BK Racing rookie Jeb Burton was hopeful to make his NASCAR Sprint Cup Series debut in Sunday’s Daytona 500, but a mid-race accident in Thursday night’s Budweiser Duel at Daytona was enough to knock him out of the lineup completely.
“The 9 (Sam Hornish Jr.) came up a little bit and I got into him and then I couldn’t get back off him,” said Burton. “It just sucked me right back into him and I got to weaving, getting sideways and almost overcorrected. Without overcorrecting, I had to get back into the 9 and then it turned him and then all hell broke loose.”
January has been a rough month for the son of former Daytona 500 winner Ward Burton.
Two times over.
In January 2014, Burton’s local sponsor failed to deliver on a promised payment to Turner Scott Motorsports. Their failure to deliver forced the team to suspend operations of Burton’s No. 4 team weeks before Speedweeks was set to begin. The decision to sit Burton, ultimately led to the avid short track racer being scooped by ThorSport Racing to race their third truck.
Weeks before this year’s NASCAR Camping World Truck Series opener on Feb. 20 at Daytona International Speedway, it was nearly déjà vu for Burton again, as he was told an agreement could not be hashed out between sponsor Estes and ThorSport Racing leaving the Halifax, Virginia native on the sidelines again.
When Alex Bowman decided late in the offseason to join Tommy Baldwin Racing, an open seat at BK Racing had to be filled and Burton was a good candidate.
The former NASCAR Camping World Truck Series race winner knew the dive into Sprint Cup Series race would be difficult, especially with a developing team such as BK Racing, but the opportunity to learn, expand his racing resume and compete at the sport’s highest level was something he could not turn down.
Rightfully understood.
Burton lacked speed when his No. 26 Toyota Camry hit the track last Saturday. In Daytona 500 qualifying this past Sunday, Burton nearly avoided disaster when Clint Bowyer and Reed Sorenson wrecked.
Three days later, he wasn’t so fortunate. When Danica Patrick and Clint Bowyer collided, Burton and Michael Annett connected in a chain-reaction method, ultimately forcing Burton to a backup car for Thursday’s duel race.
The team thrashed on the backup with the intention to get him on the track for duel practice Thursday afternoon. The hard work paid off, giving the Concord, North Carolina-based team some much-needed track time before the qualifying races.
During his race, Burton found himself at the rear of the lead draft, but still within grasps of the cutoff spot. As the race drew closer to its finish, Burton steadily began his climb through the field, even at one point securing himself into the field by locking down the final transfer spot.
But, when he and Sam Hornish made contact on the frontstretch on Lap 38, it set off a four-car incident with Burton sustaining damage, enough to put him behind the wall and done for the night.
Burton finished 22nd in his duel race and without the security of a strong qualifying speed or provisional, the 22-year old found himself as one of the six drivers failing to make the starting grid.
“I hate it. I just – wrong spot, wrong time,” Burton said. “These cars are so on the edge. I was very disappointed for us. We’ll have to go get them in Atlanta.”
Burton will try again next weekend at Atlanta (Ga.) Motor Speedway.
BK Racing teammates Johnny Sauter and J.J. Yeley successful earned spots in the Daytona 500. Sauter earned a berth thanks to his solid qualifying speed from Sunday while Yeley raced his way to a 13th place transfer spot in the first Budweiser duel.
Follow Chris Knight on Twitter @Knighter01.
