O’REILLY: Brake issue during pace laps prevents Jeb Burton from taking the green in Atlanta

by Brock Beard / LASTCAR.info Editor-in-Chief

*PHOTO: Jordan Anderson Racing Bommarito Autosport, @JARnascar*

Jeb Burton picked up the 4th last-place finish of his NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts Series career in Saturday’s Focused Health 250 at the EchoPark Speedway (Atlanta) when his #27 AJ Transport Chevrolet had a brake issue which prevented him from completing any of the 172 laps.

The finish, which came in Burton’s 229th series start, was his first of the season and first in an O’Reilly race since November 1, 2025 at Phoenix, 21 races ago. In the O’Reilly last-place rankings, it was the 23rd for the #27, the 61st from brake issues, and the 695th for Chevrolet. Across NASCAR’s top three series, it was the 61st for the #27, the 177th from the brakes, and the 2,053rd for Chevrolet.

This 2026 season marks Burton’s fifth full-time season for Jordan Anderson Racing Bommarito Autosport as driver of the #27, and follows four seasons where he finished between 12th and 19th in points. But after the first 20 races of the current year, Burton ranks just 21st in points with a single top-ten finish – a 7th in Phoenix – where he led one of his only three laps of the season the other two in Talladega. Four of his five DNFs have come in the last 14 races, all of them due to crashes.

With his past success on superspeedways, Atlanta presented an opportunity to turn things around. He carried returning sponsorship from AJ Transport Services, based in the Burton family’s hometown of South Boston, Virginia, and ran a clean looking black-and-blue paint scheme with few contingency decals and green door numbers. He’d also carry an onboard camera for TheCW. He was set to roll off 20th for qualifying, where in Round 1 he earned the 21st starting spot with a lap of 32.545 seconds (170.349mph).

Qualifying turned out even worse for Burton’s two teammates, who ended up occupying the final two spots on the starting grid. On his timed lap, Blaine Perkins stalled his #31 WERNER Chevrolet just before the stripe, resulting in the slowest completed lap of 46.808 seconds (118.441mph) after he received a push. Team owner Jordan Anderson didn’t even get a chance to tur a lap in his #32 easycare Chevrolet due to a flat tire. This put Anderson 38th and last on the grid with Perkins 37th, both incurring redundant tail-end penalties for unapproved adjustments. Joining them in the back was 29th-place starter Nick Leitz for unapproved adjustments on his #42 Precision Measurements, Inc. Chevrolet.

During the pace laps on Saturday, Burton completed at least one lap with a time of 416.193 seconds, or just under 7 minutes, then pulled into his pit stall, Pit Stall 28 on the Turn 4 side. Reports indicated a clutch issue, and when he tried to roll out of his stall, his car refused to move. As the remaining 37 starters prepared to take the start, Burton asked, “Can I get out? Because we’re obviously done.” The team responded they would try to fix the issue and get back out in case there was an early crash. Burton wasn’t on board with this, but went behind the wall, where the crew raised the hood in a garage stall.

*Gase loses the engine on Lap 3. (SCREENSHOT from video by Steven Taranto, @STaranto92)*

Back on the track, the green flag dropped with Anderson in 37th place on the outside of the #55 Stripes Ford of Joey Gase and behind the #47 Schluter Systems Chevrolet of Carson Ware, who barely avoided spinning out in Turn 1 during his qualifying lap. By the end of Lap 1, Anderson remained in the last spot, 3.877 seconds back of the lead with Gase and Ware ahead of him. Then on Lap 3, Gase dropped to the back off Turn 4 and began trailing smoke. NASCAR told him to pull down to the apron, which he did in Turn 1 and 2, where he stopped as the first caution fell. Gase estimated it was either a blown engine or rear gear, the water temperature at 210 degrees and oil at 220. He then climbed out as a tow truck prepared to bring the car back to the garage on Lap 4.

Meanwhile, what was originally reported to be a clutch issue for Burton had become a brake issue, particularly with the right-rear caliper. The team had Burton pump the pedal to bleed the system. On Lap 19, NASCAR declared Gase out of the race, meaning Burton would only need to complete three laps to climb out of 38th. But on Lap 31, Burton’s crew radioed “I think we’re gonna be done, Jeb.” And on Lap 34, NASCAR declared Burton out of the race.

