Despite Harrison Burton starting his 2024 season with a less-than-stellar P39 place at Daytona, his racing fortunes hit a high note at Talladega with a top-10 finish — his sole one of the season.
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The real highlight, though, came in the regular season’s penultimate race at Daytona, where Burton clinched his first Cup Series victory by a whisker, just 0.047 seconds ahead of Kyle Busch, under the gaze of his father Jeff Burton, who was commentating from the booth.
This victory marked the Wood Brothers’ 100th Cup Series triumph, their first since Ryan Blaney’s win at Pocono in 2017. Although the win catapulted him into the top 16, Burton’s playoff journey was cut short in the first round.
Amidst the season’s ups and downs, it was revealed in July that Josh Berry, formerly of Stewart-Haas Racing, would take over his ride for the 2025 season.
Come September 2024, AM Racing threw Burton a lifeline, announcing his move back to the Xfinity Series to pilot their #15 Ford Mustang full-time in 2025. Reflecting on his fleeting Cup Series tenure, Burton shared his thoughts on what might have been done differently to secure his position:
“Obviously, I wanted to do more and wanted to do more sooner. I really think if I run the way I [did] the last half of 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.”
However, Burton expressed contentment with achieving a big milestone he had set for himself when joining Wood Brothers Racing in 2022: to secure a Cup race victory with the team. While not completely satisfied with the season’s overall results, The victory added a note of gratification to his stint with the Wood Brothers.
The Daytona triumph stood out as Harrison’s first — and ultimately the only — top-5 finish of the season, marking it as a cornerstone achievement. He wrapped up the year at P16 in the championship standings, with an average finish of 25.7.
His season was also marred by seven DNFs and merely 18 finishes on the lead lap, illustrating a year fraught with challenges yet punctuated by a high point.
Burton’s NASCAR Career so far
Burton’s tenure with Wood Brothers Racing saw him secure a spot in the top-10 six times across 109 starts over three seasons. His stint in the NASCAR Xfinity Series, racing for Joe Gibbs Racing, was marked by four wins and 49 top-10 finishes in 75 races, with his peak performance landing him 8th in the final standings for both 2020 and 2021, piloting the #20 Toyota.
In the Craftsman Truck Series, Burton has made 40 starts so far, achieving 18 top-10 finishes and securing one pole position. His venture into the ARCA Menards Series included 17 starts, where he clinched three wins, 15 top-10 finishes, and one pole position.
Furthermore, in the ARCA Menards East Series, he made 33 starts, winning five races, finishing 24 in the top 10, and capturing four poles.
Also, Harrison clinched the K&N Pro Series East championship in 2017 with five wins and six top-5 finishes in a single season of 14 races. As Burton gets ready for his return to the Xfinity Series, it will be intriguing to see if he can leverage this opportunity to reascend to the pinnacle of NASCAR’s elite series.
