Dale Earnhardt Jr. recently acknowledged Roger Penske's contribution to Wood Brothers Racing's success at Daytona. On the Dale Jr Download podcast, the former NASCAR driver pointed out key factors behind Harrison Burton's victory in the Coke Zero Sugar 400 at Daytona International Speedway.
Burton picked the maiden victory of his Cup Series career on Saturday and helped Wood Brothers Racing claim their 100th Cup Series win. However, it would not have been possible without Team Penske's active support, Earnhardt Jr. outlined.
Wood Brothers Racing, NASCAR's oldest active team (operational since 1950) has a technical alliance with Team Penske, allowing Roger Penske to work with the Wood family's racing business. Speaking about this, Dale Earnhardt Jr. said,
"I think we should all be glad that you know Penske supports that alliance and has for so many years because I don't know where the Wood Brothers would be without it right? The Wood Brothers have an amazing relationship that they've nurtured and continued with Ford."
"I believe that their relationship with Ford won't allow them to fail but their relationship with Penske, is what allows them to have performance and be competitive in these moments. So we got to be giving a shout out to Roger for being such a badass."
The Wood family-owned team has a history of using #21 on their car, and it paid off after the mega Daytona success. Thanks to their recent triumph, Wood Brothers Racing and Harrison Burton are through to this year's NASCAR playoffs. And Earnhardt Jr. believes this can have a positive impact on their revenue.
Millions of dollars; won the lottery: Dale Earnhardt Jr. on Wood Brothers Racing's success
Dale Earnhardt Jr. termed Harrison Burton's victory at Daytona, a lottery for Wood Brothers Racing. Mentioning millions of dollars, Earnhardt Jr. was of the opinion that the Coke Zero Sugar 400 win could bring massive financial rewards for the Stuart-based team in NASCAR.
Speaking about this in the Dale Jr Download podcast, Earnhardt Jr. said,
"Are people having an issue, him going from 34th to the playoffs? You go back to the original Chase, those 10, they were The 10. When it got opened up to 16, it's had one or two of those guys you look at and you go, 'He's not a championship contender. He's not going to be.' Them going from 34th to the playoffs is millions of dollars in revenue. This team won the lottery. I like that idea."
Notably, Burton's win means he has qualified for the playoffs despite sitting in the 34th place in the NASCAR regular season standings. He has 306 points to his name and is 517 points behind the regular season leader Tyler Reddick.