For about 15 minutes following the Ag-Pro 300 at Talladega Superspeedway on April 26, Jeb Burton turned into Ben Matlock.
The runner-up to Austin Hill, who finally conquered Talladega with a caution on the last lap, was going to get the truth, and justice was going to be served.
“I feel like from the angles I keep seeing, we won the race,” Burton told The CW. “Maybe there’s a different angle I haven’t seen. Before we leave here today, I’m definitely going to see proof.”
The truth was that Burton was behind Hill at the time NASCAR officials called caution for Connor Zilisch’s hard crash into the inside wall. The front view of the cars approaching turn 3 was the deathblow to Burton’s case and a gut punch to what could have been his third Talladega win.
“We don’t have a lot of opportunities to win,” Burton said. “These are the tracks we have a chance to win at. Our guys did a great job all day. They brought a fast racecar, and we did everything we could.”
It’s devastating for Burton on a few fronts. It could be argued that superspeedways aren’t his only path to victory in the series — he scored a top 10 at Rockingham Speedway the week prior — but it’s the path that’s the clearest for him. He’s done it before for Jordan Anderson Racing, and he looked primed to do so again Saturday despite an earlier accident.
There’s also agony on the flipside of things. Who beat him out? Hill got the win and teammate Jesse Love finished third, continuing Richard Childress Racing’s stranglehold on superspeedway racing … but not with the same level of dominance.
Yes, Hill and Love each had a stage win to rack up great points days. But near the end of the race, it was not your typical affair of the field trying to break through their defense of the top-two spots. Hill restarted 12th with 29 laps to go and had to create his own third lane to get back near the front.
Hill restarted on the front row with seven laps to go, but couldn’t get clear of Zillisch and was forced to be on the offensive over the final stretch of the race as Nick Sanchez and the rookie driver of the No. 88 played defense.
With Zillisch and Burton battling side-by-side on the final lap, the only hope for the RCR duo was to push Zilisch far enough ahead that they could get around him. Hill, third in line behind his teammate and the leader, thought his chances of winning were out the window.
“When we got the push from [Love] going into one, I kind of shaded left like I was going to go inside,” Hill told The CW. “The [No.] 2 got there and got inside of me, and I said, ‘Man that’s a bad mistake on my part.’
“I should have covered that run and I didn’t. … So I thought I was done, and I just started pushing the heck out of the 2 car.”
The push was maybe too much for the front two of Zilisch and Love. Zilisch went spinning, and Love fell to the middle between his teammate and Burton. Game over. Hill somehow wins.
The RCR team that normally controls the field with an iron fist late and controls their destiny at superspeedways relinquished their dominance to JR Motorsports and a few teams looking for a rare win, and yet, RCR still wound up on top.
And to think all of that could have changed if NASCAR throws the caution a second sooner. Or later. Or not at all. That’s what adds to the frustration for Burton and many fans. A superspeedway race with the door open for a new winner, and that door is slammed in their face via a video review and a timestamp.
The win was Hill’s third of the season, piling on playoff points. Burton’s runner-up finish wasn’t all bad news, as it moved him to ninth in the point standings. A promising sight for a typically mid-pack team … if not for the current format. Burton’s in the playoff hunt for now, but he’ll start to fall if those like Christian Eckes, Daniel Dye, Taylor Gray and William Sawalich figure things out with equipment that can win anywhere.
But then again, those teams and rookies struggling is part of what has Burton this high in the standings in the first place. He’s no spring chicken. He’s got 186 NASCAR Xfinity Series starts. In a year where experienced drivers seem to have a leg up on the field, Burton has been a benefactor.
Plus, while Talladega might be his best chance to win, I wouldn’t be at all shocked if he’s in contention to win elsewhere over the course of the season.
James Krause joined Frontstretch in March 2024 as a contributor. Krause was born and raised in Illinois and graduated from Northern Illinois University. He currently works in La Crosse, Wisconsin as a local sports reporter, including local short track racing. Outside of racing, Krause loves to keep up with football, music, anime and video games.