DARLINGTON, SC — Just before winning the 2024 NASCAR Cup Series regular-season finale at Daytona International Speedway, it was announced Harrison Burton would not be back in 2025 with Wood Brothers Racing.
He landed with AM Racing in the NASCAR Xfinity Series, a team that had only two top 10s in 2024 with a rotation of different drivers, with Cup Series driver Joey Logano having both.
Thus far into the season, the 24-year-old driver of the No. 25 AM Racing Ford is showing his talent and maximizing his opportunity with strategy and direction from crew chief Danny Efland.
After eight races, Burton already has three top 10s and two stage wins, one being this weekend at Darlington Raceway in stage one and followed that up in stage two with a fifth-place finish before finishing just outside the top 10 in 13th.
“It was a good points day, days like today we need to keep stacking together to get better and better,” he told Frontstretch post-race. “We weren’t very good in the first stage but we stayed out and won it. We were too tight in stage two so I was a little nervous with how that was going to go. Stage two was on speed, it was good to capitalize on that.”
Teams had four sets of tires to use in the race so management and strategy were key. Burton put a set on earlier in the race to win the stage but paid the price for it later.
“We paid the price for the stage one win in stage three while we were getting the car better and better during the day,” he said. “My crew chief was patient because I kept saying to put tires on but we maximized our day driving from 20th to 13th.
“We didn’t stay out for track position, it was just because we didn’t have tires.”
Burton’s team participated in the annual throwback weekend at Darlington choosing to run a paint scheme to honor his father, Jeff Burton.
“My dad has been one of my best friends my whole life and I grew up just wanting to be like him,” Burton said with pride. “Anytime I get to throw it back to him regardless of the car I’m in it’s always my favorite; he’s definitely a hero of mine”
He concluded by reflecting on bonding with his dad when he got a top run in one of his former paint schemes
“I think it’s cool to just talk about the situations that happened in this car with him and learn about it. I’ll enjoy this one while it’s still wrapped up.”
With the great points day, Burton gained five points positions to be 10th with a little gap above the playoff cut line heading to Bristol Motor Speedway.
