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Harrison Burton to make 100th Cup start at Atlanta

As Harrison Burton prepares to campaign in his first NASCAR Cup Series race weekend as a Playoff competitor ahead of this weekend’s Playoff opener at Atlanta Motor Speedway, he does so with a milestone start up for grabs. By competing at Atlanta, the driver of the No. 21 Wood Brothers Racing Ford Mustang Dark Horse will make his 100th career start in NASCAR’s premier series.

A second-generation racer from Huntersville, North Carolina, Burton made his inaugural presence in the Cup circuit at Talladega Superspeedway in April 2021. By then, he was campaigning in his second full-time season in the Xfinity Series for Joe Gibbs Racing and was coming off a four-race victory season as he also achieved the 2020 Xfinity Rookie-of-the-Year title. Driving the No. 96 Toyota Camry for Gaunt Brothers Racing, Burton rallied from starting at the rear of the field to finish 20th.

In July 2021, Burton was named as the driver of the iconic No. 21 Ford Mustang for Wood Brothers Racing for the 2022 Cup season, where he replaced Matt DiBenedetto and contended for the Rookie-of-the-Year title. Burton’s rookie Cup campaign commenced on a rough note after he was involved in a multi-car wreck during the 64th running of the Daytona 500 at Daytona International Speedway. It resulted in the North Carolina native flipping on the roof before rolling back on all four wheels while battling towards the front on Lap 62 of 200 and ending up in 39th place in the final running order.

During his next 18 scheduled events, Burton would finish no higher than 11th and notch a total of six top-20 results before securing his first career top-10 result at Atlanta Motor Speedway in July, where he led nine laps. Three laps later, he achieved his first career top-five result at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway Road Course by finishing in third place amid a wild overtime finish. While not in contention of making the 2022 Cup Series Playoffs, Burton would proceed to finish in the top 20 seven additional times during the final 14 events on the schedule, which included an 11th-place run at Martinsville Speedway in October, before settling in 27th place in the final standings and in the runner-up spot behind Austin Cindric for the rookie title.

Remaining at Wood Brothers Racing for the 2023 Cup season, Burton commenced the season by finishing 26th during the 65th running of the Daytona 500 after being involved in a late multi-car wreck. He then finished no higher than 15th twice during his next 11 starts before posting his first top-10 finish with a sixth-place result at Darlington Raceway in May. Burton would then manage an eighth-place finish at Pocono Raceway in July during his next 13 starts as he would not make the Cup Series Playoffs for a second consecutive season. Managing a 15th-place result at Martinsville in November and three top-20s throughout the Playoffs, Burton ended up in 31st place in the final standings and an average-finishing result of 24.7 with only two top-10 recorded results.

Through the first 24 regular-season events of the 2024 Cup Series season, Burton had recorded a single top-10 result, where he finished 10th at Talladega in April, but was strapped with an average-finishing result of 26.9. By then, he was informed in early July that he would be replaced by Josh Berry in 2025.

Then in August, Burton outdueled Kyle Busch during an overtime shootout to score his first elusive Cup Series career victory at Daytona with his father and former NASCAR veteran Jeff Burton calling the event’s broadcast. The Daytona victory made Harrison Burton the 205th competitor overall to win in NASCAR’s premier series as he both secured a spot into the 2024 Cup Series Playoffs and delivered the milestone 100th career win for Wood Brothers Racing.

Through 99 previous Cup starts, Burton has achieved one victory, two top-five results, six top-10 results, 73 laps led and an average finishing result of 24.2. Despite finishing in 21st place during this past weekend’s regular-season finale at Darlington, Burton will commence the 2024 Cup Series Playoffs and his first pursuit for a first Cup title in 14th place in the Playoff standings with 2,005 points.

Harrison Burton is scheduled to make his 100th Cup Series career start at Atlanta Motor Speedway for the Quaker State 400 on Sunday, September 8, with the event’s broadcast time to occur at 3 p.m. ET on USA Network.

