Out of contention and far from the playoff spots, Harrison Burton changed his luck with an unforgettable final lap on Saturday night at Daytona International Speedway.
Burton overtook two-time Cup Series champion Kyle Busch on the last lap during overtime to secure his first career win and a spot in NASCAR’s postseason.
The 23-year-old Burton, who will lose his ride in the famous No. 21 Ford with Wood Brothers Racing next season, took the lead with a big push from lesser-known driver Parker Retzlaff.
Busch tried to come back and even got close to Burton’s bumper, pushing him below the double-yellow line. However, NASCAR officials decided that the contact caused Burton to cross the line but did not penalize him.
“Besides just flat-out wrecking him, there was nothing else I could do,” Busch said.
Busch finished in second place, with Christopher Bell, Cody Ware, and Ty Gibbs following. This was Burton’s first win in 98 Cup starts and marked the 100th victory for the Wood Brothers.
“I cried the whole victory lap,” Burton said. “I, obviously, got fired from this job. I wanted to do everything for the Wood Brothers that I could. They’ve given me an amazing opportunity in life and to get them (No.) 100 on my way out is amazing. We’re in the playoffs now. Let’s go to Darlington and see what happens.”
Burton’s father, former NASCAR driver Jeff Burton, who was calling the race for NBC Sports, called to congratulate him and then hurried down from the broadcast booth to celebrate with his son in victory lane.
“It’s been the hardest three years of my life, obviously the hardest three years for some of these guys’ lives,” Harrison Burton said. “To win it the way we just did it, to beat the best in the business — Kyle Busch — across the line, it’s pretty fantastic.”
The win was unexpected, even though Daytona often has surprising winners. Burton had just one top-five finish and five top-10s in his three-plus years in NASCAR’s top series.
