Wimmer Motorsports was one green flag run away from winning the Snowball Derby with Harrison Burton last month.
As such, they come into 2019 with significant momentum heading into Speedfest weekend at Watermelon Capital Speedway in Cordele, Georgia. Burton is using the annual CRA Super Series exhibition race as a warm-up for his full-time Gander Outdoors NASCAR Truck Series season with Kyle Busch Motorsports.
And he and crew chief Chris Wimmer hope to close out in the first mid-major of the year.
“I’m super excited to get back to racing,” Burton said. “It hasn’t been a long off season, but it has certainly felt like one. I’m ready to get back in a race car and the Super Late Model is a great car to do it in.”
Burton won this race in 2017 and was leading last January when when a mechanical failure ended his shot at a back-to-back triumph.
“Winning at a track always gives a driver extra confidence when they go back,” Burton added. “You can use that confidence and get the season started the right way.”
That means moving on from the Derby.
Burton was leading within 21 laps to go by virtue of a decision by Wimmer to stay out on older tires. It would have worked if not for a caution with 21 to go.
“Derby is definitely one you’d like to have back,” Wimmer said. “It’s one of those things where if the strategy worked out, you look like a genius, but it just didn’t work out for us. Our pit crew was struggling on pit road and our late-race pit strategy was our best chance to win. It almost worked out. The car was so good there all weekend though that I’m excited to get to Georgia and see what we can do there.”
Wimmer and Burton will take a brand new FURY Race Car to the track this weekend.
“The last time we raced we had a great shot at winning the Snowball Derby,” said Burton. “With a car like that going into Cordele our confidence is high.”
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