Harrison Burton wins at Daytona for first victory in Cup Series

 

[August 26, 2024]  On a wild Saturday night, lame-duck driver Harrison Burton had a point to prove at one of NASCAR's most treacherous superspeedways.

Burton passed two-time Cup Series champion Kyle Busch on the final overtime lap at Daytona International Speedway, earning his first career victory in the Cup Series' Coke Zero Sugar 400 in Daytona Beach, Fla.

After side-by-side leaders Austin Cindric and Josh Berry wrecked with two laps to go -- with Berry's No. 4 Ford going airborne on the backstretch -- for the seventh caution, Burton scored the legendary Wood Brothers their 100th career win by passing Busch on the backstretch, blocking his No. 8 off Turn 4 and edging him by 0.047 seconds.

It was Burton's first win in 98 Cup starts. It was announced recently that the 23-year-old son of former driver Jeff Burton will not return to the iconic No. 21 in 2025.

"Obviously, I got fired from this job, and I wanted to do everything for the Wood Brothers that I could. They've given me an amazing opportunity in life," said Burton, who had to wait for NASCAR to rule that he had not committed an infraction by going below the double yellow line coming to the checkers.

"To get them 100 on the way out is amazing. We're in the playoffs now. Let's go to Darlington and see what happens."

He became the third driver in the Burton family to win at DIS, joining his father (2000) and uncle, Ward (2002).

The Wood Brothers' most recent win was on June 11, 2017, with driver Ryan Blaney at Pocono.

Winless Busch's best 2024 finish wasn't good enough.

"We got out of (Turn) 2, and somehow the bottom lane (broke up) and broke all of our momentum. The top lane (with Burton) just rolled," Busch said of the No. 21 Ford's last-lap pass.

Christopher Bell, Cody Ware and Ty Gibbs rounded out the top five in the 66th running of the summer race.

After posting the organization's first time sweeping the top two qualifying spots, Front Row Motorsports' Michael McDowell and Todd Gilliland led the field to the green for the 160-lap race.

Aug 24, 2024; Daytona Beach, Florida, USA; NASCAR Cup Series driver Harrison Burton (21) holds up the trophy after winning the Coke 400 at Daytona International Speedway. Mandatory Credit: Mike Watters-USA TODAY Sports

In addition to the Front Row drivers, Joey Logano, Brad Keselowski, Berry, William Byron and Cindric took turns in front before Berry led late in the 35-lap Stage 1.

Chris Buescher, last year's 400 winner, made a strong push and shoved Berry out front on the final lap, and Berry hung on around the 2.5-mile superspeedway for his first segment win.

After pit service, Daniel Suarez's No. 99 Trackhouse Racing Chevrolet was engulfed in flames. That sent the Mexican driver back to the pits where he climbed out to safety while the team inspected melted pieces of his Camaro.

At least 18 cars were involved in the first of two Stage 2 wrecks on Lap 60 when Corey LaJoie, Noah Gragson and Ross Chastain triggered the race's biggest crash on the famous superstretch.

Two incidents occurred simultaneously when Erik Jones' No. 43 lost a tire at the same time Shane van Gisbergen's No. 16 engine expired, with the explosive motor sending smoke billowing above the flat backstretch.

Shortly after as the Fords flexed their muscle, Logano beat Team Penske teammate Ryan Blaney to claim the second segment with Keselowski in third.

With 21 laps left and pit stops about to start, John Hunter Nemechek's No. 42 spun after contact with Justin Haley in the No. 51 Ford. McDowell's No. 34 was sent airborne in Turn 1 after a push from Cindric in the night's biggest wreck, a 14-car melee, with nine laps to go.

--Field Level Media

[© 2024 Thomson Reuters. All rights reserved.]
 This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.  Thompson Reuters is solely responsible for this content.