“You race like a moron.” Jeb Burton’s accusation came three weeks ago at Martinsville, when he fell prey to Sammy Smith’s aggression. However, the veteran Xfinity Series driver reversed his stance in Rockingham towards one of Smith’s own teammates. Connor Zilisch, the young phenom under Dale Earnhardt Jr’s wing, clinched his third pole of the season. But he could not make much good of it due to Burton’s actions.

The NASCAR Xfinity Series returned to Rockingham Speedway after two decades with a bang. With its tight corners and narrow racing surface coming out of turn 2, ‘The Rock’ was out to draw blood. With 14 cautions peppering the race, things were messy. And Jeb Burton caused some of that mess, although he repented for it.

Jeb Burton owns up to ruining a rookie’s day

Well, Connor Zilisch probably has the most spotlight on him this season. He won his debut Xfinity Series race at Circuit of the Americas last year and defended his title early in 2025. However, the latter victory came at the cost of high aggression. A pit road penalty relegated him to the back of the field at COTA. That prompted Zilisch to desperately charge to the front and aggressively pass Carson Kvapil, who got a flat tire. Zilisch won the race and offered a skeleton apology: “I made some moves that were probably — not smart — but they worked out in the end.” However, after COTA, victory has eluded the prodigy. And Rockingham Speedway proved to be no different, despite Zilisch securing the pole. Jeb Burton was partially responsible for it.

The Jordan Anderson Racing No. 27 driver rolled off the starting grid from 27th place. Given the tight confines of ‘The Rock’, Jeb Burton inevitably clashed with his rivals. That involved an instance where he did not notice Connor Zilisch in his rear and unintentionally made contact with him. In a post-race interview, an apologetic Burton explained that his spotter, Mike Herman Jr., was absent, and Cole Custer got in his way. “My spotter’s on vacation this week, and I have a great backup spotter, but he didn’t call it. And the 41 ran out of fuel going into the straightaway. I had somebody up there, we split the 41 through the tri-oval, and the spotter didn’t call it. Then right when I committed to go down to the bottom, I looked in the mirror, and he’s there.”

Jeb Burton further explained his part in the fiasco, where he forgot to be extra cautious of his surroundings. “What caught me off guard and put me in that entry to begin with was the 41 running out. Cleared the 41, looked in my rear view, saw somebody up on my right rear quarter panel. And I just didn’t have time to look in my left-side mirror yet. That’s how I know it was my fault.” What bugged Burton more was Connor Zilisch’s powerful place. He had clinched the pole with a 22.630-second lap time and yet finished in 14th place. Burton regretted his actions, “I hate it…I don’t want to race like that. The boy’s got a ton of talent and a fast race car.”

Jeb Burton is trying to finish the Rockingham chapter with a clean slate. With a slew of high-profile sponsors on his back, this is understandable.

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The sky is the limit for Burton

Working with a small team can be tough. But at the same time, it can be profoundly satisfying. Jeb Burton is the constant face of Jordan Anderson Racing, a team that has only 30 employees. Burton fetched JAR’s lone Xfinity Series victory at Talladega in 2023. After clinching his second top-ten finish of the season in Rockingham, Burton is in 13th place in the championship standings. This bright position is a good prospect for his new sponsors. He is backed by major firms, such as Celsius, Golden Corral, and State Water Heaters.

For the Xfinity Series race at ‘The Rock’, Celsius was featured on the No. 27 car. The energy drink brand is scheduled to appear once more this season, and Jeb Burton is looking forward to expanding his sponsorships. “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.”

What is more, Jeb Burton is also proud of the leaps of faith his team has taken. “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.”

Evidently, the JAR driver is enthusiastic about his 2025 Xfinity Series season. Hopefully, Jeb Burton and Connor Zilisch can look past their Rockingham clash peacefully.