Harrison Burton gets 100% real after turning a ‘horrible’ start into a stunning season-best finish
NASCAR Xfinity Series driver Harrison Burton recently competed in Saturday's North Carolina Education Lottery 250 presented by Black's Tire race at Rockingham Speedway. Later, during the post-race interview, the latter expressed his true feelings about ending the race among the top five drivers.
Burton had a tough qualifying session for the 250-lap event and qualified 30th. He had a best time of 23.27 seconds and a top speed of 145.41 mph. Despite starting from the end of the pack, the AM Racing driver pushed his #25 Ford Mustang's limits and ended the race among the top five drivers on the grid, surprising everyone.
Speaking to Frontstretch Media after laying down an exceptional performance and clinching a P4 finish, Burton said:
"Yeah, it's fun. Uh, you know, Rockingham had a great crowd. What a fun atmosphere, and, uh, it just felt like it was the '90s again, so it's really cool, and, uh, we got to, uh, enjoy that and just really work hard throughout our day." [03:00]
Burton added:
"And, uh, gosh, we had an up-and-down day. We qualified horrible and finished really well. Well, it just shows the fight in this team, and we're not going to quit on each other, and, uh, that's that's really all you can ask for, right? Is a team that's together and and working in the same direction".
However, during the post-race inspection, the governing body disqualified the winner, Jesse Love, for an issue with his rear suspension. This moved Harrison Burton from fourth to a podium finish in third place.
"I know I can be a Cup driver": Harrison Burton gets candid about his switch to the Xfinity Series
Earlier this year, in February, former Cup Series driver Harrison Burton announced his move to the Xfinity Series for the 2025 season. He competed in NASCAR's top-tier racing series for three seasons with Wood Brothers Racing, the longest-running team in stock car racing, driving the #21 Ford Mustang Dark Horse.
However, the 24-year-old professional stock car racing driver won only one race during his three-season stint in the Cup Series. He etched his name in history by winning the 100th race for his team at the Coke Zero Sugar 400.
Recalling his transition, Burton stated:
“It was frustrating and not what I wanted it to be. I made great, lifelong friendships and got a lot of good out of it. Got to be a much better race car driver from it. It just didn’t go as well as it needed to soon enough".
I’m really motivated. I know that I can do it; I know I can be a Cup driver. That’s still my goal. I’ve got to rework my way up there, get an opportunity, and go take advantage of it."
The AM Racing driver currently ranks 12th on the Xfinity Series points table with 209 points. He secured one top-five finish at Rockingham Speedway and four top-ten finishes in ten starts this season.