Daytona delivered on the drama Saturday night when Harrison Burton surged ahead in the No. 21 Wood Brothers Racing Ford to out-duel Kyle Busch and win his way into the 2024 playoffs.
Parker Retzlaff shoved Burton ahead of Busch on the final, a fellow Chevrolet driver. Burton then blocked aggressively, crossing the finish line and finally becoming a winner in the NASCAR Cup Series after 98 career starts. And he did it all with his father and NASCAR Hall of Famer Jeff Burton in the booth.
Watch: Harrison Burton ‘wanted to do everything’ to get win No. 100 for Wood Brothers
The Wood Brothers are parting ways with Burton at the conclusion of the 2024 season. The 23-year-old was very emotional in his post-race interview as his future in the sport remains unknown.
“I don’t know! I cried the whole victory lap,” said an exasperated Burton. “Obviously got fired from this job. I wanted to do everything I could for the Wood Brothers. They’ve given me an amazing opportunity in life. To get them 100 (wins) on my way out … it’s amazing. We’re in the playoffs now!”
He then added: “It’s amazing. It’s been the hardest three years of my life. Obviously the hardest three years for some of these guys’ lives. To win in the way we just did, to beat the best in the business Kyle Busch across the line. It’s pretty fantastic.”
The Wood Brothers, which have competed in NASCAR since 1953, but haven’t visited Victory Lane since Pocono in 2017.
Busch finished second, Christopher Bell third, Cody Ware fourth, and Ty Gibbs fifth. Bubba Wallace, Parker Retzlaff, Brad Keselowski, Daniel Hemric, and Chris Buescher rounded out the top-ten.
The victory completely changes the playoff picture, putting Bubba Wallace 21 points down and Ross Chastain 27 points down, with Chris Buescher now holding the 16th and final spot.
The race featured 40 lead changes between 16 drivers, but was also slowed by seven cautions and one red flag stoppage. Both stage winners [Berry and Joey Logano] failed to finish the race after crashing out.
The final laps of the race were nothing short of pure chaos. A late-race caution just before green-flag pitstops set up a sprint to the finish. Michael McDowell got turned from the lead and went airborne in the middle of the field. Thankfully, the car slammed back onto its wheels.
Unfortunately, Josh Berry was the next driver to go spinning from the lead and things got far worse. He flipped upside down in another blow-over crash, slamming the inside wall and spinning like a top while on its roof. He climbed from the car without injury. An additional air deflector added to the right-side of the cars this week didn’t appear to help.
