"It’s the same for everybody" - NASCAR insider responds to critics of Harrison Burton’s playoff berth despite being near the bottom in points

Harrison Burton surprised the NASCAR world by grabbing a 2024 Playoffs berth ahead of the regular season finale. Now, popular NASCAR analysts have attempted to respond to the critics of the North Carolina-based racer getting a place in the Top 16 list.

Burton began his career in go-karts. After gaining experience in several local and national karting competitions, he switched to stock car racing with the ARCA Menards Series. In 2019, Burton made his debut as a full-time driver in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series with Kyle Busch Motorsports. Since then, the 24-year-old has competed in all three national series (Cup, Xfinity, and Truck Series).

Ahead of the final race in the 2024 Cup Series regular season, Burton has been making headlines after winning the Coke Zero Sugar 400 race at Daytona. This move automatically promoted him to the Playoffs, despite being last in the regular season standings. This has received criticism from fans.

Now, NASCAR analysts Jeff Gluck and Jordan Bianchi have expressed their opinions regarding the rule on the Teardown Podcast.

"I mean look everybody's gonna say wow I mean Harrison Burton is last in the point standings. In terms of full-time drivers, 34th, and even after the win he's still 34th, he's still behind Zane Smith in points. He was fired from his ride in June, he has one top-10 before this all season and yet he's in the playoffs," Gluck commented, highlighting Burton's standing (0:12 onwards).

"But guess what it's the same for everybody. Absolutely everybody knows when you start the season you're probably gonna have to win your way in and there might be a couple spots left on points," he added, explaining that the format is same for every NASCAR driver (0:41 onwards).

Here's a look at the video on Dirty Mo Media's page on X, captioned:

Daytona 2, we love you. 🫶

Harrison Burton's win has changed the entire picture of the Playoffs, with rivals like Bubba Wallace and Kyle Busch in real danger of missing out on the chance to compete in the Top 16.

---

A brief look at Harrison Burton's 2024 Cup Series season with Wood Brothers Racing so far

Harrison Burton appeared to be out of contention for the Playoffs this year. However, the win at Daytona has changed the entire picture for the Wood Brothers Racing driver in the 2024 Cup Series season.

Apart from a fifth-place finish in Duel 2 at DAYTONA, Burton consistently placed out of the Top 10s throughout the season. Highlights of the North Carolina-based driver were the races at Talladega Superspeedway, Atlanta Motor Speedway, New Hampshire Motor Speedway, and Michigan International Speedway, where he scored 32, 29, 23, and 23 points.

However, a win at Daytona International Speedway on August 24th has allowed Burton to enter the 2024 Playoffs, leaving the likes of Bubba Wallace, Ross Chastain, and Kyle Busch all but out of contention.

As of now, Burton is placed 34th in the drivers' table, with just one win, two top-10s, and one top-5 finish. He is 517 points behind the leader Tyler Reddick.