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NASCAR Cup Daytona: Harrison Burton takes shock win for Wood Brothers

3 months ago

NASCAR Cup Daytona: Harrison Burton takes shock win for Wood Brothers

Daytona  turned in a strong performance on  Saturday night  as Harrison Burton  took the lead in the  No. 21 Wood Brothers Racing Ford to  beat Kyle Busch and  earn his  2024  playoff spot.Parker Retzlaff  pushed Burton ahead of Busch  in the  final race, another Chevrolet driver. Burton then blocked aggressively, crossing the finish line and finally becoming a  NASCAR Cup Series  winner after 98 career starts. And he did it all with his father and NASCAR Hall of Famer Jeff Burton in the  cockpit.The Wood  brothers part ways with Burton at the  end of the 2024 season.  his post-race interview as his future in the sport remains unknown.

“I don’t know! I cried the whole victory lap,” said an  angry Burton.  “Of course, I  was fired from  that position. I wanted to do everything I could for  Wood Brothers.  They gave me an  incredible opportunity in life. To  give them 100 [wins]  when they left … it’s  incredible. Now we’re in the  playoffs! He added: “It’s  unbelievable. It was the hardest three years of my life. Obviously the hardest three years for some of these  guys. To win  like we  did, to beat the best in the  business, Kyle  Busch, until to the  finish line.  That’s pretty  awesome.”The Wood Brothers,  who have competed in NASCAR since  1953 but  haven’t won 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  completed the top  10.This win completely changes the  playoffs, putting Bubba Wallace  at 21 points  and Ross Chastain  at 27  points, with Chris Buescher now  in the  point. 16th and  last place.The race featured 40 lead changes  among 16 drivers, but was also slowed by seven cautions and one red flag  stop. The two stage winners [Berry and Joey Logano]  did not finish the race after  the crash.The final laps of the race were nothing short of  chaotic. A late-race caution just before  the green flag pit stops sparked a sprint to the finish. Michael McDowell  fell from the lead and  flew into the middle of the  pack. Fortunately, the car  got back  on its wheels.

Unfortunately, Josh Berry was the next driver to  spin and things got  worse.  It came back in another  crash, slamming  into the  inner wall and spinning like a top  on its roof. He  managed to get out of the car without injury. An additional air deflector added to the right side of the cars this week  apparently didn’t  help.

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