“I have the shield of Wood Brothers protection”: Harrison Burton reacts to Bubba Wallace’s spotter commenting on his Daytona win

Harrison Burton responded to Bubba Wallace's spotter Freddie Kraft's comment on his career-first Cup Series win at the Daytona International Speedway on Saturday, August 24. This comes after the Wood Brothers Racing driver's victory robbed the 23XI Racing driver of a potential entry in the playoffs. Wallace kicked off his Coke Zero Sugar 400 race in 18th place, led 16 laps, and claimed his 10th top-10 finish (sixth).

Burton's odds of claiming the win weren't on the cards until the two 'Big Ones,' collecting 16 cars in stage two and 14 in the final stage, reset the field and turned the tables in his favor. As a result, the WBR driver found himself in the front row on the final overtime restart.

While Kyle Busch gunned toward the checkered flag, the #21 Ford overtook the Richard Childress Racing driver after getting a push by Parker Retzlaff and secured his playoff berth, dethroning Busch by 0.047 seconds.

Wallace finished sixth and could've been in the playoffs if a driver already having a win had triumphed. However, that didn't happen. Still, Kraft said it was difficult to be "mad" at Harrison Burton for knocking the 23XI Racing driver out of the playoffs.

"Your team is a hard team to be mad at. Like you are too damn nice, everybody's happy for Wood Brothers, so as much as I would love to be mad at you for knocking us out of the playoffs, congratulations, you earned it, you did a great job and we're really proud of you," Kraft said via Dirty Mo Media on X.

The 23-year-old responded and highlighted having his team's protection, saying "everyone roots" for Wood Brothers Racing.

"Bubba came to the victory lane and kinda said the same thing. You know kinda put you guys in a tough situation going into this weekend (at Darlington Raceway). I have like the shield of Wood Brothers protection, like everyone roots for Wood Brothers," Burton replied.

Wood Brothers Racing is NASCAR's oldest team. Founded in 1950 by Glen Wood, the Virginia-based outfit has battled in over 1600 races and Harrison Burton's win completed their century of triumphs.

"To give them the 100th [win] on my way out is amazing": Harrison Burton on placing his ride for the first time in victory lane

Harrison Burton is running his third year with WBR and before the 164-lap dash at Daytona, he had no wins. The #21 Ford driver started his race in 20th place and was nowhere near the frontrunners in the first two stages. However, as the turnaround of events transpired, the WBR driver punched his playoff ticket.

The #21 team's 99th victory was sealed by Ryan Blaney in 2017 at the Pocono Raceway. After starting fourth and leading 10 laps, the Ohio native bagged his career-first victory with Wood Brothers Racing.

After snapping the team's seven-year-winless streak, Burton said (via NASCAR):

“I cried the whole victory lap. I obviously got fired from this job and wanted to do everything for the Wood Brothers I could, they’ve given me an amazing opportunity in life and to give them the 100th [win] on my way out is amazing. We’re in the playoffs now. Let’s go to Darlington and see what happens."

Harrison Burton is running his final year with WBR and will mark his exit from the team after the end of the 2024 season. He will be replaced by Stewart-Haas Racing's departing driver Josh Berry. Until further updates, the race winner has no seat for next season.