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Race report

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

Harrison Burton prevailed in a dramatic showdown at Daytona International Speedway, earning the Wood Brothers their 100th NASCAR Cup Series victory.

Daytona delivered on the drama Saturday night when Harrison Burton surged ahead in the #21 Wood Brothers Racing Ford to out-duel Kyle Busch and win his way into the 2024 playoffs.

Parker Retzlaff shoved Burton ahead of Busch on the final, a fellow Chevrolet driver. Burton then blocked aggressively, crossing the finish line and finally becoming a winner in the NASCAR Cup Series after 98 career starts. And he did it all with his father and NASCAR Hall of Famer Jeff Burton in the booth. 

The Wood Brothers are parting ways with Burton at the conclusion of the 2024 season. The 23-year-old was very emotional in his post-race interview as his future in the sport remains unknown.

"I don't know! I cried the whole victory lap," said an exasperated Burton. "Obviously, I got fired from this job. I wanted to do everything I could for the Wood Brothers. They've given me an amazing opportunity in life. To get them 100 [wins] on my way out ... it's amazing. We're in the playoffs now!"

He added: "It's amazing. It's been the hardest three years of my life. Obviously the hardest three years for some of these guys' lives. To win in the way we just did, to beat the best in the business Kyle Busch across the line. It's pretty fantastic."

The Wood Brothers, which have competed in NASCAR since 1953, but hasn't won since Pocono in 2017.

Harrison Burton, Wood Brothers Racing, DEX Imaging Ford Mustang

Harrison Burton, Wood Brothers Racing, DEX Imaging Ford Mustang

Photo by: Nigel Kinrade / NKP / Motorsport Images

Busch finished second, Christopher Bell third, Cody Ware fourth, and Ty Gibbs fifth. Bubba Wallace, Parker Retzlaff, Brad Keselowski, Daniel Hemric, and Chris Buescher rounded out the top ten.

The victory completely changes the playoff picture, putting Bubba Wallace 21 points down and Ross Chastain 27 points down, with Chris Buescher now holding the 16th and final spot. 

The race featured 40 lead changes between 16 drivers, but was also slowed by seven cautions and one red flag stoppage. Both stage winners [Berry and Joey Logano] failed to finish the race after crashing out.

The final laps of the race were nothing short of pure chaos. A late-race caution just before green-flag pitstops set up a sprint to the finish. Michael McDowell got turned from the lead and went airborne in the middle of the field. Thankfully, the car slammed back onto its wheels.

Unfortunately, Josh Berry was the next driver to go spinning from the lead and things got far worse. He flipped upside down in another blow-over crash, slamming the inside wall and spinning like a top while on its roof. He climbed from the car without injury. An additional air deflector added to the right side of the cars this week didn't appear to help.

NASCAR Cup Daytona II - Race results

Cla Driver # Manufacturer Laps Time Interval Pits Points
1 H. BurtonWood Brothers Racing 21 Ford 164

