It was a thrilling day for Harrison Burton on Saturday after he won the Coke Zero Sugar 400 in dramatic fashion.
The 23-year-old NASCAR driver had never won a Cup Series race in 97 previous tries, but he found himself door to door with two-time champion Kyle Busch on the final lap at Daytona International Speedway.
The youngster enjoyed a big push from Parker Retzlaff and successfully blocked Busch around the final turn to secure his first checkered flag in three seasons. But the highlight finish could have been much uglier – something Burton’s mother called out after the race.
Kim Burton praises Busch after Daytona finish
While Saturday was all smiles for the Burton family, it could have easily ended in disaster.
Busch was the leader heading into that final lap and still needs a win to avoid missing the postseason for the first time since 2012.
After the race, Busch told reporters that he could have spun out Burton and given himself a chance to win, but he opted to settle for a second-place finish instead of wrecking the young driver and spoiling his first career win.
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Kim Burton – who is also an executive for Jeff Burton Autosports, Inc. – praised Busch for the decision to not wreck her son on the final turn, which is something we’ve seen other drivers do in a similar spot.
Saturday’s thrilling race comes on the heels of the ugly finish to the Cook Out 400 two weeks ago, after which the NASCAR president said Austin Dillon “crossed the line” at Richmond by wrecking Joey Logano and Denny Hamlin en route to his first checkered flag of the season.
NASCAR later revoked Dillon’s automatic playoff berth as a result, which surely played some role in Busch’s decision to lay off the aggressive contact down the stretch. But it was the right call nonetheless – especially in the eyes of Burton’s mother.
“I appreciate Kyle saying his only chance was turning someone right rear at Daytona would be bad deal,” she wrote on X. “That he had the morals not to do that even with playoffs is huge for Kyle’s race morals.”
Was this Burton’s NASCAR farewell?
Burton’s win was his first in nearly 100 races driving the famed No. 21 Ford for Wood Brothers Racing, which celebrated its 100th win as an organization on Saturday.
It was also a bittersweet moment for the first-time winner, as the longtime racing team announced back in July that Josh Berry would replace Burton in the No. 21 heading into next season.
That means his first win could also be his last in the Cup Series – which added an extra layer of emotion for Burton and his parents after the shocking victory.
READ MORE: NASCAR announcer reacts live to son winning 1st career race at Daytona
Burton will still enjoy a few more months in NASCAR’s top circuit, starting with next Sunday’s Southern 500 at Darlington Raceway – a race his father Jeff Burton won in 1999, a year before Harrison was born.
The younger Burton will make his playoff debut Sept. 8 at Atlanta Motor Speedway, and the last race of the Round of 16 will be two weeks later at Bristol Motor Speedway, the site of his dad’s final Cup Series race.
Regardless of how far he advances in the playoffs, Burton’s final ride for the Wood Brothers will come Nov. 10 in the championship race at Phoenix Raceway.
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