NASCAR Truck Series: Harrison Burton ready for first full season at Kyle Busch Motorsports

Harrison Burton has driven for Kyle Busch Motorsports in the NASCAR Truck Series since the 2016 season, but the 2019 season is set to be his first season as a full-time driver for the team.

Having just turned 18 years old this past October, Harrison Burton was not previously allowed to drive full-time in the NASCAR Truck Series. That said, he has competed in the series since the 2016 season, and he has never driven for a team other than Kyle Busch Motorsports.

The 18-year-old Huntersville, North Carolina, who is the son of former NASCAR driver Jeff Burton, the nephew of former NASCAR driver Ward Burton and the cousin of current NASCAR driver Jeb Burton, is set to get his chance to drive full-time in the Truck Series in the 2019 season, and he is set to do so as the driver of the #18 Kyle Busch Motorsports Toyota.

This news was confirmed in November after it was confirmed that Noah Gragson, who drove the #18 Toyota on a full-time basis in the 2017 and 2018 seasons, would be leaving the Truck Series to replace the now retired Elliott Sadler at JR Motorsports in the Xfinity Series, although he technically ended up replacing Tyler Reddick as the driver of the #9 Chevrolet.

Safelite AutoGlass, which served as Gragson’s primary sponsor for all 23 races on the 2018 schedule, is set to return as the primary sponsor of the #18 Toyota in the 2019 season, albeit for only 19 of the 23 races on the schedule.

Here is what Burton had to say about the opportunity to drive full-time for Kyle Busch Motorsports in the 2019 Truck Series season when this news was announced a few months ago, according to Kyle Busch Motorsports.

"“I’ve worked really hard the last few seasons driving a limited schedule for KBM to prove that I’m capable of running full-time in the NASCAR Gander Outdoors Truck Series in 2019 and I’m excited for the opportunity to do so with Safelite AutoGlass as my primary sponsor. By using all of the resources that I have available at KBM, with the support of Toyota and Toyota Racing Development, I know that I’ll continue to improve as a driver and I’m confident that I’m capable of competing for wins and being a legitimate contender for the Truck Series championship next year. Obviously, to get to this point in my career it has taken a lot of support from a lot of different people, so I can’t thank my parents enough as well as companies like DEX Imaging, Hunt Brothers Pizza, Morton Buildings, RUUD and FIELDS for being great partners.”"

Here is what Kyle Busch Motorsports team owner Kyle Busch had to say about the matter when it was announced, according to Kyle Busch Motorsports.

"Harrison has done a great job of balancing being a high school student, as well as a student of racing since making his first Truck Series start for KBM shortly after turning 16 a few years ago. The results of his hard work are starting to pay dividends and we’re confident that his first Truck Series win will be coming shortly and he’ll be able to be in the mix for the championship next year.“The support that Safelite provides our team by bringing their employees and business partners to the races is amazing to see, but even more rewarding is the chance for our organization to be a part of the efforts they make in giving back to the communities where we race. We know that Harrison will be a great representative for them on and off the track.”"

Here is what Garth Beck, the senior vice president of Safelife AutoGlass West Region, had to say about the matter when it was announced, according to Kyle Busch Motorsports.

"“We are very excited for the 2019 season with Harrison Burton behind the wheel of the Safelite AutoGlass Toyota Tundra. He is a very talented young driver with many accomplishments at a young age and will be a great fit for Safelite. We are looking forward to another great year in partnership with KBM and Harrison for the 2019 season.”"

Over the course of the three seasons during which Burton has competed in the Truck Series, he has competed in 15 races, including one in the 2016 season, six in the 2017 season and eight in the 2018 season.

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After finishing in 22nd place in his series debut in the October race at Martinsville Speedway in the 2016 season as the driver of the #18 Toyota, Burton has driven the #51 Toyota. Since he finished between 11th and 18th in his first five starts of the 2017 season, he has finished outside of the top eight just twice.

Burton recorded his first career top 10 finish by finishing in fourth place in the October race at Martinsville Speedway in the 2017 season, which was the final race of the season in which he competed. He finished no lower than 13th in his eight starts in the 2018 season. He recorded six top eight finishes, including three more top five finishes. He recorded a new career-high finish of third place in the June race at Iowa Speedway, and he finished in third again in the November race at ISM Raceway.

In the 2016 and 2017 seasons, when he wasn’t driving for Kyle Busch Motorsports in the Truck Series, Burton was driving full-time in the K&N Pro Series East. After finishing in seventh place in the 2016 championship standings with a top finish of fourth throughout the 14-race season, he won the 2017 championship with five victories throughout the 14-race season.

In the 2018 season, Burton also drove part-time in the ARCA Racing Series. After earning his first career victory in the series in his lone start in the 2017 season, he competed in nine of the 20 races on the 2018 schedule and earned another victory.

Having had success driving part-time for Kyle Busch Motorsports in the Truck Series over the past few years and having had success competing in other series during that time, Burton is more than ready to compete for the team on a full-time basis for the first time in his Truck Series career this year.

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How will Harrison Burton perform in his first season driving full-time in the NASCAR Truck Series for Kyle Busch Motorsports? The season is scheduled to begin next Friday, February 15 with the NextEra Energy 250 at Daytona International Speedway in Daytona Beach, Florida. Be sure to tune in to this race and to each of the other 22 races on the 2019 schedule.

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