Visit Hampton Virginia 150 Sets Up Epic Two-Race Battle for NKNPSE Championship for Burton
MOORESVILLE, NC (September 6, 2017) – The NASCAR K&N Pro Series East (NKNPSE) made a return to the 0.396-mile Langley Speedway located in Hampton, Va on Monday after a year hiatus. Harrison Burton and the No. 12 DEX Imaging Toyota team entered the 12th race of the 14 race NKNPSE season with a four-point lead in the season standings.
Weather postponed the Visit Hampton Virginia 150 from its original date of Saturday, Sept 2 to Monday, Sept 4, Labor Day. Burton was third quick in the one and only NKNPSE practice and qualified sixth in the DEX Imaging No. 12 Toyota.
Fighting a lack of overall grip, the 16-year-old Huntersville, N.C., native struggled from the drop of the green flag but found something midrace and was able to charge inside the top-five. He was able to ride fourth for several laps. On a restart, he got hung out on the outside line and lost several positions. He was unable to recover that lost track position and finish seventh.
“We struggling a little bit today, but it wasn’t from a lack of effort by this MDM Motorsports team,” said Burton. “We just were never able to get our car to turn and get off the corner like the fast guys today. We’ve had an amazing season and one tough race isn’t going to bring us down. We have two more races to get it done. We need to come out and have a solid race at New Jersey and another solid race at Dover. That’s all we can do. I’m proud to be driving these Toyota’s for DEX Imaging and all my partners. These MDM Motorsports guys are working really hard right now. We’ll be back stronger than ever.”
Burton is second in the NKNPSE overall points standings with just two races to go in the NKNPSE season. He trails the leader by just five points. The NKNPSE will race at New Jersey Motorsports Park on Sept 16.
The Visit Hampton Virginia 150 at Langley Speedway located in Hampton, Va., will air on Thurs., Sept. 7 at 7 p.m. ET on NBCSN.