Something poetic happened during the 2024 Coke Zero Sugar 400 this Saturday. The NASCAR Cup Series’ oldest team, Wood Brothers Racing, picked up its 100th win at one of the most iconic tracks of them all, the Daytona International Speedway.
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Harrison Burton got the job done against all odds and booked his place in the playoffs as a result as well. It has been a long wait for the team since Ryan Blaney earned them their 99th race win back in 2017, before moving on to drive for Team Penske.
Earlier, Wood Brothers Racing president Jon Wood spoke about helping the team grow. The team had not been close to winning races for several years and the organization was going down a difficult road. Wood’s eyes were opened to this by Legacy Motor Club CEO Cal Wells who said that a team was dying if it wasn’t growing.
Wells’ words stuck with the Wood Brothers president and he did whatever he could to help the team get better. On Saturday, he finally tasted the fruits of his hard work, belief, and investment.
HARRISON BURTON IS A NASCAR CUP SERIES WINNER!!! pic.twitter.com/6nxp8b8rBf
— NASCAR (@NASCAR) August 25, 2024
“So I have a renewed perspective that with the decisions you make, you need to have that in mind — even if that means taking more chances or spending more money. It’s whatever it is we need to be growing. It was very profound, but Cal didn’t intend it to be that way. He said it like it was something everybody knew. But I’m like, “OK. We’re not worse, but we’re also not bigger. So we need to be thinking about that,” he had told The Athletic.
Now with a win under their belt in seven years, the team will look to improve and grow further. Their 100th Cup Series win was also their 15th race win at the Daytona International Speedway in the competition.
With a seasoned veteran like Josh Berry joining the ranks next year, the team will certainly hope to be more regular race winners than they have been in the recent past.
Reigning NASCAR champ shares momentous occasion with former team
Burton’s win was celebrated by thousands of fans around the country and rightfully so. Everyone likes an underdog story and this was a big one. One man who was overjoyed with the result was the reigning Cup Series champion.
Ryan Blaney had been an integral part of the team and there was a lot of love in the former relationship. The Team Penske star joined his old team in victory lane and was welcomed with open arms.
@RyanBlaney came to @DAYTONA Victory Lane to congratulate @HBurtonRacing and @woodbrothers21 …
It was a moment to remember from this win! pic.twitter.com/jMODS33eqw— Claire B Lang (@ClaireBLang) August 25, 2024
“I was hooting and hollering,” he said in a post-race media interaction. “When I left the Wood Brothers, they told me that even though you’re leaving, you’ll always be a part of our family.”
The team truly looked like one big happy family as they celebrated their monumental achievement, ending the penultimate race of the regular season by leaving fans with a feel-good story for the remaining week leading up to the final race at Darlington.
