It almost took a decade! The last time Wood Brothers Racing won a Cup Series race was back in 2017 at Pocono Raceway. But that streak was finally broken at Daytona International Speedway when Harrison Burton was the first driver to cross the checkered flag, finishing ahead of Kyle Busch. At that time, the only thing that must have crossed his mind was the sheer magnitude of the victory. After all, it was his first triumph at NASCAR’s highest level and his team’s 100th victory of the season. But the race win had much bigger implications than what appeared to meet the eye at the Coke Zero Sugar 400. NASCAR legend Jeff Burton was in the booth cheering his son’s victory when he realized that the upset would have caused a massive reshuffle in the playoffs, affecting Bubba Wallace and Ross Chastain’s postseason hopes.What were the odds that Harrison Burton would secure a victory at Daytona? For many drivers, the penultimate race of the regular season was their best hope of securing a playoff spot. After all, superspeedways are notoriously unpredictable, allowing drivers to pull off an upset. Only this time, it wasn’t one of the usual suspects who managed to get the result. Instead, it was a driver who hadn’t ever won a Cup Series race in his career, becoming the 13th racer to qualify for the postseason. With only three spots remaining and just one race at Darlington, the pressure is now on Bubba Wallace and Ross Chastain, who will need to improve on their 6th and 12th-place finishes from the Coke Zero Sugar 400 to qualify. Speaking to Motorsports on NBC, Jeff Burton expressed his regret at being insensitive about the impact of the race win on other drivers. The 57-year-old said, “One of the regrets of the evening was not taking enough time to recognize the impact that that win had, right? Big as that win was for Harrison, it was equally as bad of a win for Ross Chastain and Bubba Wallace. Who by the way, both came to Victory Lane and congratulated Harrison with full sincerity. As an analyst, that’s my number one job.” Burton went on to say, “I think I got caught up in that and didn’t do a better job of addressing the implications. That’s the only regret that I have.” Jeff Burton’s reaction after his son secured his first Cup Series victory is understandable. After all, it took 98 Cup Series starts for Harrison Burton to enter Victory Lane at NASCAR’s highest level. It was a monumental moment for the 23-year-old driver who became the third racer in the Burton family to win at the iconic 2.5-mile oval. Emotions were running high, especially because Harrison Burton was set to lose his Wood Brothers Racing seat to Josh Berry at the end of the 2024 season. The result may have been unfavorable to Bubba Wallace and Ross Chastain, but it’s not difficult to see why Jeff Burton didn’t take into account the negative implications of the race win.
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