3:01'40.537

  7 40
2 K. BuschRichard Childress Racing 8 Chevrolet 164

+0.047

3:01'40.584

0.047 8 39
3 C. BellJoe Gibbs Racing 20 Toyota 164

+0.139

3:01'40.676

0.092 7 34
4 C. WareRick Ware Racing 15 Ford 164

+0.240

3:01'40.777

0.101 10 33
5 54 Toyota 164

+0.282

3:01'40.819

0.042 7 32
6 B. Wallace23XI Racing 23 Toyota 164

+0.325

3:01'40.862

0.043 10 32
7
P. RetzlaffBeard Motorsports
62 Chevrolet 164

+0.408

3:01'40.945

0.083 8  
8 B. KeselowskiRFK Racing 6 Ford 164

+0.409

3:01'40.946

0.001 12 41
9 D. HemricKaulig Racing 31 Chevrolet 164

+0.429

3:01'40.966

0.020 10 28
10 C. BuescherRFK Racing 17 Ford 164

+0.446

3:01'40.983

0.017 10 37
11
C. HocevarSpire Motorsports
77 Chevrolet 164

+0.471

3:01'41.008

0.025 11 26
12 R. ChastainTrackHouse Racing 1 Chevrolet 164

+0.594

3:01'41.131

0.123 12 25
13
Z. SmithSpire Motorsports
71 Chevrolet 164

+0.607

3:01'41.144

0.013 11 24
14 C. BriscoeStewart-Haas Racing 14 Ford 164

+0.661

3:01'41.198

0.054 12 23
15 J. NemechekLegacy Motor Club 42 Toyota 164

+0.760

3:01'41.297

0.099 12 22
16 A. BowmanHendrick Motorsports 48 Chevrolet 164

+0.781

3:01'41.318

0.021 11 21
17 E. JonesLegacy Motor Club 43 Toyota 164

+0.825

3:01'41.362

0.044 15 20
18 A. CindricTeam Penske 2 Ford 164

+1.026

3:01'41.563

0.201 9 26
19 B. McLeodLive Fast Motorsports 78 Chevrolet 164

+1.160

3:01'41.697

0.134 10  
20 J. GaseNY Racing Team 44 Chevrolet 164

+4.159

3:01'44.696

2.999 10  
21 K. LarsonHendrick Motorsports 5 Chevrolet 163

+1 Lap

3:01'45.559

1 Lap 11 24
22 A. DillonRichard Childress Racing 3 Chevrolet 162

+2 Laps

3:00'16.311

1 Lap 12 15
23 T. GillilandFront Row Motorsports 38 Ford 162

+2 Laps

3:02'47.630

2'31.319 10 25
24 M. Truex JrJoe Gibbs Racing 19 Toyota 161

+3 Laps

3:01'44.939

1 Lap 15 13
25 A. HillRichard Childress Racing 33 Chevrolet 159

+5 Laps

2:52'57.564

2 Laps 13  
26 J. BerryStewart-Haas Racing 4 Ford 158

+6 Laps

2:51'12.808

1 Lap 7 21
27 W. ByronHendrick Motorsports 24 Chevrolet 158

+6 Laps

2:51'12.874

0.066 9 15
28 T. Reddick23XI Racing 45 Toyota 156

+8 Laps

2:51'29.870

2 Laps 12 9
29 R. BlaneyTeam Penske 12 Ford 154

+10 Laps

2:44'04.322

2 Laps 8 23
30 M. McDowellFront Row Motorsports 34 Ford 151

+13 Laps

2:37'20.263

3 Laps 7 10
31 J. LoganoTeam Penske 22 Ford 151

+13 Laps

2:37'20.465

0.202 6 25
32 J. HaleyRick Ware Racing 51 Ford 151

+13 Laps

2:37'20.595

0.130 9 10
33 R. Stenhouse JrJTG Daugherty Racing 47 Chevrolet 151

+13 Laps

2:37'20.612

0.017 8 4
34 C. LajoieSpire Motorsports 7 Chevrolet 132

+32 Laps

3:01'42.273

19 Laps 8 3
35 S. van GisbergenKaulig Racing 16 Chevrolet 80

+84 Laps

1:19'18.498

52 Laps 6  
36 C. ElliottHendrick Motorsports 9 Chevrolet 61

+103 Laps

58'41.467

19 Laps 6 1
37 N. GragsonStewart-Haas Racing 10 Ford 59

+105 Laps

54'14.607

2 Laps 4 1
38 D. HamlinJoe Gibbs Racing 11 Toyota 59

+105 Laps

54'14.938

0.331 3 1
39 R. PreeceStewart-Haas Racing 41 Ford 59

+105 Laps

54'15.529

0.591 5 1
40 D. SuarezTrackHouse Racing 99 Chevrolet 37

+127 Laps

31'38.736

22 Laps 4 1

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