Burton Keeps The Momentum Going; Holds Off Gilliland For K&N Pro Series East Win at South Boston Speedway
by Hunter Thomas May 7, 2017 0 commentsSOUTH BOSTON, Va. – Harrison Burton continued his winning ways Saturday night when he won the second WhosYourDriver.org 100 at South Boston Speedway.
With just three laps to go, rookie Chase Purdy, who was on the inside of race leader, Todd Gilliland, jumped the restart and opened the door for 16-year-old Burton to challenge Gilliland for the lead. The Huntersville, N.C., teen was able to pilot his No. 12 DEX Imaging Toyota past Gilliland to earn his second NASCAR K&N Pro Series East victory in a span of two weeks.
The NASCAR Next driver was speechless in Victory Lane as he celebrated with his family who has a long, rich history of winning at the .400-mile Virginia oval. His father, Jeff Burton, and his uncle, Ward, raced in the track’s Late Model Stock Car division en route to two careers in NASCAR’s premier Cup series. Jeff Burton made his second career NASCAR XFINITY Series start at South Boston in 1988 and finished 17th. He made eight starts there under the old Busch Series banner, with a win in 1991. Two sections of the front stretch grandstands bear the name of Jeff and Ward.
Gilliland, 16, and his No. 16 NAPA Auto Parts Toyota held on to finish second, an improvement from his fifth-place finish earlier in the night. Although he was disappointed with his finishes at South Boston, his two top fives kept the Sherrills Ford, N.C., native within striking distance of Burton in the standings.
With his solid-top five finishes at South Boston, he finished fifth in the first twin feature, and his victory at Bristol (Tenn.) Motor Speedway, Burton sits atop the K&N Pro Series East standings with an 18-point lead over Gilliland.
Finishing third was Vinnie Miller, driver of the MasterMfgIn.com Toyota, who earned his best series career finish in just his fourth NASCAR K&N Pro Series East start. Chase Cabre, who started on the pole for both events, finished fourth while his Rev Racing teammate, Ruben Garcia finished fifth.
Completing the top-10 was the first twin-feature winner Travis Miller followed by Hunter Baize, Peyton Sellers, Enrique Baca and Jay Beasley.
The NASCAR K&N Pro Series will be back in action Saturday, June 3 at Tennessee’s Memphis International Raceway.
The second WhosYourDriver.org Twin 100 will air on NBCSN on Thursday, May 11 at 8 p.m. ET
Photo Credit: Bob Leverone/NASCAR via Getty Images
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