Harrison Burton Makes Most of First Visit to Memphis in K&N Pro Series East
- Jun 19, 2017
Burton won the Memphis 125 Presented by Autozone, his second victory in a row and third of the season. He took the lead from Todd Gilliland on lap 107 and held it until the checkered flag. “We weren’t the best car but that’s what we’re about,” Burton said. “We never quit.” Gilliland, who led for 45 laps and was out front from laps 65 to 106, had a flat tire and had to drop out of the race with 19 laps to go. He finished in eighth place in the 15-car field. Burton took the lead for the first time in the race after Gilliland’s flat tire. “We didn’t have the best car. We knew that going into the race,” Burton said. “Our strategy was to be there at the end. That’s what happened. I’m really proud of my guys, they never quit on me, I never quit on them. It’s a great team to be a part of. We’re looking forward to winning more of these things. That’s for sure.”
“I’m fortunate to drive for really great people and surrounding myself with really great people who take care of me and I try to take care of them as best I can,” Burton said. “I am a little on the irresponsible side. I show up where I need to be.” Rookie Chase Cabre was second, his second top-five finish in six K&N Pro Series East races. He started the race on the third row, in the sixth spot, and moved to the front after some of the top cars dropped out with mechanical problems. “We were pretty good and had the car underneath us all race long,” Cabre said. “This track is really easy to overdrive and it’s really easy to mess yourself up when you’re trying to get around cars or trying to overdrive it. It was just a matter of racing the race track and giving what it got.” Travis Miller was third, followed by Ronnie Bassett Jr. in fourth and Jay Beasley in fifth. Chase Purdy won the pole and led a race-high 61 laps. But he had a mechanical failure near the end of the race and dropped to 13th place at the finish.
“It’s a huge confidence booster to come out of here with a second-place finish,” Cabre said. “We struggled the couple first races of the season. To come out here it’s a blessing. Hopefully we can be in the No. 1 spot in the near future.” The next K&N Pro Series East race is Berlin Raceway in Michigan. | |||
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