Harrison Burton responds to criticism over playoff spot: "Didn't say take Bubba out of the playoffs and put me in"

Harrison Burton has hit out at critics who called NASCAR out over the playoff criteria rules. The Wood Brothers Racing driver said that he 'does not' care about what people say, as 'rules are rules,' and he did not ask anyone to take a driver out and put him in.

Burton sealed his playoff spot after he won the Coke Zero Sugar 400 at Daytona International Speedway last weekend. With this, the Wood Brothers Racing driver claimed his maiden Cup Series victory and handed WBR their 100th Cup Series win.

However, his playoff berth did not go well with critics and experts who asked NASCAR to review the rules. When asked to respond, Burton shared his thoughts with Fox Sports' Bob Pockrass in an interview after the Darlington race.

"No, not really, I don't care," Burton said. "I mean, I get it right, we haven't put the consistency that some other guys have you know. But also on the other hand, these were the rules before the year so if they change it for next year, that's fine, but it doesn't affect our situation right now." (0:08-0:25)

"Those guys deserved to be in playoffs, I feel like they've done a really good job all year and you know there is some of that, but on the other hand, it's rules are the rules and we just showed up to a race and won the race. There's not much you can do right? I didn't say hey 'take Bubba out of the playoffs and put me in', I just won the race and that's what happened," he added. (0:34-0:55)

Notably, Pockrass was one of the critics who called NASCAR out. In his column for Fox, the Fox Sports journalist wrote that the drivers who qualify for the playoffs need to have some "standard."

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Kevin Harvick joined Bob Pockrass to criticize NASCAR on Harrison Burton's qualification

Harrison Burton celebrating Coke Zero Sugar in Victory Lane after winning the Coke Zero Sugar 400, (Image via Imagn)

In addition to Bob Pockrass, Kevin Harvick also expressed concerns about NASCAR's playoff system. The Fox Sports analyst, during his Happy Hour Podcast with Kevin Harvick, questioned the rules. Here's what he said:

"Well, I just wonder what the balance is between: Do we want our best 16 cars? Or do we want it to be exciting? I agree with everything that's going on and this is not anything against Harrison Burton or Daniel Suárez, but are those our best 16 cars that we are going to have racing for the championship? Or does it matter?"

Notably, Harrison Burton ended his regular season in 34th place with 322 points. Meanwhile, drivers like Chris Buescher, Kyle Busch, Bubba Wallace, and Ross Chastain, who accumulated nearly double the points, missed out on the playoffs due to a lack of Cup Series wins during the season.