DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. — Ever since Jeb Burton gave Jordan Anderson Racing its first-ever win in the NASCAR Xfinity Series spring race at Talladega Superspeedway in 2023, the small team has seemingly found some confidence and a boost in performance.
So much of a boost, in fact, that the boss himself got in on the fun.
Jordan Anderson, in only his second NASCAR start since his fiery NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series crash at Talladega in 2022, finished a career-best fourth in the NASCAR Xfinity Series season opener at Daytona International Speedway Monday night (Feb. 19).
He followed teammate Parker Retzlaff across the line to obtain a 3-4 finish for his self-owned team.
“What a night for our team to have,” said Anderson after the race.
While one could chalk up the result to a classic race of attrition at a superspeedway (which it was), Anderson ran toward the front all night, working with Retzlaff and Burton. He even led six laps, something that Anderson hadn’t done before in the Xfinity Series.
Anderson restarted up front on the final restart, and got a huge push by eventual race-winner Austin Hill before getting too far ahead and swallowed up by the main pack.
“I just got too excited,” Anderson said. “I’m just like, ‘I’m not gonna give it up, I’m not gonna drag the brake’ and just got out there a little too much. Didn’t know what was gonna happen there.”
Anderson is no stranger to strong finishes at Daytona. At the 2020 and 2021 Truck Series races at Daytona, Anderson finished second and third, respectively.
Driving a third entry, Anderson switched the owner points for his No. 32 and Burton’s No. 27, locking the No. 32 into the show even if weather canceled qualifying. Burton’s win at Talladega gave him a past winner’s provisional that would lock him into the show without the need for owners points.
When qualifying miraculously took place on a rainy Saturday afternoon (Feb. 17), Anderson qualified 29th, worst of the three JAR cars. Retzlaff qualified ninth, while Burton started 16th.
However, by the end of the actual race two days later, after several cautions and multiple race leaders taken out, both Anderson and Retzlaff found themselves in a position to perhaps go for the win. Ahead of them, Sheldon Creed and Ryan Sieg, running second and third, were sizing up Hill to make a move for the win down the backstretch on the final lap when Sieg got turned off of turn 2 and wadded…
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