September 4, 2024
Harrison Burton shakes up 2024 Cup Playoffs with first career victory at Daytona; delivers 100th win for Wood Brothers Racing

After enduring a series of trials and challenges while struggling to be competitive in 97 previous starts in the NASCAR Cup Series level, Harrison Burton responded back in an emphatic style by scoring his first career victory and delivering a landmark win for Wood Brothers Racing amid an overtime shootout in the Coke Zero Sugar 400 at Daytona International Speedway on Saturday, August 24.

The 23-year-old Burton from Huntersville, North Carolina, led only the final lap of 164 over-scheduled laps in an event where he started in 20th place and maneuvered his way through both stage periods and a series of late-race carnages that included pole winner Michael McDowell getting airborne on one late incident before rookie Josh Berry rolled over during the following incident.

Then while restarting alongside Kyle Busch on the front row at the start of an overtime shootout, Burton, who lost ground to Busch at the start of the final lap, received a huge draft from Parker Retzlaff to overtake Busch through the backstretch. With the lead in his grasp for two final turns, Burton then pulled two blocks on Busch entering the frontstretch’s tri-oval. He had enough steam underneath the hood of the No. 21 Wood Brothers Racing Ford to steer to his first elusive Cup Series victory that enabled him to automatically race his way into the 2024 Playoffs and deliver the milestone 100th win for the Wood Brothers.

With on-track qualifying that determined the starting lineup on Friday, August 23, Michael McDowell notched his fourth Cup Series pole position of the 2024 season after posting a fast pole-winning lap at 183.165 mph in 49.136 seconds. Joining him on the front row was teammate Todd Gilliland, who posted the second-fastest qualifying lap at 182.801 mph in 49.234 seconds.

When the green flag waved and the event commenced, teammates Michael McDowell and Todd Gilliland dueled for the lead in front of the field that was stacked amid two tight-packed lanes through the first two turns and the backstretch. As the majority of the field continued to run in a pack of two, McDowell led the first lap by a hair from the inside lane over Gilliland as he had Joey Logano drafting him while Gilliland had drafting help from Ryan Preece.

During the next four laps, the field slowly began to fan out to three stacked lanes as McDowell, who continued to run in the inside lane, retained the lead throughout the four-lap stretch over teammate Gilliland, Logano and Preece. By then, a third drafting lane towards the outside wall led by Austin Cindric started to charge towards the front as Cindric had Brad Keselowski and Austin Dillon drafting him.

This caused McDowell to go on defense as he tried to block and retain the lead through three lanes, but Logano capitalized on McDowell’s move to the outside lane, starting on the backstretch, to lead the sixth lap mark. Rookie Josh Berry then went three wide on both Logano and McDowell through the frontstretch to challenge for the lead from the inside lane, which caused Logano to lose ground and get shuffled out of the top five as Berry and McDowell dueled for the lead on the seventh lap.

Through the first 10 scheduled laps and with the entire 40-car field separated by less than three seconds amid three stacked lanes within the draft, Keselowski scored the lead ahead of Logano, McDowell, Berry and Gilliland while Cindric, Austin Dillon, William Byron, Chris Buescher and Daniel Suarez were running in the top 10. With a series of on-track shuffling towards the front ensuing over the next five laps, Logano carved his way back to the front as he was pursued by McDowell, Keselowski, Berry, Gilliland, Byron, Cindric, Austin Dillon, Buescher and Kyle Larson by Lap 15.

At the Lap 20 mark, Gilliland was drafted into the lead by teammate McDowell from the outside lane as Keselowski, Logano and Berry were scored in the top five ahead of Cindric, Blaney, Byron, Austin Dillon and Larson. Behind, Chris Buescher, Daniel Suarez, Bubba Wallace, Kyle Busch and Ross Chastain followed suit in the top 15 while Denny Hamlin, Christopher Bell, Alex Bowman, Tyler Reddick and Erik Jones were mixed in the top 20 ahead of Chase Elliott, Daniel Hemric, Martin Truex Jr., BJ McLeod, Ty Gibbs, Corey LaJoie, Justin Haley, Harrison Burton, Cody Ware and Ricky Stenhouse Jr., with Noah Gragson, Chase Briscoe, Parker Retzlaff, Shane van Gisbergen and John Hunter Nemechek trailing in the top 35.

