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Harrison Burton Hopeful for Strong Goodyear 400 at Darlington

Harrison Burton hopes to party like it's 1999 at Darlington. (Photo: Kevin Ritchie | The Podium Finish)

Harrison Burton hopes to party like it’s 1999 at Darlington. (Photo: Kevin Ritchie | The Podium Finish)

DARLINGTON, S.C. – While Harrison Burton was not around when his father, Jeff, did his infamous rain dance during the 1999 running of the Goodyear 400 at Darlington Raceway, he may evoke feelings of that race with his No. 21 DEX Imaging Ford Mustang.

Namely, his Wood Brothers Racing entry sembles the pink, black and silver Exide Batteries colors that his father raced during the 1998 and 1999 NASCAR Cup Series seasons. In 1999, these unmistakable colors swept the races at Darlington.

Nowadays, the younger Burton is one of two of the current family’s generation carrying on the stock car legacy. Although it has admittedly been a struggle for the sophomore Cup competitor, he has reasons to believe that things will improve in good time.

“It’s a tough stretch of races, for sure,” Burton said. “I feel really encouraged. We had a bad run early and made some big changes to the car, and I was stuck one lap down, but Erik Jones and I were racing for the free pass and we passed up to like 12th or 13th on running position racing for the lucky dog. So, both of us suddenly found some speed, and it was really fun because we were passing through the field while kind of racing each other.

“That was encouraging, to pass a lot of cars. Even if they weren’t for position – like in that run I passed from the back of the field up to there, and in the next run did the same thing, those for position – it was really fun.”

The speed was prevalent in last Sunday’s AdventHealth 400 at Kansas Speedway. Namely, Burton and Jones duked it out for the lucky dog while accompanying the lead lap contenders, a sign that the tide may be turning for the No. 21 team.

If it feels a bit like the 1990s, Burton's paint scheme may offer a good enough reason. (Photo: Kevin Ritchie | The Podium Finish)

If it feels a bit like the 1990s, Burton’s paint scheme may offer a good enough reason. (Photo: Kevin Ritchie | The Podium Finish)

“As far as our preparation goes, it’s been a good week for us actually,” he said. “I feel like we’re trending in the right direction. We had a really bad result last weekend but really good speed. There were a couple runs in there where the metrics had us during that stint ranked fourth in just average lap time.

“There were stints throughout the race where we had really good speed. Just got caught up in a little bit of a crash there which took that chance away. That’s racing, and speed will fix all things. Preparation this week has been good, building from what we did at Kansas, and we’re trying to bring that to Darlington.”

Along with this Sunday’s special paint scheme, Burton pointed out it was a bit of slam dunk moment while paying homage to one of the newest members of NASCAR’s greatest drivers list.

“I’ve got to do a couple of my dad’s schemes throughout the years, and when I started racing for the Wood Brothers, I wasn’t really sure if that would continue or not,” he said. “It wasn’t like I asked them to. I expected that they’d want to do some of their history, and I would have been really proud to have driven with some of those paint schemes as well. But, when they sent me my dad’s paint scheme last year and let me kind of drive that in a No. 21 car, it was really cool. That was a cool moment for us.

“Then, this year was a similar process. Obviously, the NASCAR 75th Anniversary and all that, so I figured maybe they’d want to do something they had from way back in the day. But, no. They wanted to do my dad’s old schemes. So, that was really cool. They helped me pick which ones. Obviously, the one where he won in the rain at Darlington – sweeped that year at Darlington – was an easy answer. So, that was a cool moment and something I’m excited to drive.”

Sunday’s race offers plentiful neat moments for the 22-year-old Huntersville, North Carolinian. One thing that will not be cool will be the weather, which is a factor that Burton will be mindful about in the upcoming races.

“The summer months coming up are a really tough stretch,” Burton said. “These cars have been pretty warm, that’s for sure. So just staying in the gym, being outside a lot. Running has been a big thing that I really don’t love doing, but something I’ve been doing quite a bit of.

“So, just getting back into the swing of that and staying in good shape. That’s kind of the foundation, and the rest is hydration throughout the week.”

Rob Tiongson is a 30-something motorsports journalist who enjoys sports like baseball, basketball, football, soccer, track and field and hockey. A Boston native turned Austinite, racing was the first sport that caught his eyes. From interviews to retrospective articles, if it's about anything with an engine and four wheels, it'll be here on TPF, by him or by one of his talented columnists who have a passion for racing. Currently seeking a sports writing, public relations, or sports marketing career, particularly in motorsports. He enjoys editing and writing articles and features, as well as photography. Moreover, he enjoys time with his family and friends, traveling, cooking, working out and being a fun uncle or "funcle" to his nephew, niece and cat. Tiongson, a graduate of Southern New Hampshire University with a Bachelor of Arts in Communication, pursues his Master of Arts in Digital Journalism at St. Bonaventure University. Indeed, while Tiongson is proud to be from Massachusetts, he's an everywhere kind of man residing in Texas.

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