The 23-year-old son of NASCAR Hall of Famer Jeff Burton led just one lap Saturday night at Daytona, but it was the one that mattered most. Burton entered the penultimate round of the regular season in 34th place — near the bottom of the standings among full-time drivers.

“As a person, I just grew a lot in the hardships,” he said of the struggles. “That’s where you grow as a person, when things are hard. I just, more often than I want to, (go to the store) and watch a mistake I made on film, watch a move I missed on film, watch a wreck I couldn’t control or whatever. All those things just seem to add up and add up and add up. … For me, I think I grew a lot in those hardships. I discovered a lot about myself.”

Harrison Burton, Wood Brothers Racing, DEX Imaging Ford Mustang

Photo by: John Harrelson / NKP / Motorsport Images

To get there, he had to beat two-time NASCAR Cup Series champion Kyle Busch, pulling off two huge blocks on the run to the finish. On that final lap, Burton said, “You can’t write Kyle Busch off, right? I was trying to put myself in his shoes, what is he thinking, what is he trying to do to pass me? Where is his help with Christopher and all that? To be honest, when I made the block and ran past him, I took all his energy away by making a late block, to where I almost crashed, of course, but that’s what I had to do to take his energy away, then I thought I had done it. Up until that point, I wasn’t comfortable there, that’s for sure.”

Not only did Burton secure a spot in the 2024 playoffs, he also gets credit for earning the legendary Wood Brothers’ 100th NASCAR Cup victory, joining the likes of Pearson, Yarborough, Bonnett, Jarrett and Baker as drivers who’ve reached Victory Lane in the red-and-white No. 21.

An uncertain future

The team last took the checkered flag in 2017 with Ryan Blaney, when the future Cup champion won at Pocono. Burton was candid about his situation in his emotional front-stretch interview: “Obviously I got fired from this job, (but) I wanted to do everything I could for the Wood Brothers.”

He’s averaged finishes around 24th over the past three years, with 2024 looking set to be his worst year yet — until Daytona. He hasn’t announced any plans for next year, but for now he’s just grateful to be behind the wheel of the iconic No. 21.

Harrison Burton, Wood Brothers Racing, DEX Imaging Ford Mustang

Photo by: John Harrelson / Motorsport Images

“You never know when you’re going to get a chance to drive again,” Burton said. “You never know when you’re going to get a chance. This could all fall apart tomorrow. It’s such a privilege to do this every weekend. Even if you’re in the Trucks Series or the Xfinity Series or the latest models, it’s such a privilege to get to drive a race car.

“I have the privilege of driving the No. 21 for Wood Brothers Racing. That’s all you need for me, right? I’ve had the opportunity to do that for three years, to work with these guys for three years and learn everything I can. I feel confident that I can do things as a driver when I’m at my best. Tonight, I felt like I was at my best. I feel like it worked. Of course, we got lucky at times. But when it came down to it, we all did a good job. Jason Jarrett, my spotter, did a great job making everything go perfectly.”

A family tradition

Harrison isn’t the first Burton to win at Daytona. His uncle Ward won the Daytona 500 in 2002, but it was his father Jeff who won the race 24 years ago, driving the No. 99 Ford for Jack Roush. He was in the broadcast booth Saturday night when his son crossed the finish line.

“I think I’ll just finish my dad without making fun of him,” joked the younger Burton. “He’s been there for me, he’s called me when I didn’t want to answer his call after a bad race, he’s explained to me what to do, how to deal with things.

“He obviously raised me, and my mother raised me as well, they both raised me to be the man that I am today. I’m proud of that, just outside of the race track. And to have the nights that my mother spent on the road racing quarter midgets with me while my dad was racing Cup, to have the effort that my dad took from his Cup racing opportunity to help me in quarter midgets and late model racing to make that worth it to win at the Cup level, he’s told me that he’s not proud of me based on whether I win or lose, it’s how I handle myself and what I do.”