Five laps later, the top 39 of 40 starters were separated by four seconds while the top 25 were separated by less than a second, all of whom were racing amid three tight lanes within the draft, as Gilliland continued to lead ahead of teammate McDowell, Keselowski, Cindric and Berry.

Just past the Lap 30 mark, Logano carved his way back to the lead as he was followed by teammate Blaney, Larson and Kyle Busch while Keselowski kept pursuit from the outside lane. Logano and Keselowski would proceed to duel for the lead for the following two laps as the front-runners began to fan out and draft aggressively in their march to the front.

When the first stage period concluded on Lap 35, Berry, who received a strong push from Buescher towards the outside lane amid three stacked lanes, starting from the backstretch, fended off Logano and Buescher at the start/finish line to capture his first Cup stage victory of the 2024 season and of his career. Logano and Buescher followed suit in second and third, respectively, while Cindric, Blaney, Gilliland, Keselowski, McDowell, Byron and Larson were scored in the top 10. By then, 39 of 40 starters were scored on the lead lap while the event had featured 13 lead changes and six different competitors leading at least one lap.

Under the stage break, nearly the entire field led by Berry pitted for a first round of pit service, Other drivers led by Corey LaJoie and including BJ McLeod, Martin Truex Jr., rookie Zane Smith, Austin Dillon, Preece, Daniel Hemric, Shane van Gisbergen, rookie Carson Hocevar and Ricky Stenhouse Jr. remained on the track.

Following the pit stops, Logano exited pit road first ahead of Buescher, Cindric, Berry, Larson, Chastain, Wallace, Keselowski, Gilliland and McDowell. During the pit stops, Daniel Suarez had fire blazing out of his No. 99 Coca-Cola Zero Sugar Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 as he left his pit stall, which he then cycled for a full lap before he returned to his pit stall while still blazing in flames and escaped the cockpit uninjured. The cause of the fire was spilled fuel that was run over by Hamlin as the spark then carried forth into Suarez’s entry.

During the caution laps, a multitude of names that included Tyler Reddick, Erik Jones, Chase Briscoe, Cody Ware, Austin Hill, Noah Gragson, LaJoie, Austin Dillon, van Gisbergen, McLeod, Zane Smith, Justin Haley, Stenhouse, Truex and Hocevar pitted to top off with fuel as they were shuffled to the rear of the field.

The second stage period started on Lap 41 as Logano and Buescher occupied the front row. At the start, both dueled for the lead through the first two turns before Logano received a draft from teammate Cindric and Berry from the outside lane to emerge ahead of Buescher, who continued to run on the inside lane and lead the following lap as he had Ross Chastain drafting him.

With the field quickly fanning out to three packed lanes over the next four laps, Bubba Wallace, who did not record stage points during the first stage’s conclusion, maneuvered his way to the front as he challenged Buescher, Logano, Cindric and Keselowski for the lead as Chastain, Berry and Larson followed suit within the top eight.

Through the first 50 scheduled laps and a series of on-track shuffling ensuing at the front, Chase Briscoe, who carved his way to the front a few laps earlier, was leading by a hair over Wallace as Hemric, Logano, Buescher, Austin Hill, Keselowski, Cindric, Berry and LaJoie were mired in the top 10 ahead of Chastain, Gilliland, Larson, Gragson, McDowell, Burton, Preece, Kyle Busch, Blaney and Haley. Meanwhile, Elliott, Nemechek, Ty Gibbs, Hamlin and Byron were mired in the top 25 as the top 38 competitors were separated by a second amid three packed lanes.

