Kelley Earnhardt's guest explains why he ‘never’ thought his driver Harrison Burton could win the Daytona race

Harrison Burton's boss and Wood Brothers Racing president Jon Wood has expressed why he never thought the #21 Ford driver would park his ride in the victory lane at the Daytona International Speedway. Wood, who also co-owns the team, told Kelley Earnhardt that his team wasn't a contending team and thus, he didn't even remotely think of having a shot at it, let alone claim the triumph.

Burton etched his career-first Cup Series win at the Coke Zero Sugar 400. The 24-year-old made a last-lap pass on the two-time Cup Series champion Kyle Busch to punch his playoff ticket and register WBR's 100th Cup win.

However, as WBR became a rear-of-the-field team, with no wins since Ryan Blaney's triumph at the Pocono Raceway in 2017, president Jon Wood expressed he didn't foresee the jump from being a "mid-20s" running team to becoming poised for a victory.

"It was so unexpected. You go from let's hope we make the race, we've been there. We've been in a position 10 years ago, let's just hope we make the race to let's hope to not run in the 30s, let's be a top-15 team, let's be a top-10 team. You don't just magically go from running mid-20s to contending for a win. So, this was never even the remotest thought in the back of my mind," Wood said via Dirty Mo Media (0:12).

After Ryan Blaney's 2017 season and before Harrison Burton's 2024 win, WBR collected eight top-5s and 36 top-10s.

The team has been in NASCAR since 1953. However, it took a decade before WBR became a household name in raking Cup Series victories. Though they claimed five wins in their 1960 campaign, the streak of consecutive seasons with a win began in 1963, with three victories.

For 20 years until the end of the 1983 season, WBR didn't observe a single season without a win. Moreover, their most dominant season was 1973, when the Mooresville-based outfit clinched 11 wins.

"I cried the whole victory lap": Harrison Burton reflects on his surreal Daytona win

The moment was emotional for Harrison Burton for two major reasons. The first is that he claimed his first and WBR's 100th Cup Series win. Secondly, he will part ways on a memorable note as the team sacked him before he clinched the triumph.

Burton started the 164-lap event in 20th place and was nowhere in contention for a win in the final stage. However, as cautions ensued and the track positions changed, the former #21 Ford driver lunged in the front. The pivotal point came when Josh Berry's flip prompted a red flag and he started next to Kyle Busch in the final restart.

The Richard Childress Racing driver gunned for his maiden win of the season but a huge last-minute push on the backstretch by Parker Retzlaff propelled Burton's Ford in the front for the victory.

“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," Harrison Burton said via NASCAR.

Harrison Burton will field a full-time NASCAR Xfinity Series entry in 2025 for AM Racing.