LINCOLN, Ala. -- It was a range of emotions for Jeb Burton on Saturday afternoon as he went from being elated to being frustrated at Talladega Superspeedway.
In the span of several minutes, the Jordan Anderson Racing driver went from pumping his fist and thinking he had won for the third time at Talladega since 2021 to staring incredulously at the video screen and wondering why NASCAR declared Austin Hill the winner.
"They need to go look at it," Burton told CW Sports' Kim Coon on pit road. "We are going to protest -- if you can protest -- do whatever the hell we can do because I think we won this race."
The source of the frustration was the way Saturday's race ended. Contact between Connor Zilisch and Jesse Love sent Zilisch's car nose-first into the SAFER barrier. This was a hard hit, which forced NASCAR to quickly throw the caution.
Love was in the lead of a three-wide pack, but both Burton and Hill passed him using the outside and inside lanes. NASCAR then threw the caution, which froze the field.
.@TheCW_Sports shows the camera angles that NASCAR used to determine the winner of this afternoon's race at @TALLADEGA. pic.twitter.com/ohj2oVsB6D
— NASCAR Xfinity (@NASCAR_Xfinity) April 26, 2025
Certain angles made it appear that Burton was barely ahead of Hill. Another angle made it appear that Hill was leading at the time of the caution.
"Right there, you can see my nose is right in front of the (No.) 21," Burton said while watching a replay.
"...That angle right there, we won the race, and that's what I saw across my right front. I think I got the best view of it compared to anybody."
Burton missed out on the win, but he left Talladega with a second-place finish. He scored five stage points and locked up the third-most points (40) in the field.
He also recovered from an unscheduled pit stop after getting some damage in a crash involving three other cars.
This was the second consecutive week that Burton delivered a points-heavy performance. Last weekend at Rockingham Speedway, he scored a series-high 15 stage points and left the track with the second-most points (44) in the field.
The No. 27 team and Burton have been stockpiling points in recent weeks and moving up the playoff standings, so why was he so frustrated? The answer goes a little further than the timing of the caution.
This is a team that continues to build. It's not yet consistently running inside the top five like JR Motorsports or Joe Gibbs Racing. It has to capitalize on opportunities when given the chance.
"We don't have a lot of chances to win," Burton said, his voice cracking with emotion. "That's what's frustrating. That's it."