"The only thing I’m going to miss about being a rookie is the extra set of tires you get for practice," Burton said. "That was nice. Other than that, it’s cool to be a veteran out there, I’ll say. I’m excited. I’ll have experience at all the race tracks besides two of them we go to, so that’s going to help me a lot.
 
"I’m pumped up, my team is pumped up. I feel like I’ve matured and got better, and I feel like our team is getting better every day, and we’ve just got to do the right things this year and not shoot ourselves in the foot and go do our deal, and I think we’ll win a championship."
 
Burton showed speed early on in the first of two days of Preseason Thunder testing for the truck tour, which debuts a new body style this season. Burton and new Turner Scott teammate Ben Kennedy were the first to lock together in a draft, pushing their two Chevrolets to the top of the speed charts in the morning session. Burton went on to top the charts in the afternoon session.
 
With the new truck bodies making their official on-track debut at Daytona in less than six weeks, preparation and the ability to adjust to change may be even more crucial to winning races this season. Again, Burton sees the potential in his group for another head-start.
 
"It seems like Turner Scott Motorsports is always ahead of the ballgame with new stuff," Burton said. "I’m excited. I think it could be an advantage for us. I feel like our guys are working really hard with this new body style in the wind tunnel and testing a lot trying to make it better."
 
While Burton has been candid about his aspirations of climbing the NASCAR ladder, he said his focus remains on performance — especially with the rise of budding young talent in the truck series. Being first on the track in preseason testing is one thing, but Burton also is aiming for being first at season’s end.
 
"I’m still trying to compete for a job," Burton said. "I’ve got to go perform and make my sponsors happy and my team happy so I can get to the next level. That’s the goal next year. I want to go full-time Nationwide, and I feel like I’ve got a good opportunity here and I need to go win a bunch of races, and I feel like if we can do that it’ll help my case."

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"They just drive so, so good when you’re by yourself," said Matt Crafton, the defending series champion, after sorting out his No. 88 ThorSport Racing Toyota in the morning session. "You’re just out there wide-open and driving realistically just one hand. I think the biggest thing is when we get them in packs to see how different they’re going to handle. It’ll be nice to see how many people will actually get in a fair pack."
 
By late afternoon, the aerodynamic draft intensified with tightly woven, two-wide formations that hinted at what sort of racing would emerge when the season opens Feb. 21 on the 2.5-mile track. It was a major step for teams, NASCAR officials and the three automakers to see the next edition of Chevrolet Silverados, Ford F-150s and Toyota Tundras mixing it up.
 
"Comments are positive so far. I think the drivers don’t feel a lot of difference, if any, between the two models, and they shouldn’t until we get to further in the week and some other tracks," said Chad Little, managing director for the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series. "Good comments, a lot of single car runs, a little drafting. … So we’re concentrating on some of the new items with the new body and making sure that they’re all in line and consistent with where we need to be for speed and time and cooling, and so far I think we’re on track."
 
The blockier front end of the new truck bodies more closely resembles the three manufacturers’ street counterparts. In a change in line with the Sprint Cup’s Gen-6 push toward brand identity, each nose has a distinct look and the rear deck features contours unique to each make.
 
Additionally, the rear bumpers come complete with a cut-in section for a step, much like the street-legal trucks the racers are based on. Little said he didn’t foresee the feature having an impact on the racing, either from an aerodynamic standpoint or in hindering the practice of bump-drafting so prevalent at Daytona and Talladega, NASCAR’s largest ovals.
 
Second-year driver Jeb Burton, who rocketed to the top of the leaderboard with a late-day lap at 191.144 mph in a large pack, said he felt the new body panels would mesh well once drivers began racing nose to tail.
 
"Last year our noses were ‑‑ we had that shelf lower, and you could really get underneath somebody easier, and it would be easier to turn them," Burton said. "So I feel like the new noses are going to help with the bumpers lining up better because you don’t have that shelf to get underneath somebody."

The test session, originally scheduled for 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. ET with a
one-hour break for lunch, was extended by 45 minutes to allow teams more
track time. Tuesday’s weather forecast calls for a strong chance of
early showers.

Teams made the most of the extra 45 minutes, drafting up until the closing bell with teammates Kyle Busch and Darrell Wallace Jr. experimenting with side-drafting as part of a five-truck convoy as dusk fell. Busch debriefed with Little after the session, saying that the trucks felt racy in the bigger packs. For Wallace, the chance to learn from his mentor and team owner was invaluable.
 
"We worked with Crafton a lot and then Kyle would jump out there with us," Wallace said. "We’d all hook up and try different things and we found out we can suck up really good. We can lay back 15, 20 car-lengths and make a huge run at the pack ahead. … We definitely learned a lot on this new body style."

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