MARTINSVILLE, Va. — Harrison Burton walked into the Martinsville Speedway media center Friday morning with his head held high and a bit of swagger in his step.
And coming off the first NASCAR championship of his career, having come from behind to claim the K&N Pro Series East title at Dover Int’l Speedway last month, that would be largely expected.
But it wasn’t the real reason he was carrying confidence.
“I’ve gotta look better than this guy over here, don’t I?” he joked as he pointed across the room to older cousin Jeb Burton.
The two Burtons will face off on-track for the first time in their careers this weekend, with Harrison driving the No. 51 DEX Imaging Toyota for Kyle Busch Motorsports and Jeb piloting the No. 20 State Water Heaters Chevrolet for Young’s Motorsports.
It’s a moment the duo has waited for a long time, and one that they both hope leads to a grandfather clock trophy at the end of Saturday’s Texas Roadhouse 200 presented by Alpha Energy Solutions.
“We spent a lot of time as kids here, watching both of our dads race, and it’s funny how it works out that we’re coming full circle here and racing against one another this weekend,” said Harrison Burton. “I’ve never gotten to race him, so it’ll be new and certainly a little different the first time we find each other on track.”
“It should be a lot of fun; I’m really looking forward to it. I’m sure there will be a little cousin rivalry going on that should be fun to watch … and I’m excited to be a part of it.”
It’s hard to believe that the two have never faced off in their short track days, but their differing roads early on precluded such a meeting.
“When I came up through (the short track ranks), I ran late model stocks, where Harrison has taken a little bit different path,” explained Jeb Burton. “He’s run super late models, and I’ve never even ran a super before, so we’ve never been in the same place at the same time until now.”
“I haven’t been racing Trucks since Harrison started, so this weekend is the first showdown and I’m looking forward to it.”
This weekend’s activities mark the first time that Jeb Burton has been behind the wheel of a Camping World Truck since November of 2015 at Texas Motor Speedway.
That weekend, he was driving for a powerhouse team in JR Motorsports. This go-round, it’s a different situation with a smaller team in Young’s Motorsports, but the goal is the same.
“I came here to run top-five and (have a shot to) win the race; that’s the only reason we came and did this deal,” Burton stressed. “I feel like I’ve got a little bit of an advantage, track-wise, here and we’ve put the pieces in place to come here and perform.”
“For me, playoffs or not, I’m here to win. That’s the bottom line. I’m going to race everyone the way I want to be raced, whether they’re racing for a championship or not.”
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