Harrison Burton drove to a hard fought eighth place result following last Sunday’s race at Pocono. (Photo: Wayne Riegle | The Podium Finish)
LONG POND, Penn. – It has not been the easiest of times for Harrison Burton as a sophomore NASCAR Cup Series competitor.
At times, the 22-year-old Huntersville, North Carolinian has struggled for top, frontrunning results with his No. 21 DEX Imaging Ford Mustang entry. There are the occasions where Burton runs inside the top 15 before circumstances leave the young racer with a subpar finish.
Before last Sunday’s HighPoint.com 400 at Pocono Raceway, Burton was mired in a slump. After a sixth at Darlington and a respectable 18th in the Coca-Cola 600 at Charlotte, Burton placed 20th or worse in the past six races.
Sequestered in the championship standings in 30th, Burton turned to Pocono Raceway for a strong result. Initially, it was a struggle in Saturday’s qualifying session as the young racer qualified 26th.
On race day, Burton bided his time particularly with the first two stages of the 160-lap event. Placing 15th in Stage 1 and 27th in Stage 2, it seemed like the options were wide open for the Wood Brothers Racing driver and team.
As contenders fell by the wayside in Stage 3, Burton and crew chief Brian Wilson kept themselves in the hunt for a respectable result. Namely, well timed pit stops and a confident driver seemed to pay dividends at “The Tricky Triangle.”
This time, Burton was not in harm’s way or a victim of circumstances as the case has been during his better race day performances. Instead, he was squarely in position to tally a top 10 result, accomplishing this mission in smooth fashion.
In a race that saw tempers flaring from past NASCAR Cup Series champions, Burton was one of the few racers who emerged out of his car with a genuine smile.
Burton’s pit crew delivered with quick stops and leadership atop their box with crew chief Brian Wilson. (Photo: Wayne Riegle | The Podium Finish)
“It was good for us,” Burton said. “I feel like it was a good team (effort) and finish there where we had a really good strategy. The car was bad in the beginning of the race and then just methodically got it better and better and better and better.
“By the last few runs, I felt pretty happy about where we were. We’re still not as fast as the leaders, but (we’re) closer and felt a little bit better about the balance of the car at least raceability.”
An adjustable, responsive car at Pocono can mean all the difference between a good or bad outing after 400 miles. Particularly, drivers like Burton have to pounce on those treacherous three to four wide restarts going into Turn 1.
“You get some restarts like that and you might not have the most lap time,” he said. “But if your balance is somewhat close, you can kind of work. So I felt like we really kind of got the car good at the right time, was able to kind of stay long on the last stop because of that.
“And then (we) got ourselves into good track position on the last few restarts and then kind of clicked a couple spots off and then took it to the house. So (it’s a) good finish for us. Hopefully, we can do some more like that.”
Burton’s eighth place result at Pocono propelled him from 30th to 29th in the championship standings. At this juncture, he will likely need a win to earn a coveted spot in the Playoffs.
Before Burton can consider a path into the postseason, he needs to compile consistent top 10 results in consecutive outings. Given how competitive NASCAR Cup Series racing can be, especially during the Gen-7 era, progress matters even if it is for a top 10 finish.
After an eighth place result at Pocono, Burton desires consistent, consecutive top 10 finishes. (Photo: Wayne Riegle | The Podium Finish)
“It’s good,” he said. “We’ve had good runs before and it’s really important to keep this momentum. (At) Darlington, we actually had a legit chance to win. And (at the) next race out, I didn’t run very good so it’s time for us to kind of string some good races together like this and we know we can do it. If we can do it once, we can do it again. It’s just all about putting the pieces together.
“And that’s what this sport is (about) – every little detail. So there’s a lot of things that we can improve, especially in the beginning of our race today that could have helped us maybe get a better finish. But still, I’m happy with the day, happy with our guys. The guys on pit road did a good job on the last stop as well. So, good run for us and we’ll keep digging.”
The potential is there for Burton especially with the technical alliance between Team Penske and the Wood Brothers Racing. If the 2017 ARCA Menards Series East champion can continue to establish on the good race weekends like Darlington and Pocono, the rest should ideally follow.
“I think they’re all different,” Burton said. “You have good runs here and there where you feel like you messed up some of the race and you feel like you didn’t do a good job. And sometimes you have bad runs, where, as the driver, you feel like you had a really good race.
“I feel like it’s hard to necessarily say. There’s so many factors in this sport that make it hard to get a good read on just what needs to happen, what needs to be better, what do you need to do to kind of take that next step. So I try and just evaluate myself and kind of work on the things that I know I can do better. Other than that, just try and keep moving forward.”
Editor’s Notes
Nathan Solomon contributed to this article from Pocono Raceway in Long Pond, Pennsylvania.
