Harrison Burton hopes to score the 100th Cup win for the Wood Brothers Racing team in Sunday’s Daytona 500. (Photo: Cornnell Chu | The Podium Finish)
DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. – After a trying rookie season that flummoxed Harrison Burton at times in 2022, the 22-year-old racer looks onward to Sunday’s Daytona 500 (2:30 p.m. ET on FOX and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio).
Last year, Burton went for a wild ride on Lap 64 when he flipped in a topsy turvy backstretch crash.
To say the least, the accident was a bit of a microcosm to a frustrating season. Despite a podium at Indianapolis and 10th in the Atlanta summer race, it was a year likened to a freshman pro football player who went to school versus schooling the field.
Once the calendar changed to 2023, Burton started the new year off right as he partnered with Zane Smith to win a Michelin Pilot Challenge race during the Rolex 24 race weekend at Daytona.
Although the No. 42 Ford Mustang that he co-drove with Smith differs greatly from his usual No. 21 Motorcraft/DEX Imaging Ford Mustang, he gained an intangible that could pay dividends for him on Sunday and this year – confidence.
Burton raced wisely and mindfully during Thursday night’s first Duel race at Daytona. (Photo: Cornnell Chu | The Podium Finish)
“Yeah, winning anything is cool,” Burton said during Wednesday’s Daytona 500 Media Day availability. “Those IMSA guys are no joke. It is a tough field. Getting a win with my buddy Zane (Smith) was really cool and it is a good confidence booster for sure. You come in and win a race and winning anything is good. It makes you feel good.”
Naturally, Burton recognized how his sports car opportunity may pay off for the plethora of road courses races awaiting him this year.
“As a competitor, it was fun,” he said. “I don’t know how much it will translate where now I feel like I will win the 500 because we won that, but everything you do kind of builds to something else. There is some of that. The skills are very different and all of that.
“There is confidence for me on my next road course though, I think that is the biggest thing. I am excited to try to apply the things I learned in that car to the Cup car.”
Burton learned a great deal that he can apply for Sunday’s Daytona 500 during this accelerated Speedweek schedule. Namely, he learned how to balance the approaches of cautiousness and aggression during Thursday night’s Bluegreen Vacations Duels.
“We were playing the conservative game,” Burton said. “We wanted to keep our No. 21 Motorcraft Ford Mustang in one piece. That was the biggest thing, really. The risk versus the reward for this race isn’t there unless you’re gonna win it. There’s no points or anything, so I tried to be smart and tried not to flip on the backstretch this year. I’m trying to learn from mistakes, but it was a decent day.
“We had a pretty ill-handling car just from qualifying. We tried to go for a fast qualifying lap and did that, but that kind of hurts you in this race. We’ll get the car d
Burton looks to be more tenacious for Sunday’s Daytona 500. (Photo: Cornnell Chu | The Podium Finish)
riving better. I’ll be more aggressive on Sunday and be up front at the end of that thing.”
If Burton can take heart from his Thursday night results, he can likely smile about his 19th starting position. It is the same spot that his uncle, Ward, started in 2002 when he tallied a memorable Daytona 500 victory.
Before the mild mannered racer can consider a “Great American Race” win, he will have to contend with a Gen-7 stock car that is like an Aerosmith song title – “Livin’ on the Edge.”
“I think the Cup cars were really kind of wild at first because nobody really knew what they wanted,” he said. “I remember there were a few races where I thought we would be good and the car was feeling good in practice but it didn’t translate to the race as well as I wanted. The way things work out, this car is really nerve-racking to drive when it is loose but that is the fastest way to drive it.
“Understanding how to drive a loose race car is really important and that is something I liked more at the end of the year. As loose as I could drive the car and still feel good about it made me pretty happy.”