Five laps later, Wallace, who reassumed the lead three laps earlier, retained the lead ahead of Buescher while Keselowski and Logano dueled for third place in front of the stacked field. Wallace proceeded to transition from the outside to the inside lane as he fended off Buescher and Logano for the top spot while LaJoie was trying to formulate a run from a third drafting lane toward the outside lane. Amid a series of on-track shuffling over the next four laps, Wallace retained the lead ahead of a long line of competitors opting to run towards the outside lane and behind Wallace

Then on Lap 59, the caution flew for a multi-car wreck that erupted in the backstretch when Gragson, who was trying to carve his way towards the top-10 mark, was aggressively pushed into Chastain and Haley by LaJoie, where a stack-up caused LaJoie to get Gragson turned sideways and clip both Nemechek and Chastain as Truex, Bowman, Ty Gibbs, Hill, Hamlin, Erik Jones, Byron, Elliott, Larson, Hemric, Preece, Blaney, Austin Dillon and Reddick all wrecked. The multi-car wreck took a hit on Chastain’s hopes of remaining in Playoff contention as he lost one lap in the process of having his car still in contention to race while top names including Preece, Hamlin, Gragson and Elliott retired from further competition.

During the caution period, nearly the entire field led by Wallace pitted, primarily for fuel, while a select few led by Hocevar remained on the track. Following the pit stops, Buescher exited first ahead of Keselowski, Logano, Wallace, Berry, Cindric, Gilliland, McDowell, Burton and Blaney. Hocevar would then pit after leading a lap under caution while Reddick, Hill and Erik Jones remained on the track in the top three spots. The latter three would then pit shortly after, which enabled Buescher to cycle back into the lead.

The start of the next restart period on Lap 66 featured teammates Buescher and Keselowski dueling for the lead against one another before Buescher muscled ahead with strong drafting help from Logano on the outside lane through the first two turns. With Buescher and Logano drafting their way to first and second on the track, Keselowski followed suit along with Wallace, Cindric and Burton while Berry was trying to mount a charge from the inside lane as he had drafting help from Gilliland. By Lap 68, however, the majority of the field migrated to a long single-file line towards the outside lane as Buescher led the way ahead of Logano, Keselowski, Wallace and Cindric.

Just past the Lap 70 mark, Buescher continued to lead ahead of a long line of competitors running towards the outside lane as he was pursued by Logano, Keselowski, Wallace, Cindric, Burton, Kyle Busch, van Gisbergen, Haley and Gilliland. Behind, McDowell, Blaney, McLeod, Erik Jones, Ty Gibbs, Bell, Nemechek, Hill, Zane Smith and Berry occupied the top-20 spots ahead of Austin Dillon, Byron, Briscoe, Larson and Cody Ware. By Lap 73, however, the field quickly fanned out to two drafted lanes as Wallace received a draft from Kyle Busch while transitioning to the inside lane to reassume the lead. The field then fanned out to three lanes on Lap 75 as Logano overtook Gilliland to aggressively move into the lead as teammate Cindric, Haley, Blaney and Reddick quickly made their way to the front as Buescher, Wallace and Kyle Busch were getting shuffled out of the top-10 mark.

On Lap 77, Cindric, who was running towards the front, nearly got sideways on the backstretch after he got hit on the side by Larson while being drafted by teammate Blaney, but he managed to keep his No. 2 Menards Ford Mustang Dark Horse straight despite getting shuffled out of the lead group as the race remained under green flag conditions.

At the halfway mark on Lap 80 and a series of on-track shuffling ensuing at the front, Larson was leading by a hair over Gilliland and Logano while Busch, Blaney, Keselowski, McDowell, Reddick, Buescher and Byron were scored in the top 10. By then, the top-31 competitors were separated by four seconds as the top 18 were separated by under a second.

Then on Lap 80, the caution returned when Erik Jones fell off the pace due to blowing a flat right-front tire to his No. 43 Family Dollar Toyota Camry XSE. Behind Jones, van Gisbergen, who was announced as a full-time Cup Series competitor for Trackhouse Racing in 2025, had his No. 16 Safety Culture Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 billowing in thick smoke through the backstretch as his car, which also ended up in flames, came to an end with an engine failure, where he then managed to park his car and escape uninjured.

