Journeyman NASCAR Driver Jeb Burton Keeps Growing With Partners
Jeb Burton, driver of the No. 27 Celsius Chevrolet, drives during practice for the Nascar Xfinity ... More Series US Marine Corps 250 at Martinsville Speedway on March 28, 2025 in Martinsville, Virginia. (Photo by)
Jeb Burton is a man on a mission. The Nascar Xfinity Series journeyman finally has a stable home with Jordan Anderson Racing, a small but mighty team.
With just 30 employees, Anderson has built a competitive operation with two-full time entries. At 32 years old with 275 national series starts, Burton is the constant face of the organization. The two-time Xfinity Series winner, which includes JAR's lone triumph, is just on the outside of the Xfinity Series playoff bubble after nine races. But one top-10 finish doesn't tell the full story of how the No. 27 Chevrolet has performed in 2025.
'We've definitely made improvements from this time last year,' Burton said. 'It's been a fun, but frustrating start to the season. We're right on the edge for the cutoff and we're racing four to five cars. To make [the playoffs], we're going to have to execute and take advantage of some situations.
'We've come a long way. We're qualifying in the top 15 and running inside of the top 15 a lot. The cars that are outrunning us are all JR Motorsports, [Richard Childress Racing], [Joe Gibbs Racing] and [Haas Factory Team], and those are all Cup teams. We are doing a lot with a little.'
Burton spent several years searching diligently for partners to compete full time in any of the top Nascar divisions. On numerous occasions, he inked full-time rides but lost them due to sponsors either backing out at the last second or even defaulting on payments.
However, after a couple of strong partial seasons with JR Motorsports, he established a core sponsorship group to land full-time rides. Now, he is backed by major firms, such as Celsius, Golden Corral and State Water Heaters.
'It's taken a long time to build what we've built,' Burton said of his partners. 'It takes a lot of companies to make this work. We're working everyday to grow them and get some new ones, as well. We're so close to being where we want to be.'
Not only is Burton working to bring these sponsors on as part of his program, but he wants to expand their relationship. With Celsius, for example, the energy drink company will be featured on his No. 27 car once again at Rockingham Speedway this weekend, the second time in a month. Celsius is scheduled to be on Burton's car once more over the final 23 races of the season.
To be a full-time racer, though, is vital for Burton to grow his brand. People identify him as being a regular in the Xfinity Series, which has ratings momentum in 2025 with the addition of The CW. It's the first time since 2017 that the first nine Xfinity Series races have averaged over 1 million viewers.
But the son of well-known 2002 Daytona 500 champion Ward Burton refuses to give up. While he tasted life in the Cup Series a decade ago with the backmarker BK Racing as a 22-year-old, he is itching to return to racing on Sundays.
'I want to be racing on Sundays,' Burton said. "That's where I want to go. I race around guys who race on Sundays, but they have resources around them and good teams. When I took that opportunity in Cup, I took it so I could find another opportunity. That opportunity wasn't really a fair shake because that team had no resources. The gap was so big from 30th to 15, where now it's a lot tighter.
'We're working on some stuff now to run some Cup races later in the year.'
Burton ran one Cup race in 2024 in the season finale at Phoenix Raceway with non-chartered Team AmeriVet. The No. 50 car finished 18 laps down.
For now, Burton's focus remains on the Xfinity Series, where he is searching for his third career win. He is one of three drivers in the field that has competed at Rockingham in some form (Kasey Kahne and Ryan Sieg).
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