Story By: JORDAN WOOD / WOOD BROTHERS RACING – KANSAS CITY, KS – After an encouraging, but ultimately disappointing Southern 500 at Darlington Raceway, Harrison Burton and the No. 21 Menards/MasterForce team are headed to Kansas Speedway hoping to continue improving their team, now headed by crew chief Jeremy Bullins.
“Even though Darlington didn’t end like we wanted it to, there were still a lot of positives to take away from the weekend,” Bullins said. “We had a solid practice, and even though qualifying didn’t go like we needed it to, we dug out of the hole in the race and had ourselves solidly in the top 15 before we got caught up in a wreck.”
Bullins said he’s looking forward to taking another step forward with the team as they compete in the Hollywood Casino 400.
“Kansas will be a great opportunity to work with Harrison and learn what he likes to feel at the intermediate-style race tracks as we look to improve our overall performance,” he said. “With the Playoffs in full swing teams are bringing out their best, so it gives us a good chance to judge where we stack up and figure out what we need to work on to get better.”
Also this weekend, Burton and the Menards/MasterForceteam are honoring a Cancer Hero, the late Karen Morgan of Hattiesburg, Mississippi.
The Honor A Cancer Hero program is put on by the Martin Truex Jr. Foundation and AdventHealth. Last year the program raised more than $110,000 to be used to support integrative therapies for women and children undergoing cancer treatments.
In January of 2019, Morgan, who retired early from her job as an insurance agent to care for her parents, went to the doctor for what initially appeared to be minor symptoms but was soon diagnosed with Grade 4 Glioblastoma, the worst brain cancer. She continued to try to be a caregiver for her father even as she needed care herself.
She passed away on May 28, 2020 at the age of 55.
Mrs. Morgan was nominated for the Cancer Hero program by her husband Wayne Morgan, who chose Harrison Burton and the Wood Brothers team to represent her.
“She would have been proud to have her name on such an iconic car,” Mr. Morgan wrote of his wife, who was a NASCAR fan and followed the sport as long as she was able.
Practice for the Hollywood Casino 400 is set for Saturday at 11 a.m. (noon Eastern Time) to be immediately followed by qualifying.
Sunday’s 267-lap race is scheduled to get the green flag just after 2 p.m. (3 p.m. Eastern) with Stage breaks planned for Laps 80 and 165.
USA Network will carry the TV coverage all weekend.