During the extensive caution period, some led by Gilliland and including Busch, McDowell and Cindric pitted while the rest led by Logano remained on the track.

With the race restarting under green flag conditions on Lap 88, Loganon and Larson dueled for the lead through the first two turns and ahead of an aggressive field dueling amid two stacked lanes. While Logano had teammate Blaney drafting him from the outside lane, Larson gained the upper hand from the inside lane as he led the next lap with drafting help from Keselowski and Buescher as Gilliland and Busch closed in to join the draft.

By Lap 90, Larson continued to lead ahead of Keselowski, Logano, Buescher and Blaney as Wallace started to ignite a third drafting lane towards the outside lane with drafting help from teammate Reddick. With the top 21 competitors separated by a second, Keselowski and Larson dueled for the lead in front of the stacked pack for the following lap.

When the second stage period concluded on Lap 95, Logano held off a three-wide challenge from teammate Blaney and Keselowski to capture his second Cup stage victory of the 2024 season. Larson and Gilliland followed suit behind the three Ford leaders while Haley, Busch, Byron, Buescher and Wallace were scored in the top 10. By then, the top-31 competitors were scored on the lead lap while the event had featured 31 lead changes.

During the stage break, a majority of the field led by Logano pitted while a select few led by Keselowski and Stenhouse remained on the track. Amid the pit stops, Chastain managed to cycle his way back onto the lead lap while Keselowski and Stenhouse would pit for fuel not long after.

With 60 laps remaining, the final stage commenced as McDowell and Berry occupied the front row. McDowell launched ahead with the lead from the outside lane as he was drafted by Busch and Burton. Berry led the inside lane ahead of Haley and Cindric. McDowell would proceed to lead the following lap as he transitioned between the inside and outside lane to keep Berry behind him. In the process, Haley moved into second place during the next lap period while Berry settled in third ahead of Cindric and Busch as the top 32 competitors were separated by within two seconds.

With less than 54 laps remaining and the majority of the field running in a long single-file line towards the outside lane, McDowell was leading ahead of Haley, Berry, Cindric, Busch, Burton, Nemechek, Zane Smith, Larson and Austin Dillon while Hemric, Austin Hill, Briscoe, Logano, Wallace, Blaney, Bell, Gibbs, Bowman and Erik Jones followed suit in close-quarters racing within the top 20. Meanwhile, Chastain was mired in 30th place along with Keselowski while Buescher was in 22nd in between Bell and Gilliland.

Down to the final 50 laps of the event and with the field both fanned and stacked out to two lanes, McDowell continued to lead ahead of Haley, Nemechek, Berry, Larson, Cindric, Busch, Logano, Burton and Hemric while the top 30 competitors were separated by less than two seconds.

Ten laps later, Haley, who aggressively overtook McDowell for the top spot a lap earlier, was leading two stacks of competitors vying for spots amid the draft, with Cindric, McDowell, Logano, Berry, Nemechek, Keselowski, Larson, Buescher and Busch mingled in the top 10 ahead of Cody Ware, Burton, Bell, Zane Smith, Austin Dillon, Wallace, Hill, Briscoe, Gilliland and Blaney.

Five laps later and with the majority of the field migrating towards the outside lane in a long single-file line, Haley continued to lead ahead of Berry, Nemechek, Larson, Busch, Cindric, McDowell, Logano, Burton and Cody Ware as the top-25 competitors were separated by less than two seconds and the top 32 separated by three seconds.

Another five laps later, Haley retained the lead ahead of Berry, Nemechek, Larson and Busch with a majority of the lead lap field remaining in a long single-file line towards the outside lane while Cody Ware was trying to ignite a charge from the inside lane with drafting help from Bell and Wallace. By then, Truex was pinned multiple laps down after he pitted his car under green.

