It was a historic weekend at Daytona International Speedway, and fans were treated to one of the most heartwarming moments of the season.
Entering Saturday’s Coke Zero Sugar 400, there were just four playoff spots up for grabs ahead of the final two weeks of the NASCAR regular season. That led to even more chaos than usual at the track known for the “Big One.”
When the dust settled, it was a winless driver who captured the first checkered flag of his career … and his dad was in the booth to memorialize it all.
Harrison Burton wins Daytona as father calls the race
Before Saturday, Harrison Burton had never won a Cup Series race in 97 career starts and was in last place in the points standings with zero top-10 finishes on the season.
That all changed at Daytona, where the 23-year-old pulled off a dramatic last-lap pass of Kyle Busch to secure his first win in NASCAR’s top circuit and punch his ticket to the postseason next month.
The best part? His dad, Jeff Burton, was on the call for NBC as his son made the daring move to beat the two-time Cup Series champion and steal his own trip to Victory Lane.
The elder Burton was stoic throughout the race and showed little emotion – on the call, anyway – as his son bumped doors with Busch on the last lap.
After the race, the young driver said he “cried the whole victory lap” as his parents let it all out from their respective booths. Then, Jeff Burton called Harrison Burton on the radio to share a touching moment before their eventual embrace in the infield.
NASCAR future unclear for Burton after Daytona win
For all the jubilation in the wake of Saturday’s win, it was still a bittersweet moment for the Burton family given the driver’s uncertain future in the Cup Series.
Burton’s win marked the 100th victory for Wood Brothers Racing, which announced in July that Josh Berry will be replacing Burton in the legendary No. 21 Ford next year.
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That leaves Burton – whose dad won 21 races in two decades in the Cup Series – without a ride beyond this season after what he called “the hardest three years of my life” driving for the Wood Brothers.
Even though he got “fired from this job,” as he said after the race, he’ll still have a few more weeks to make an impression in the No. 21 car and earn a seat next season – whether that’s in the Cup Series, Xfinity Series, Truck Series or elsewhere.
Burton will try to replicate his magical run next week in the Southern 500 at Darlington Raceway, a race his dad won in 1999. Then he’ll join the 16-driver field when the postseason begins Sept. 8 with the Quaker State 400 at Atlanta Motor Speedway.
Barring another surprise win in the Round of 16, Burton’s last “meaningful” race for the Wood Brothers will likely come Sept. 21 at Bristol Motor Speedway, where Jeff Burton raced for the final time in 2014.