“It’s a big responsibility to carry on that legacy”: Harrison Burton speaks about his desire to make his own name in the NASCAR Cup Series

Harrison Burton is looking forward to creating his own legacy in NASCAR by winning a race for Wood Brothers Racing in 2022. 

The Burton name has been a constant in the world of NASCAR for a long time. Harrison Burton’s father Jeff and his uncle Ward have won multiple races in the Cup, throughout the course of their respective careers.

The younger Burton however, wants to make his own name in the sport. He made his debut in the series for Gaunt Brothers Racing, in their no. 96 Toyota at Talladega. Ahead of the 2022 season, he was announced as Matt DiBenedetto’s replacement at Wood Brothers Racing.

Wood Brothers Racing is one of the most successful teams of all time. Harrison Burton is looking forward to creating his own legacy by winning a race for them.

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“It‘s definitely a cool opportunity and a big responsibility to carry on that legacy and do it the right way,” Burton said. “That‘s not lost on me. But I think the biggest thing for me is that I‘ve kind of always put that same pressure on myself to perform and do well.”

“External pressure doesn‘t really change my mentality about things. I think all drivers want to be the winner. We all want to do the best we can and I think that personality is the same with Wood Brothers and we‘re all aligned with our goals.”

The people at Wood Brothers Racing make Harrison Burton feel confident

Wood Brothers Racing have won 99 races in the Cup Series since their debut in 1953. They’ve been waiting for their 100th for a long time now and hope that Burton will help them achieve it.

It would be a milestone for the 21-year old as well, who’ll earn his first top-flight race win if he brings up his team’s century. Burton admits that he’s feeling very confident in the team and sees excitement all around the outfit.

“That‘s the biggest thing is having a team that believes in you, that surrounds you and wants to go to work with you,” Burton continued.

“I‘ve gotten nothing but confidence from the people around me. They believe that we can go and be successful. And that‘s from our crew chief level to the people at Ford, all the way down to just saying ‘hi’ to the people in the shop.”

“It‘s nothing but excitement and that‘s been cool to see.” he concluded.

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