(nascar.com)
Last week Turner Motorsports announced that Jeb Burton’s sponsor, Arrowhead, defaulted on its commitment as the primary sponsor for 2014. Therefore, Turner Motorsports declared that Burton’s 2014 season with Turner Motorsports was in jeopardy. Reported troubles within the Arrowhead corporate structure have been cited for the sudden and unexpected departure from the South Boston, Virginia driver. In August 2013, federal agents from the USDA’s Office of Inspector General and the IRS raided Cherokee Tobacco LLC, the operating company of the Arrowhead electronic cigarette brand, seizing business records. It is currently unknown if the apparent drop of sponsorship is linked to that investigation.
Today, however, Jeb Burton, one of the Camping World Truck Series most promising drivers, has announced that he has signed up to drive for Thorsports in both the ARCA and Truck series for 2014. Burton, 21, the son of 2002 Daytona 500 winner Ward Burton and the fifth-place finisher in the 2013 Truck Series championship, will race ThorSport’s #13 Toyotas in two events a week apart during Speedweeks 2014, Feb. 13-23, at Daytona International Speedway. The balance of Burton’s 2014 program will be determined, in part by gaining additional sponsorship. “The opportunity to come to ThorSport is a big deal for me, my career and my family,” said Burton, who joins an organization that won 2013 championships in both NASCAR and ARCA.
“It’s an honor to me that Duke and Rhonda Thorson would make the call to put me in their vehicles – the best there is in both series. “Mr. Thorson has proven his commitment to the Truck Series — he’s a racer, that’s what it’s all about and it feels good to be here. I feel like it’s a place where I can race, and win for many years.”
Burton joins a driver lineup that includes 2013 Truck Series champion Matt Crafton and Johnny Sauter, who finished fourth in the championship, one point ahead of Burton. Burton’s first race with ThorSport, the Saturday, Feb. 15 Lucas Oil 200 presented by MAVTV American Real, will be driving a Toyota Camry for the team that won the 2013 ARCA drivers’ and owners’ championships and was a large part of Toyota winning last season’s ARCA manufacturers’ title, its first in that series. The following week, Burton will jump into the #13 Carolina Nut Co. Toyota Tundra that pushed Sauter to the win and Crafton to ninth place before it finished 11th driven by Todd Bodine in the 2013 NextEra Energy Resources 250, which is scheduled on Friday, Feb. 21.(ThorSport Racing)
It is really good to see that young Jeb Burton is able to rebound so quickly after his former employer, Turner Scott Motorsports, was forced to reduce their operations by 20%, with the loss of the primary sponsor, Arrowhead, and basically making Burton’s future uncertain!
TIL NEXT TIME, I AM STILL WORKING ON MY REDNECK!
