Jeb Burton is back in the Monster Energy Cup Series for his home track race. On Thursday, the Virginian announced he would return to the series and Rick Ware Racing for 24 March’s STP 500 at Martinsville Speedway. He will drive the #52 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 with sponsorship from Muzzy Bowfishing.
On Twitter, the team posted: “We’re excited to welcome @JebBurtonRacing to RWR @MartinsvilleSwy next weekend!”
Burton drove for Ware at the fall Martinsville race in October 2018, his first Cup race since 2016, where he finished thirty-third. The former Truck Series veteran currently races part-time in the Xfinity Series, driving the #8 for JR Motorsports; in 25 career Xfinity starts, he has three top-ten finishes. He spent the 2018 season with a three-race Xfinity schedule for Richard Childress Racing, with a best placement of twelfth twice (Richmond Raceway and Dover International Speedway).
Since his first race in the series in 2015, Burton has 31 career Cup starts, the majority of which came with BK Racing that year. His best finish is twenty-seventh at the 2015 fall Martinsville event. In the Truck Series, Burton has four starts at the short track, including a third-place run from the pole in 2013.
Burton tweeted an image of his paint scheme, calling it “the coolest car” in the race:
Across the first four races of the 2019 Cup season, Ware’s #52 has been split between Cody Ware, B.J. McLeod, and Bayley Currey. The team is currently thirty-eighth in the owners’ points, with Currey holding the best day of the trio with a thirty-first at ISM Raceway in his series debut. McLeod is currently listed as the #52’s driver for Sunday’s race at Auto Club Speedway.