Down to the final 25 laps of the event, Haley, who threw a series of blocks while transitioning from the inside and outside lane, retained the lead ahead of Berry while Bell muscled his way up to third place as he was followed by Nemechek, Larson, Wallace, Busch, Hemric, Cindric and Keselowski, with the top-30 competitors separated by less than two seconds. Three laps later, however, the field began to fan out aggressively to three stacked lanes as Nemechek challenged Haley for the lead from the outside lane.

Then with 21 laps remaining, the caution flew.= when Nemechek, who was vying for the lead amid a three-wide battle with Busch and Haley, received a hard bump from Larson in the middle lane that caused Nemechek to turn across the right-front fender of Haley and send Nemechek’s No. 42 Pye Barker Toyota Camry XSE spinning below the backstretch’s asphalt, though Nemechek managed to keep his car off the wall and continue as no one else wrecked. At the moment of caution, Busch emerged as the leader ahead of Cindric, Larson, McDowell, Berry and Keselowski.

During the caution period and with the field assessing their fuel situation to the finish, the entire lead lap field led by Busch pitted, primarily for fuel. Following the pit stops, Cindric exited pit road first, followed by Keselowski, Larson, McDowell, Busch, Logano, Blaney, Berry, Briscoe and Wallace. Within the pit stops Bell made contact with McLeod while exiting his pit stall.

The start of the following restart period with 16 laps remaining featured Keselowski and Cindric dueling for the lead through the first two turns amid a wave of shoves towards the front, with Cindric having drafting help from Larson while Keselowski had drafting help from McDowell. Cindric would then prevail from the outside lane as he led the next lap ahead of Larson before Keselowski fought back.

Shortly after, however, Keselowski was penalized for a restart violation, where he pulled ahead of the leader Cindric from the inside lane when he was not in control of the restart to launch ahead. Keselowski, however, remained on the track and towards the front before he yielded and served a pass-through penalty through pit road with 12 laps remaining. With Keselowski serving his penalty, the field fanned out to three stacked lanes as Cindric battled McDowell for the lead.

Down to the final 10 laps of the event, the top 27 competitors were separated by less than a second amid three stacked lanes as Cindric, Larson and McDowell all dueled for the lead from the top, middle and bottom lanes, respectively. Amid the battles, Berry and Busch were scored in the top five as Logano, Wallace, Bowman, Reddick and Blaney were mingled in the top 10.

A lap later, the caution flew for a multi-car wreck that erupted in Turn 1 when McDowell, who led the previous lap and transitioned towards the outside lane to block Cindric, got sideways off the front nose of Cindric as he spun to the bottom of the track. McDowell received a huge hit on the driver’s side by Logano as McDowell’s No. 34 Long John Silver’s Ford Mustang Dark Horse went airborne and nearly flipped. The car managed to land back on all four wheels while sliding back up the track and clipping the rear deck lid of Bowman’s No. 48 Ally Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 in the process.

Amid the carnage, a multitude of names including Logano, Larson, Bowman, Bell, Wallace, Reddick, Haley, Byron, Blaney, Stenhouse, Buescher and Hill were all involved. Meanwhile, Cindric escaped with the lead while Berry, Busch, Bell, Austin Dillon and Zane Smith were scored in the top six.

During the caution period, some including McLeod, Nemechek, Wallace, Joey Gase, Briscoe, Reddick, LaJoie and Chastain pitted their respective entries while the rest led by Cindric remained on the track.

With three laps remaining, the race restarted under green as Cindric and Berry occupied the front row. At the start, Cindric and Berry dueled for the lead in front of two stacked lanes before Cindric muscled ahead from the inside lane entering the backstretch. Cindric and Berry continued to battle dead even for the lead for the following two turns as Cindric led the following lap by a hair, with Busch, Byron, Bell and Burton closely mixed in the top six.

Then, with two laps remaining entering the backstretch, the caution flew and the event was sent into overtime following another multi-car wreck that started when a stackup at the front resulted in Busch bumping Cindric as Cindric went up the track and made contact with both Berry and Byron. It sent Byron’s No. 24 Liberty University Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 up into the outside wall hard while Cindric and Berry were sent sliding toward the backstretch’s infield.

