With the rain becoming an issue starting today, NASCAR decided to hold The Clash a night early. Last night, everyone’s favorite driver won (potentially) the last The Clash to be held at the LA Coliseum. Now that The Clash is out of the way, the NASCAR world can shift focus back to the countdown to the Daytona 500. As of today, there are 10 Days to Daytona until qualifying for the Great American Race. One organization that is hoping for a surge in performance will be Harrison Burton and the #21 Wood Brothers Racing team.
#21 Wood Brothers Racing
Driver: Harrison Burton
Crew Chief: Jeremy Bullins
Sponsors: DEX Imaging, Motorcraft/Quick Lane, Draiver
2024 Season Preview
Last Chance
When Harrison Burton was picked to replace Matt DiBenedetto in the 21 Wood Brothers car, there was an understanding that this would be a project. Burton had only spent two seasons in the Xfinity Series. His most recent Xfinity season saw a dip in performance too. However, if Burton panned out, it was a young driver for the Ford/Team Penske stable for years to come. After two seasons in Cup, the results have been staggeringly poor. Last year, Burton seemed to take a step back in his progression. His average finish worsened by almost 2 spots and he dropped 4 spots in points. If there is not significant improvement in 2024, Burton will be out of a Cup ride.
Jeremy Bullins to the Rescue?
During the last 10 races of 2023, Team Penske swapped the crew chiefs for Austin Cindric and Harrison Burton. Out went Brian Wilson and in comes Jeremy Bullins, who is known for his ability to work with young drivers. The immediate results demonstrated some signs of improvement. Burton racked up 4 Top-20s in the final 10 races, which is an improvement compared to his 8 through the first 26. However, the occasional Top-20 is not going to save Burton’s seat. With a full offseason to prep and work with his driver, can Bullins pull more speed out of Harrison Burton? It is possible, especially considering the level of equipment that the 21 has.
Desired Ride
If Harrison Burton does not improve and gets the boot, the Wood Brothers entry will be one hotly contested seat. During silly season, the 21 car will be the top Cup availability (that will be open to outside drivers). While the organization is Wood Brothers, it is essentially a fourth Team Penske car. There are numerous drivers across the three series that would love the opportunity to drive the 21. Prior to Burton’s tenure, the 21 car was a perennial playoff contender. If Burton gets off to a sluggish start, then the silly season rumors around this team will be plentiful.
Daytona 500 Chances
Harrison Burton’s most notable memory at the Daytona International Speedway is the flip from the 2022 Daytona 500. Other than that, his Daytona career is as lackluster as his Cup tenure so far. In 4 starts, Burton has failed to finish on the lead lap. This includes doing the DNF sweep in 2022. Burton seems to be a wreck magnet at Daytona. However, this is not limited to Daytona. In 13 superspeedway starts, Burton has only managed 2 lead lap finishes.
Speedweeks Outlook
Surprisingly, Harrison Burton has a strong record when it comes to qualifying at Daytona. In both of his Daytona 500 qualifying efforts, he has cracked the Top-10. With that Penske equipment, Burton should be able to replicate that success. That qualifying success has bled over into his Bluegreen Vacations Duel starts. 2022 saw Burton finish third while last year was a respectable Top-10. However, that is where the success ends. Burton will likely find his way into an on-track incident before the checkered flag waves for the Daytona 500.
Previous Days
40-36 Days: 40 – #12, 39 – #5, 38 – #24, 37 – #20, & 36 – #11
35-31 Days: 35 – #45, 34 – #17, 33 – #6, 32 – #1, & #31 – #9
30-26 Days:Â 30 – #19, 29 – #22, 28 – #4, 27 – #8, & 26 – #34
25-21 Days: 25 – #34, 24 – #23, 23 – #54, 22 – #99, & 21 – #48
20-16 Days: 20 – #16, 19 – #10, 18 – #41, 17 – #2, & 16 – #31
15-11 Days: 15 – #7, 14 – #43, 13 – #38, 12 – #3, & 11 – #14
