As Harrison Burton prepares to campaign in his first NASCAR Cup Series race weekend as a Playoff competitor ahead of this weekend’s Playoff opener at Atlanta Motor Speedway, he does so with a milestone start up for grabs. By competing at Atlanta, the driver of the No. 21 Wood Brothers Racing Ford Mustang Dark Horse will make his 100th career start in NASCAR’s premier series.
A second-generation racer from Huntersville, North Carolina, Burton made his inaugural presence in the Cup circuit at Talladega Superspeedway in April 2021. By then, he was campaigning in his second full-time season in the Xfinity Series for Joe Gibbs Racing and was coming off a four-race victory season as he also achieved the 2020 Xfinity Rookie-of-the-Year title. Driving the No. 96 Toyota Camry for Gaunt Brothers Racing, Burton rallied from starting at the rear of the field to finish 20th.
In July 2021, Burton was named as the driver of the iconic No. 21 Ford Mustang for Wood Brothers Racing for the 2022 Cup season, where he replaced Matt DiBenedetto and contended for the Rookie-of-the-Year title. Burton’s rookie Cup campaign commenced on a rough note after he was involved in a multi-car wreck during the 64th running of the Daytona 500 at Daytona International Speedway. It resulted in the North Carolina native flipping on the roof before rolling back on all four wheels while battling towards the front on Lap 62 of 200 and ending up in 39th place in the final running order.
During his next 18 scheduled events, Burton would finish no higher than 11th and notch a total of six top-20 results before securing his first career top-10 result at Atlanta Motor Speedway in July, where he led nine laps. Three laps later, he achieved his first career top-five result at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway Road Course by finishing in third place amid a wild overtime finish. While not in contention of making the 2022 Cup Series Playoffs, Burton would proceed to finish in the top 20 seven additional times during the final 14 events on the schedule, which included an 11th-place run at Martinsville Speedway in October, before settling in 27th place in the final standings and in the runner-up spot behind Austin Cindric for the rookie title.
Remaining at Wood Brothers Racing for the 2023 Cup season, Burton commenced the season by finishing 26th during the 65th running of the Daytona 500 after being involved in a late multi-car wreck. He then finished no higher than 15th twice during his next 11 starts before posting his first top-10 finish with a sixth-place result at Darlington Raceway in May. Burton would then manage an eighth-place finish at Pocono Raceway in July during his next 13 starts as he would not make the Cup Series Playoffs for a second consecutive season. Managing a 15th-place result at Martinsville in November and three top-20s throughout the Playoffs, Burton ended up in 31st place in the final standings and an average-finishing result of 24.7 with only two top-10 recorded results.
Through the first 24 regular-season events of the 2024 Cup Series season, Burton had recorded a single top-10 result, where he finished 10th at Talladega in April, but was strapped with an average-finishing result of 26.9. By then, he was informed in early July that he would be replaced by Josh Berry in 2025.
Then in August, Burton outdueled Kyle Busch during an overtime shootout to score his first elusive Cup Series career victory at Daytona with his father and former NASCAR veteran Jeff Burton calling the event’s broadcast. The Daytona victory made Harrison Burton the 205th competitor overall to win in NASCAR’s premier series as he both secured a spot into the 2024 Cup Series Playoffs and delivered the milestone 100th career win for Wood Brothers Racing.
Through 99 previous Cup starts, Burton has achieved one victory, two top-five results, six top-10 results, 73 laps led and an average finishing result of 24.2. Despite finishing in 21st place during this past weekend’s regular-season finale at Darlington, Burton will commence the 2024 Cup Series Playoffs and his first pursuit for a first Cup title in 14th place in the Playoff standings with 2,005 points.
Harrison Burton is scheduled to make his 100th Cup Series career start at Atlanta Motor Speedway for the Quaker State 400 on Sunday, September 8, with the event’s broadcast time to occur at 3 p.m. ET on USA Network.
