Harrison Burton and the No. 21 DEX Imaging team struggled to a 34th-place finish in Sunday’s Toyota Owners 400 at Richmond Raceway.
Burton lined up 26th for the start of a race that began with drivers on wet weather tires due to a shower passing through the area.
Burton moved up a couple of positions on the initial start but was running 32ndwhen the Competition Caution flag was displayed on Lap 30.
During that yellow-flag period, team switched to the traditional untreaded tires and adjusted their set-ups. Burton moved up to 29th place by the end of the first Stage, at Lap 70.
In the second Stage, he ran outside the top 30 for the most part before making a green-flag pit stop at Lap 123.
He moved into the top 30 but was a lap down when the caution flag was displayed at Lap 170. The DEX Imaging team elected to take the wave-around at that point, and rejoined the lead lap.
The move allowed Burton and the DEX Imaging Mustang Dark Horse to move inside the top 25, but the remainder of the second Stage ran caution-free and the team needed a yellow flag for their strategy to work.
Instead, Burton had to run on a worn set of tires until Stage Two ended at Lap 270, and he lost another lap to the leaders. He finished 35th in that segment.
The third and final Stage saw Burton trapped laps down with no opportunities to regain them.
Burton and the No. 21 team now turn their focus to the Wood Brothers’ home track, Martinsville Speedway, the site of next Sunday’s Cook Out 400.