Race Weekend Central

Harrison Burton to Race Full-Time for Kyle Busch Motorsports in 2019

Frontstretch’s Truck Series content is presented by American Trucks

Kyle Busch Motorsports announced Wednesday (Nov. 14) that Harrison Burton will drive full-time for the operation in the Ganader Outdoors Truck Series in 2019.  He’ll take over the No. 18 Toyota currently driven by Noah Gragson, who is moving to the XFINITY Series with JR Motorsports.  Current primary sponsor SafeLite Auto Glass will return as the primary sponsor for 19 of the 23 races.

“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,” Burton stated.  “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.”

Team owner Kyle Busch has been impressed with Burton’s progress.

“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,”  Busch said.  “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.”

Burton only turned 18 back on Oct. 9, which means that he is now eligible to race on all circuits.  In 14 career Truck Series starts, he has four top-five and seven top-10 finishes.  His best career finishes are a pair of third-place runs at Iowa in June and last Friday night at ISM Raceway.  He also has one career pole at Iowa Speedway earlier this year.

KBM did not announce who will serve as Burton’s crew chief.  That announcement, along with backers for the remaining four races, will be announced at a later time.

About the author

Phil Allaway has three primary roles at Frontstretch. He's the manager of the site's FREE e-mail newsletter that publishes Monday-Friday and occasionally on weekends. He keeps TV broadcasters honest with weekly editions of Couch Potato Tuesday and serves as the site's Sports Car racing editor.

Outside of Frontstretch, Phil is the press officer for Lebanon Valley Speedway in West Lebanon, N.Y. He covers all the action on the high-banked dirt track from regular DIRTcar Modified racing to occasional visits from touring series such as the Super DIRTcar Series.

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