Harrison Burton was never a child of divorce — but he kind of got the feeling of what it was like when he became an adult. No, Burton’s father and mother, Cup driver turned broadcaster Jeff and wife Kim are still married — in their 44th year together, in fact. But the younger Burton learned about a different kind of divorce: when he and Wood Brothers Racing (WBR) parted ways at the end of last season after three years together.
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Burton admittedly had poor seasons in his first two years with WBR, finishing 27th in 2022 and 31st in 2023, but things seemed like they were turning around in 2024 when he earned his first Cup win in the summer race at Daytona — also the 100th career win in WBR’s legacy. He also made the Cup playoffs for the first time.
Still, when it came time to talk about a new contract, WBR decided to go in the proverbial different direction, parting ways with Burton and replacing him with Josh Berry.
While some people may have taken his departure from WBR as looking at things with a glass half-empty, Burton instead put a glass half-full spin on things.
“That’s something that I think is one of my biggest strengths,” Burton said on a recent edition of SpeedFreaks. “I was so lucky to have a great relationship with everyone at the Wood Brothers that there was no bad feeling. They truly care about me.
“I mean they still send me stuff — it’s their 75th season — or Leonard Wood built me (a radio-controlled) car, as well. I just have a great relationship with that group, so it made it a way less bitter taste in my mouth.”
Statistically, Berry hasn’t really been that much of an improvement over Burton’s performance last year. Berry comes into Sunday’s race at Michigan 20th in the Cup standings with one win, two top fives and three top 10 finishes in the season’s first 14 races.
Moving on and hoping to eventually move back up
Burton, meanwhile, has gone back to NASCAR’s AAA league — the Xfinity Series — driving for AM Racing for more seasoning before hopefully climbing back to the Cup ranks in the next year or two.
Thus far this season, Burton is 11th in the Xfinity standings with zero wins, one top five and six top 10 finishes. Burton added that he couldn’t wait to take what he learned in the Cup Series and apply it to his new Xfinity ride.
He said, “It was really to me about self-reflection and what I can do to be better, and I feel I’m doing those things to be better and it’s starting to show in the AM Racing team. We’re turning that program around which I’m super excited about. We’ve got the right people over there. Obviously, for me, it’s all been about moving forward and what’s next.
“That’s been the biggest weapon of mine and I’ve raced the best drivers in the world for the past three years, so I’ve learned a lot and I feel I can take that with me to the future and hopefully when I get back to the Cup Series, I’ll be ready to go again and understand and fire off with some pace.”
The irony of last season is that Burton spent nearly the entire second half of the year knowing that his ride was gone at season’s end, as Berry’s appointment to drive the iconic No. 21 was announced last July. Still, Burton soldiered on and achieved the Wood Brothers’ milestone 100th win, something that no one will ever be able to take away from him.
“Obviously, I wanted to do more and wanted to do more sooner,” Burton said at the end of last year. “I really think if I run the way I did the last half this season earlier, I keep my job. That’s a part of racing. It’s performing when it matters and performing before the silly season starts.”
He’s back to performing when it matters and if he keeps going in that direction, he’ll be back in the Cup Series sooner rather than later.
