Harrison Burton, greeted by Dylan “Mamba” Smith, cranked out a respectable 10th in Sunday’s GEICO 500 at Talladega. (Photo: Ricky Martinez | The Podium Finish)
LINCOLN, Ala. — For all the challenges faced in the first quarter of 2024, Harrison Burton was surprisingly mixed with a strong result in Sunday’s GEICO 500 at Talladega Superspeedway.
Feeling like Phil Connors from the 1993 hit film, Groundhog Day, Burton had to feel like he woke up this season like he did in his rookie season in 2022 and sophomore efforts in 2023. Mired in 34th place in the points standings, the 23-year-old Huntersville, North Carolina, native sought for some respite from the storms.
There was a glimmer of hope on Saturday morning when Burton qualified his No. 21 Motorcraft/Quick Lane Ford Mustang Dark Horse entry in 16th place. Although he was midfield, the Wood Brother Racing driver had a fast stock car for the 188-lap race.
In Stage 1, Burton drove up to place sixth, netting five stage points. Then, in Stage 2, the pieces did not fall where Burton and his No. 21 hoped they would in terms of their pit strategy.
From that point on, Burton, who placed 28th in Stage 2, raced wisely and methodically in the antsy lead pack. Then, a Lap 157 caution for a Turn 3 accident involving Erik Jones, Denny Hamlin, Bubba Wallace and John Hunter Nemechek set the sprint to the finish, a 28-lap dash to the checkered flag.
Harrison Burton scored a respectable 10th for his No. 21 team in Sunday’s GEICO 500 at Talladega. (Photo: Stephen Conley | The Podium Finish)
For Talladega standards, it was a tense, breathtaking experience for those waiting to make their move for the best possible finish. Coming to the stripe, Burton, who was hovering just outside the top 10, needled his way through a grinding, multi-car accident in the dogleg on the final lap.
Unlike the season’s first nine races, Burton was not a victim of circumstances. This time, he was the beneficiary of a tangled mess of crushed dreams, darting past the carnage to place 10th in the final rundown.
Burton, who earned his first top 10 finish of the year and first since the HighPoint.com 400 at Pocono Raceway last July, summarized his interesting afternoon.
“It was kind of an up and down day,” Burton said. “We did a really good job on the first pit cycle to get us out front and we did a great job of managing the track position versus saving. The second stage didn’t quite go our way and the caution fell at a weird time for us.”
Nevertheless, Burton found himself at the right place at the right time. Aiding the No. 2 of Austin Cindric to win Stage 1 before placing sixth, it was evident that the No. 21 car of Burton had similarly competitive pace.
Still, Burton, who jumped from 34th to 32nd in the points standings, reflected on his result with a glimmer of promise as he and crew chief Jeremy Bullins hope to right their ship on a consistent basis.
“We came down and topped off and just didn’t end up getting track position un get a stage win there,” Burton said. “Obviously, I’d like to win one of these, but 10th is good, especially for how our year has been so far.”
