- Harrison Burton and the Safelite AutoGlass Racing team head to Kansas Speedway in Kansas City for Friday’s Digital Ally 250. Burton is coming off a strong showing at Dover (Del.) International Speedway last week, where he challenged for the victory late in the race and ended the event equaling his career-best finish of third. Last week’s result helped the 18-year-old driver move up two spots to seventh in the NASCAR Gander Outdoors Truck Series championship standings after six races. In addition to currently occupying one of the eight spots on the Gander Trucks Playoff grid, Burton sits atop the Sunoco Rookie of the Year standings.
- Friday’s 167-lap event will mark Burton’s first Gander Trucks start at Kansas. Burton did, however, race in the ARCA Racing Series event last October, where he qualified third and finished second. The second-generation driver has made five starts on mile-and-a-half tracks in Gander Trucks action since turning 18 last October, earning a best result of sixth last November at Texas Motor Speedway in Fort Worth.
- KBM’s No. 18 is the defending race-winning number. Noah Gragson captured the pole, led a race-high 128 laps and swept all three stages in last year’s event at Kansas.
- Before he hits the track on Friday, Burton will visit the Boys & Girls Club of Greater Kansas City Wyandotte County Unit Thursday afternoon. Burton’s primary sponsor, Safelite AutoGlass, will be hosting a cookout for children who attend the location and will also be making a monetary donation to the club as part of the event.
- Veteran crew chief Mike Hillman Jr. and the No. 51 team that worked with Burton for his eight-race schedule in 2018 have moved over to guide the 18-year-old’s rookie campaign in the No. 18 Tundra this year. Hillman Jr. is a two-time champion crew chief in the 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. Burton has produced one pole, six top-five and 10 top-10 finishes resulting in an average finish of. 9.1 in 15 starts with Hillman Jr. calling the shots since he joined KBM in October of 2017.
- Hillman Jr.’s drivers have posted 129 laps led, five top-five and nine top-10 finishes resulting in an average finish of 9.1 across 12 starts at Kansas. Bodine won the 2005 event with Hillman Jr. calling the shots.
- 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.
KBM PR
