“This was next level” - Harrison Burton’s father tells Kevin Harvick about the emotions after his Daytona win

Recently, Jeff Burton opened up about a father's perspective on watching his son, Harrison Burton, triumph after continuous struggles over the last few years. Harrison won his maiden Cup Series race after a thrilling last-lap battle at Daytona International Speedway.

Jeff Burton, a former NASCAR driver and a racing commentator witnessed the Wood Brothers Racing driver Burton clinch his first Cup Series victory and the historic WBR's 100th overall win from the booth.

The 23-year-old Burton has been struggling in his third season with WBR and is set to be replaced by Josh Berry, driving the #21 Ford from the 2025 season. But with one regular-season race left, the young driver Burton has booked a seat in the 2024 playoffs round with a landmark win at the Coke Zero Sugar 400.

In an episode of Kevin Harvick's Happy Hour podcast, Harrison Burton's father, Jeff, talked about his emotion in watching his son win at the esteemed Daytona track at this time of the regular season. He said:

"Watching Harrison struggle the last three years, watching what's going on with him and how that's affected him and the fight he's continued to bring, those last two laps were just incredible because, you know, he's spent a lot of time watching video and talking and studying, and everything that he had been working on, the opportunity was in front of him." [2:05]

Burton added:

"And then he did it, um, you know, after he's lost his job, and he did it for the Wood Brothers. It was just so much emotion because of all of those things collectively. And I think that's what made the race special for the fans, and I know that's what made it special for me. I'd been in the booth when he'd won some Xfinity races, and they were cool moments, but this was next level".

Harrison Burton is in his third full-time season with one of the oldest active NASCAR teams. Before his stint in the Cup Series, #21 Burton competed for Joe Gibbs Racing in the Xfinity Series and accumulated four wins in his rookie season in 2020. However, the Huntersville native wasn't able to find his momentum in NASCAR's premier division until recently but now has opened prospects for his future NASCAR seasons.

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"I believe in him since he was four years old" - Harrison Burton's mother after the Daytona race

Harrison Burton edged past the two-time Cup Series champion Kyle Busch to win his first victory of the season and his career. Burton also became the 13th distinct driver to confirm his spot in the 2024 playoff round with a win.

In a post-race interview, Harrison Burton's mother, Kim, had an elated reaction to her son winning a race in NASCAR's top division. She said:

"I don't think it's really sunk in yet. Um, amazing. I knew he could do it. I believe in him since he was four years old. I watched him do, you know, up through the light, up through his age, going up through his ages. And I'm so, I'm so excited. I can't even talk right now."

Kim added:

"I can't believe it but I can. I believe in him. He deserves this just as much as anybody else...I kept listening to Jason telling him blocking low blocking high and I just figured that he was going to get turned around and be in the air and I didn’t want to see that. I opened my eyes just as they were going across to start finish and I saw he was in the lead".

Burton and his fellow NASCAR Cup Series drivers will be back in action for the final regular season race at Darlington Raceway for the Cook Out Southern 500 event on Sept. 1.