What Happened?
The playoff bubble burst Saturday (Aug. 24) night at Daytona International Speedway as Harrison Burton/tag/harrison-burton crossed the finish line first. Burton earned his first career NASCAR Cup Series win and the 100th Cup win for the famed Wood Brothers Racing.
Once again, Kyle Busch missed a great opportunity for another superspeedway win, finishing second. Christopher Bell wound up third, and Cody Ware and Ty Gibbs completed the top five.
What Really Happened?
Love it or hate it, nights like this are what the NASCAR playoffs were created for. Burton brought a glass slipper from the Disney kingdom to Daytona beach to win in fairytale fashion.
With Daytona so close to the start of the playoffs, everybody knows it’s an opportunity for almost anyone to steal a win and a spot in the top 16, and the No. 21 team took the most advantage of the win-and-you’re-in policy.
Burton entered Daytona last in the points among the full-time drivers. Now victorious, Harrison celebrated with his dad Jeff Burton in a beautiful moment that some feel was overshadowed by the gravity of the newest addition to the playoffs.
After all, how can the driver 34th in points be allowed the chance to compete for the championship after being noncompetitive all year?
That’s the beauty of sports, and the wonder of the playoff format.
In sports, winning is the way to qualifying for any sort of postseason, and it’s the only way to earn a championship. For many, the best part of sports is seeing the underdogs win and have a chance at a championship.
The N.C. State men’s basketball team had a 17-14 record before winning nine straight games and making the Final Four. The New York Giants toppled an undefeated New England Patriots to win Super Bowl XLI. The Cleveland Cavaliers beat the Golden State Warriors in the 2016 Finals after the Warriors had a record-setting regular season.
These Cinderellas were celebrated, and Burton’s triumph – especially after such a rough few seasons – should have this same, positive, exciting weight.
In NASCAR, winning matters even more than in these other sports because of the degree of difficulty and level of competition. Winning should be rewarded, because wins are life changing.
Shane van Gisbergen’s Chicago win kicked off his NASCAR journey to Trackhouse Racing in 2025. Daniel Suarez and Austin Cindric’s wins temporarily cooled off those hot seats.
In a different way, Burton now has a second chance to prove what he can really do. This new playoff picture isn’t a dark cloud overshadowing the moments between Jeff and Harrison. Instead, it’s a new challenge for the young Burton to take on after essentially getting fired at the end of the year.
Burton doesn’t have a ride for next season, but taking home a trophy – without bulldozing the competition – should open some eyes. By earning a playoff spot, Burton will have an extra outside focus on his team for at least three upcoming races in September.
Rather than struggling for relevancy for another 10 weeks while the championship battle takes up almost all of the storylines, Burton now is a part of those stories thanks to the format, and he has a chance to create a new image for himself and back up the aggressive, race-winning drive we saw in the final few laps.
At Atlanta Motor Speedway, Watkins Glen International and Bristol Motor Speedway, Burton can breathe new life into his career and the Wood Brothers can rejuvenate the No. 21 team, showing what they can be capable of in front of the certain threat of elimination in the first round.
Nobody expects Burton to compete for the championship past the first round. Then again, nobody expected Burton to win a Cup race and make the playoffs. It would take a historic, Herculean effort for Burton to upset the field and win the championship. If – and only if – that happens, then maybe we can talk more about the format.
As for Burton, we’ll see how much longer he can hang on to that glass slipper before the clock hits midnight.
Who Stood Out?
Aside from the obvious first-time winner, the fourth-place finisher Ware tied the best finish for Rick Ware Racing. Justin Haley has stolen the show for most of the season for RWR, but Ware has also shown some quiet improvements since easing back into the racecar after his suspension.
The decision to remove Kaz Grala from the car was certainly questionable, but in his races this season, Ware has not been the roadblock of seasons past. Instead, he’s kept the No. 15 clean and earned some solid finishes for that car, including this weekend’s top five.
Though he finished upside-down, Josh Berry looked competitive all night. Whether he had lessons in the NASCAR Xfinity Series with Dale Earnhardt Jr. or has learned from his Ford teammates Joey Logano and Brad Keselowski, Berry had serious speed all night until misfortune struck.
Who Fell Flat?
Once upon a time, Denny Hamlin was the Daytona king. Really, he was the superspeedway king. Something has changed with the Next Gen, however, and lady luck has not looked kindly upon the No. 11 at drafting tracks either. Hamlin was collected in the first major crash of the night and finished way back in 38th.
Along with Hamlin, Chase Elliott also found misfortune and wound up 36th. His previous worst finish this season was 21st, and his first DNF comes at the most inopportune time, as both he and Hamlin try to keep touch with points leader Tyler Reddick.
Better Than Last Time?
While the Coke Zero Sugar 400 didn’t set the field for the playoffs tonight, the on-track action exceeded last year’s event. For starters, the way the race played out didn’t allow for as much fuel saving as in past races.
From the drop of the green, drivers pushed aggressively, and they didn’t get bogged down or stuck in their lanes with the inability to pass, at least not as much as in other Daytona and Talladega Superspeedway races.
The race also had an interesting component at the end, with rookie Parker Retzlaff driving an impressive run to seventh. In overtime, however, Retzlaff went with the No. 21 instead of his RCR affiliates, and he ended up pushing Burton to the win.
There is only one concern: don’t overlook the blow overs. Fast cars go fast. As long as racecars with wheels on top of a racing surface exists, there’s a potential that crashes can be dangerous, and cars can get airborne.
However, nearly every flip in the Cup Series with the Next Gen car has been a blow over. Again, these crashes will never be completely eradicated from racing, but there might be a way to further prevent it by working on adjusting the flat underbodies on the cars.
Paint Scheme of the Race
In all complete honesty, the most eye-popping scheme of the weekend ran on the No. 44 car for NY Racing. Joey Gase piloted this beauty to tie a team-best finish in 20th.
While one got away from Bubba Wallace, his Columbia scheme helped him swim around the chaos and reel in a sixth-place finish.
What’s Next?
NASCAR takes on its final crown jewel of the season with the Cook Out Southern 500 Sunday, September 1. The race starts at 6 p.m. and will air on the USA Network.
Caleb began sports writing in 2023 with The Liberty Champion, where he officially covered his first NASCAR race at Richmond in the spring. While there, Caleb met some of the guys from Frontstretch, and he joined the video editing team after graduating from Liberty University with degrees in Strategic Communications and Sports Journalism. Caleb currently work full-time as a Multi-Media Journalist with LEX 18 News in Lexington, Kentucky and contributes to Frontstretch with writing and video editing. He's also behind-the-scenes or on camera for the Happy Hour Podcast, live every Tuesday night at 7:30!