90
The Beat on Burton:
- Harrison Burton returns to the most familiar circuit for him in the NASCAR Gander Outdoors Truck Series, Martinsville Speedway. Saturday’s 200-lap event will be the 19-year-old driver’s seventh start in NASCAR’s third division at the historic track. He started 16th and finished 22nd in his Gander Trucks debut at the paper-clip shaped oval shortly after turning 16 in October of 2016. Since then, he has registered an average finish of 8.8 across his last five starts at the Virginia track, with a best result of fourth in the fall of 2017.
- The second-generation driver has posted seven top-five and 10 top-10 finishes while recording an average starting position of 7.3 and an average finish of 11.8 across 20 Gander Truck Series starts this season. 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 35 career starts, including four times with the chassis he will be racing on Saturday, KBM-35.
- 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 one pole, eight top-five and 13 top-10 finishes resulting in an average finish of 10.0 across 24 starts at Martinsville. He earned a runner-up finish with Bodine twice; in the spring of 2007 and the fall of 2009.
- Voting for the NASCAR Gander Outdoors Truck Series started last week. To cast your vote for Burton, go to 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
How does Martinsville compare to other short tracks on the schedule?
“Martinsville is completely different than almost every other short track on the schedule and honestly almost every other short track you go to. It’s really flat and the straightaways are long compared to how tight the corners are. You go from asphalt to concrete in the middle of the corners. There are times when the diamond line — where you run up to the middle and then back to the bottom — comes in. So, there is a lot of different things you kind of have to keep in the back of your head there. On top of that, you have guys beating your back bumper in and you’re beating the guy in front of you’s back bumper in. It’s a crazy race, full of action and a lot of fun. Hopefully, our Safelite team can go out there and come home victorious.”
Do you feel that the fall race will be more intense because it’s part of the playoffs?
“I think so. I think any race in the playoffs is a little bit more intense. It’s a good thing — it’s good action and good fun for the drivers and good action for the fans to watch. That’s the main thing, as long as it’s aggressive, but not too aggressive where everyone is wrecking each other, then I think it should be a really good race.”
Harrison Burton Career Highlights:
- Across 35 career Gander Trucks starts has collected one pole,88 laps led, 11 top-five and 17 top-10 finishes resulting in an average finish of 11.1.
- Has one top-five and three 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-35: The Safelite AutoGlass team will unload KBM-35 for Saturday’s NASCAR Hall of Fame 200 at Martinsville Speedway. Burton has finished third with this Tundra four times overall, most recently at Iowa Speedway in Newton in June. Daniel Suarez collected KBM-35’s lone victory in November of 2016 at ISM Raceway in Avondale, Ariz.
KBM Notes of Interest:
- KBM drivers have collected seven wins, four poles, 962 laps led, 21 top-five and 35 top-10 finishes resulting in an average finish of 8.5 across 51 starts at Martinsville
- Kyle Busch picked up the organization’s most recent victory at the 0.526-mile oval in the spring race and also was victorious in the spring of 2016. Denny Hamlin and Darrell Wallace Jr. have also each collected two victories while Noah Gragson has one win.
- 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.