Ware lost a lap to the leaders while running the inside lane on Lap 41, just before the end of Stage 1, then pulled behind the wall with suspension issues. Soon after, he was joined by Logan Bearden, whose #38 S&W Towing / Atlanta Auto Parts Ford dropped out with fuel pump issues six laps later. Rounding out the Bottom Five was Harrison Burton, who led two laps in his #24 Dead On Tools Toyota, then lost the engine coming off Turn 4.

Echo Park’s continued chaos shakes free some strong runs from the underdogs

After 13 cautions for 76 laps which pushed the race nearly 10 full laps past the scheduled distance, the race was nearly decided between Brennan Poole and Nick Sanchez before the two collided in Turn 1, dropping Poole to 17th and Sanchez to 19th.

At the finish, Garrett Smithley came home 6th in the #0 SLCC Chevrolet, marking his first top-ten finish since August 22, 2025 at Daytona, and the second-best finish of his entire career, trailing only his 5th-place finish in the 2018 season opener at Daytona.

Kyle Sieg, currently second in the 2026 LASTCAR standings, overcame a spin during a multi-car wreck to finish 8th in the #28 Big House Construction Chevrolet. This is his first top-ten finish of the entire season, and first since his 9th-place showing in this same race last year. Kyle has now finished in the Top Ten in exactly one race for each of the last five consecutive seasons, each at a superspeedway.

Jeremy Clements, who had what booth commentator Denny Hamlin described was the fastest car in the field, also overcame a late-race spin to finish 10th in his #51 All South Electric / One Stop Convenience Stores Chevrolet, his best run since Talladega. One spot behind came Mason Maggio, who earned a career-best 11th-place finish in the #91 Control Alt Protect Chevrolet, besting his previous mark of 15th last summer in Daytona. Josh Bilicki finished 12th in the #07 Mando Chevrolet for his best run of the season, improving on his 14th in Daytona. Dr. Patrick Staropoli also spun before he recovered to take 13th, matching his career-best from the most recent Atlanta race in February in the #48 Syfovre Chevrolet. And despite suffering damage and stalling on the track, Glen Reen earned a 15th-place run in the #53 New Wave Bath Chevrolet, a new career-best finish that improved on his 21st last summer at Watkins Glen.

LASTCAR STATISTICS

*This marked the second time in Burton’s O’Reilly Auto Parts Series career that he finished last due to a mechanical issue that arose before the race started. Four years ago, at the Indianapolis Grand Prix Circuit, his #27 Ergodyne Chevrolet had an issue with the rear track bar that the team couldn’t repair in the garage, preventing him from completing a lap.

*This marks the third race in the last five where the last-place finisher of an O’Reilly race failed to complete a single lap.

THE BOTTOM FIVE

38) #27-Jeb Burton / 0 laps / brakes

37) #55-Joey Gase / 2 laps / engine

36) #47-Carson Ware / 63 laps / suspension

35) #38-Logan Bearden / 69 laps / fuel pump

34) #24-Harrison Burton / 101 laps / engine / led 2 laps

2026 LASTCAR O’REILLY AUTO PARTS SERIES OWNER’S CHAMPIONSHIP

1st) RSS Racing (3)

2nd) DGM Racing x JIM, Joey Gase Motorsports with Scott Osteen, Young’s Motorsports (2)

2nd) AM Racing, Big Machine Racing, Haas Factory Team, Hendrick Motorsports, Hettinger Racing, Jordan Anderson Racing Bommarito Autosport, JR Motorsports, Mike Harmon Racing, Sam Hunt Racing, SS-Green Light Racing, Viking Motorsports (1)

2026 LASTCAR O’REILLY AUTO PARTS SERIES MANUFACTURER’S CHAMPIONSHIP

1st) Chevrolet (15)

2nd) Ford (4)

3rd) Toyota (1)

2026 LASTCAR O’REILLY AUTO PARTS SERIES DRIVER’S CHAMPIONSHIP