24-year-old Harrison Burton captured a dramatic and historic win at Daytona International Speedway on Saturday, clinching his place in the NASCAR Cup Series playoffs. Not only is Harrison the third member of his family to win at Daytona, but he notched the 100th win for racing’s storied Wood Brothers Racing.
Burton held off strong charges from Kyle Busch and Parker Retzlaff in the closing laps, having to perfectly execute a defense strategy in the highly volatile Daytona draft. Like Burton, Busch needed to win Daytona to secure a spot in the playoffs, or else he’d be down to one final chance next week at Darlington Speedway. Both in desperate positions, David slayed Goliath: Burton picked up his first career win over 63-time winner Busch.
Further adding to the emotions was that Harrison’s father, NASCAR veteran and commentator Jeff Burton, was watching from the press box as his son climbed to the summit of the racing world. Within minutes he’d descended down to the track surface to embrace Harrison. “That is what the sport is about,’’ a proud Burton said of his son’s big moment.
Much of the field was thinned out in a series of multi-car crashed over the course of the race, including the dominant cars of Joey Logano and Josh Berry. The latter, who also needed the win, flipped onto his roof and spun around several times before hitting the wall and coming to a stop still upside down. Along with Berry, pole-sitter Michael McDowell became airborne at one point before landing on all four wheels.
Though Burton himself was an upset, multiple other late contenders represented even more shocking potential. Retzlaff was making only his second career Cup Series start, and nearly took his part-time team to victory lane. Cody Ware, driving for his father’s race team, finished fourth to nearly capture the first ever win for Rick Ware Racing.
By winning Saturday’s Coke Zero Sugar 400, Burton cemented his name among racing legends who’ve won for the Wood Brothers. The team, which was founded in 1950, has achieved victory with names like David Pearson, Cale Yarborough, A.J. Foyt, Dale Jarrett, and Buddy Baker. They’ve won the Daytona 500 three times, most recently in 2011. Despite announcing they’d be parting ways with Burton at the close of the 2024 season, Wood Brothers Racing now has 100 NASCAR victories to celebrate across their storied history.
“I cried the whole victory lap,” Burton said. “I obviously got fired from this job and wanted to do everything for the Wood Brothers I could, they’ve given me an amazing opportunity in life and to give the 100th [win] on my way out is amazing. We’re in the playoffs now. Let’s go to Darlington and see what happens.’’
