Jon Wood, President of Wood Brothers Racing, was once a racer chasing glory with earnest ambition. But after making four Cup starts, 85 starts in Xfinity, and 119 in Trucks, and only managing just two wins across eight years, he stepped away from the track in 2008.
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After failing to qualify in two of the four attempted Cup races, Wood handed the wheel to someone more capable — Bill Elliott — and turned his focus fully to managing the team. In a way, he has always kept his team above himself. That’s why the success of Wood Brothers meant so much to him.
After Elliott, Trevor Bayne joined the team and won one race in 2011. And then in 2015, Ryan Blaney joined the team. For a while, things held steady with Blaney delivering the team’s 99th victory. But after his move to Team Penske, WBR brought in second-generation driver Harrison Burton in 2022 to pilot the #21 Ford.
Burton, however, did not get them the results they had hoped for. He joined WBR after finishing eighth in the 2021 Xfinity standings. And he recorded only one top-five and four top-10s in three Cup seasons. Until the unexpected victory that is.
He won the Coke Zero Sugar 400 race at Daytona in 2024, delivering the team’s milestone 100th win. However, the twist was that the team had already informed Burton mid-season that he would not return in 2025.
While the team celebrated on the pit road, Wood remained seated atop the pit box, caught in a storm of mixed emotions. The driver they had decided to part ways with had just etched his name in WBR history.
Turning to Team Manager Jefferson Hodges, Wood asked, “Is this how I’m supposed to feel? Am I supposed to feel weird about this? Am I supposed to be struggling with this?”
He admitted, “It was a weird feeling… Because for years, people have played this 100th win up like it’s just monumental… I wasn’t expecting it… I was a little bit conflicted.”
From racing in the #NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series to managing @woodbrothers21, @_JonWood shares his career journey.https://t.co/Z5SdECgUPy
— Frontstretch (@Frontstretch) May 14, 2025
Had the win come a few weeks earlier, it might have kept the trajectory of Burton’s career different. It would have, possibly, kept him in the Cup Series rather than Xfinity.
Burton details how he could have saved his job
After a tumultuous 2024 season, by July, it was confirmed that Josh Berry, previously with Stewart-Haas Racing, would step into Burton’s Cup ride for 2025. By September, AM Racing extended Burton a lifeline, announcing his return to the Xfinity Series as the full-time driver of the #25 Ford.
Looking back on his brief Cup run, Burton reflected on what could have changed the course of his tenure.
“Obviously, I wanted to do more and wanted to do more sooner. I really think if I ran the way I [did] the last half of this season earlier, I [would have] kept my job. That’s a part of racing. It’s performing when it matters and performing before the silly season starts,” said Burton.
Though the 2024 season did not unfold as he had hoped, Burton found some solace in achieving one personal benchmark. When he joined Wood Brothers Racing in 2022, his goal was to bag a Cup Series win with the team.
And while the overall results fell short of expectations, the win at Daytona added a meaningful note to his time behind the wheel of the #21 car.
