Harrison Burton takes his chances in Daytona as the Roulette Recap driver! (Photo Credit: Sam Hunt Racing | X)

 

 

Roulette Recap follows a randomly selected driver throughout a race to break down their efforts. There is no telling ahead of time how the race will go. The driver could face calamity on the opening lap or start from the rear and win the race. With that, may the odds be ever in the driver’s favor.

United Rentals 300

Driver: Harrison Burton
Organization & Number: Sam Hunt Racing, #24
Crew Chief: Brian Gainey
Spotter: Hayden Reeves
Qualified: P24

“Thank you so much for welcoming me with open arms….It means the world.” – Harrison Burton

Stage 1

A new season brought a new team for Harrison Burton. As the green flag waved, he officially kicked off his tenure with Sam Hunt Racing in the NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts Series.  He was forced to the rear for unapproved adjustments; however, before any ground could be made, the caution waved as Brennan Poole and Jeremy Clements spun out. They collected seven other drivers.

Burton’s team noted slight damage and brought him to the pits for repairs.

Once the track was cleaned up, drivers attempted another race start on Lap 7. Burton was lined up P31 and ready to roll.

He jumped to P28 and was running three-wide to complete the opening lap. Then, one more lap saw him gain five more positions. Lap 9 saw him break into P20 as the front pack was door-to-door racing, three wide.

Running the high line, Burton saw his line get a surge, and he was suddenly in the top 10. Through the next handful of laps, he fluctuated between P8 and P10, but with seven to go, he fell to P15.

He lost four more spots with six to go. Two laps later, the real surging began as drivers jockeyed for stage-end position. Burton went from P19 to P16, and that’s where he was running when he radioed in with a flat tire.

In the closing lap, he went down a lap as he limped to pit road. Crew Chief Brian Gainey said, “Fresh tires, we’ll fix it later.”

As Burton was returning to the track, the caution waved as drivers wrecked coming out of Turn 3.

He was scored P36, down a lap, at the close of the stage.

Stage 2

Under caution, Burton assessed how the car felt and came back to his team for further repairs. Finally, he was ready to restart the race and was sitting in P35, down two laps.

With 22 to go in the stage, Spotter Hayden Reeves noted, “Probably best to ride around and keep our nose clean here.”

Halfway through the stage, Burton radioed in to let his team know everything was feeling normal. He held his ground throughout the stage and finished it out in P33.

The team opted to take the wavearound and get a lap back. Gainey informed his driver, “When we get a caution, we’ll bring it in and work on it.”

Stage 3

After restarting P32, he immediately gained a spot and was fighting Ryan Sieg for the Lucky Dog spot. Burton took off, hard-charging forward with the claim on the Lucky Dog.

With 45 to go, Burton found himself leading the high line, despite being a lap down. Five laps later, he was running P28, down a lap, but holding his own at the front of the pack.

His team was working to get him in position to pit as he was running low on fuel.

Finally, with 35 to go, Burton and the surrounding drivers came to the pits. Burton got a splash of fuel, but before he returned to the track, he was tagged with a commitment line violation. He ran a couple of laps before Gainey brought him in to serve his penalty.

30 to Go

He found himself in P30, -1, with 30 to go.

Suddenly, the caution waved as The Big One occurred, red-flagging the race.

 

While stopped, the team had a moment to catch their breath and evaluate the handling of the car with damage and a lack of brakes.

Before resuming the action, Burton came to his team for fuel, tires, and adjustments. He sat P25, down a lap, fighting to keep the Lucky Dog again.

Three laps later, it was a three-wide pack with Burton in P24. Immediately, Burton was collected in another Big One.

What followed was chaos over the radio as NASCAR officials were demanding Burton get out of the car, while Burton’s team was determined to finish the race.

Once towed into the garage, it was another battle. NASCAR officials would not let the team touch the car, even though the team was certain they could make the repairs and return to the track.

Unfortunately, that was all she wrote for the No. 24 team and their Daytona effort.

Burton was officially scored P29 at the checkered flag.

NASCAR fans know sponsors make the sport go ’round. We want to give a shoutout to Dead On Tools, who played a huge part of the weekend for Harrison and the No. 24 team.

Be sure to give Harrison Burton (Facebook, Instagram, X) and Sam Hunt Racing (Facebook, Instagram, X) a follow to keep up with the latest news from the driver and team.