Amid the spins, Berry’s No. 4 eero Ford Mustang Dark Horse then went airborne and rolled over on its roof as the car slid down the backstretch and smacked the inside wall hard head-on before the car spun several times on its top and came to rest while still upside-down. Among those involved included Zane Smith, Erik Jones, Gilliland, Austin Dillon, Nemechek and Austin Hill while the rest of the field scattered to avoid the carnage.

Amid the wild ride, Berry, who had the on-track safety crews roll the car back on all four wheels, managed to climb out and emerge uninjured with the driver giving thumbs up. Meanwhile, Kyle Busch escaped with the lead ahead of Burton while Bell, Retzlaff, Nemechek and Keselowski were scored in the top six as the event was placed in a red flag period for nearly seven minutes.

When the red flag lifted and the field proceeded under a cautious pace, Kyle Busch and Burton opted to restart alongside one another for the first overtime attempt, with Busch having Bell, Cody Ware and Keselowski lining up behind him on the inside lane while Burton had Retzlaff, Nemechek and Gibbs lining up behind him on the outside lane.

The start of the first overtime attempt featured Busch and Burton dueling for the lead until Busch rocketed his No. 8 Cheddar’s Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 ahead with drafting help from Bell’s No. 20 Interstate Batteries Toyota Camry XSE on the inside lane. Busch would retain the lead through the backstretch and he started to muscle ahead of both Burton and Bell entering Turns 3 and 4 with a reasonable advantage.

When the white flag waved and the final lap started, Busch remained as the leader ahead of Burton and Bell with the field behind continuing to stack up and draft aggressively amid two lanes. Then as Busch was trying to keep Bell drafting him from the inside lane, Harrison Burton rocketed his No. 21 DEX Imaging Ford Mustang Dark Horse into the lead with a strong push from Parker Retzlaff from the outside lane.

Then as Burton maintained the lead through Turns 3 and 4, he went up the track to block Busch. He blocked Busch again while transitioning back to the inside lane, going below the double yellow lines in the process. With Burton keeping his car straight and fending off Busch’s last corner efforts, he managed to beat Busch to the finish line by 0.047 seconds to claim his first triumph in the Cup Series.

With the victory, Burton became the 205th competitor overall to win in NASCAR’s premier series, the first competitor to record a first Cup victory in 2024 and the first competitor to record a first Cup victory while driving for the Wood Brothers Racing team since Ryan Blaney made the last accomplishment at Pocono Raceway in June 2017. Ironically, Burton, who won in his 98th Cup career start, became the first competitor to record a first Cup win in Daytona’s 400-lap feature since William Byron did so in 2020 where he also achieved the feat in his 98th series start.

Speaking of Wood Brothers Racing, the historic organization accomplished its seven-year battle of notching its elusive 100th victory in the Cup Series as Burton, who became the 19th competitor overall to win while driving for the Wood Brothers, drove the team’s No. 21 Ford to its first Daytona win since Trevor Bayne won the 2011 Daytona 500.

As a result of his first Cup Series victory, Burton, who came into the event strapped in 34th place in the regular-season standings, earned a one-way ticket to the 2024 Cup Series Playoffs, which will mark his first opportunity and the Wood Brother’s third overall to contend in the Cup’s postseason elimination-style battle for the championship. Burton also became the 13th competitor overall to be guaranteed a 2024 Playoff berth by winning throughout the regular-season stretch.

“I don’t know. I cried the whole victory lap,” Burton, who fought tears of emotions, said while celebrating with his team, family and father Jeff on the frontstretch, on NBC. “Obviously, [I] got fired from the shove. I wanted to do everything for the Wood Brothers that I could. They’ve given me an amazing opportunity in life. To get them [win No.] 100 on my way out is amazing. We’re in the Playoffs now. Let’s go to Darlington and see what happens.”

