Harrison Burton was blunt and honest in his self-reflection over why he is back in the NASCAR Xfinity Series in 2025 following a three-year stint in the Cup Series with the Wood Brothers.
“I obviously wanted to do more, sooner,” Burton said during a media availability during the NASCAR Awards event earlier in the month. “I really think if I ran the way I did in the last half of the season, I keep my job but that’s part of racing.”
Burton dramatically won the summer race at Daytona to qualify for the Cup Series playoffs but then showed competitive speed in the first round. He was involved in a crash running inside the top-15 at Atlanta, suffered a tire puncture at Watkins Glen and a power steering issue at Bristol, all leading to his elimination.
Even after his elimination, he had a competitive race at Las Vegas and even made the final round of qualifying in the final two races of the season at Martinsville and Phoenix.
“But racing is about performing when it matters, and early enough, before silly season starts, right,” Burton said. “It was business. I can leave knowing that I got hired to win a Cup race with the Wood Brothers and to check that off, at Daytona of all places, that was really cool. To do it with that group, it’s hard to beat that.
“I live for that. I can leave there, not feeling completely satisfied but partially satisfied because we won, for sure.”
The Wood Brothers had hired Josh Berry to take over the iconic No. 21 a little over a month prior to Burton winning the race at Daytona. Several months after that, Burton secured a ride in the Xfinity Series with AM Motorsports to drive the vacant No. 15 team that saw several drivers take turns in it in 2024 following the departure of Hailie Deegan.
It’s a chance for Burton to rebuild some confidence, adding to the four victories at the second highest level he compiled in 2020 with Joe Gibbs Racing, but also take a leadership role he didn’t have during his first stint.
Sure, Burton didn’t have the run he would have wanted at the Cup Series level, but he has 109 starts with a team that is effectively a Penske like operation. Burton knows what he needs to be successful given that he’s the son of NASCAR great Jeff Burton and previous racing stints with the Woods, Gibbs and Kyle Busch Motorsports.
Danny Efland will serve as crew chief but Burton has had a lot of input beyond that.
“He’s a really smart guy who has already hired a lot of really good people,” Burton said “It’s been fun. I’ve been a big part of trying to build the team. They look at me as a guy that has experience wit all those great teams, who knows how they run things and accomplished to a lot and I’m just trying to bring that to a young team.
“All of that motivates me a lot because if we can win and run well, right from the jump, that’s going to be a big deal. It’s going to be a bigger deal than when we won at Gibbs because it’s expected there. If we can go there and create a winning culture, that will be really special. I hope we can do it and I know we have the right people. I’m excited to give it a shot.”
Is it realistic?
“I’ve seen the shop and I met the people,” Burton said. “I feel really good. There’s a lot of positive momentum and optimism. But it’s also the off-season and everyone feels that way, right? The true test will be when we get on the track.
And at 24-years-old, Burton is hardly finished as a Cup Series prospect.
“I’ve got a lot of tread left on the tires,” Burton said. “I’m ready to go man. I’m super confident in myself and what I can do. I know that, in the right circumstances, I can be a Cup level driver. I have to go prove it. I have to go earn it.
“You see guys like Cole (Custer) that did it and even Dale Jarrett back in the day. He’s a Cup champion that had to go back to the Xfinity Series. I’ve talked to both of those guys and they both said ‘you are going to be fine’ as long as I go out there and earn it.
“It’s not sitting there for free. It’s time to go take it.”
Matt Weaver is a Motorsports Insider for Sportsnaut. Follow him on Twitter.