The victory was a personal one for Burton, who is set to be a free agent after this season. With Josh Berry set to replace Burton in the No. 21 Wood Brothers Racing Ford in 2025, Burton’s racing status for next season remains undetermined, though he strives to conclude the 2024 season strong.

“It’s amazing,” Burton added. “It’s been the hardest three years of my life. Obviously, the hardest three years for some of these [No. 21] guys’ lives. To win the way that we just did, to beat the best in the business, Kyle Busch, across the line, it’s pretty fantastic. I made a bet with Jeremy [Bullins], my crew chief, that if we won, we’re staying here and driving home, so we’ll be at a bar somewhere! Come find us and we’re gonna celebrate this one!”

Behind Burton, Kyle Busch, who led eight laps, recorded a strong runner-up result for his fourth top-five result of the 2024 season. Despite being left satisfied with his run, Busch trails the Playoff cutline by 106 points and is still left in a “must-win” situation entering next weekend’s regular-season finale at Darlington Raceway to keep his Playoff hopes alive.

“I just finished second. It’s all good,” Busch said. “We were really, really, really lucky tonight to miss a few of them crashes. All good. Just real proud of everybody, [crew chief] Randall [Burnett], all the guys. Everybody at [Richard Childress Racing], ECR [Engines]. They did a great job and brought a fast car. [It] Wasn’t meant to be, so we’ll take this and got a good little stretch here going with these last three weeks and hope that we can do what we need to do in next week’s [race].”

Christopher Bell came home in third place followed by Cody Ware, who recorded his first top-five result in the Cup Series, while Ty Gibbs battled back to finish in fifth place.

Bubba Wallace also rallied to finish in sixth place followed by Parker Retzlaff and Brad Keselowski, who spun through the frontstretch’s tri-oval after crossing the finish line while Daniel Hemric and Chris Buescher completed the top-10 results in the final running order.

With three spots into the 2024 Cup Series Playoff standings being vacant entering next weekend’s regular-season finale at Darlington, Martin Truex Jr. sits 58 points above the cutline and Ty Gibbs sits 39 points above the cutline. Meanwhile, Chris Buescher holds sole possession of the 16th and final transfer spot in the Playoffs by 21 points over Bubba Wallace and 27 over Ross Chastain.

There were 40 lead changes for 16 different leaders. The race featured seven cautions for 34 laps. In addition, 20 of 40 starters finished on the lead lap.

Following the 25th event of the 2024 Cup Series season, Tyler Reddick continues to lead the regular-season standings by 17 points over Kyle Larson, 18 over Chase Elliott, 68 over Ryan Blaney, 80 over William Byron and 86 over Christopher Bell.

Results.

1. Harrison Burton, one lap led

2. Kyle Busch, eight laps led

3. Christopher Bell

4. Cody Ware

5. Ty Gibbs

6. Bubba Wallace, 16 laps led

7. Parker Retzlaff

8. Brad Keselowski, eight laps led

9. Daniel Hemric

10. Chris Buescher, 10 laps led

11. Carson Hocevar, one lap led

12. Ross Chastain

13. Zane Smith

14. Chase Briscoe, two laps led

15. John Hunter Nemechek

16. Alex Bowman

17. Erik Jones

18. Austin Cindric, 15 laps led

19. BJ McLeod

20. Joey Gase

21. Kyle Larson, one lap down, five laps led

22. Austin Dillon, two laps down

23. Todd Gilliland, two laps down, five laps led

24. Martin Truex Jr., three laps down

25. Austin Hill – OUT

26. Josh Berry – OUT, Accident, nine laps led, Stage 1 winner

27. William Byron – OUT, Accident, one lap led

28. Tyler Reddick – OUT, Accident

29. Ryan Blaney – OUT, Accident

30. Michael McDowell – OUT, Accident, 26 laps led

31. Joey Logano – OUT, Accident, 34 laps led, Stage 2 winner

32. Justin Haley – OUT, Accident, 21 laps led

33. Ricky Stenhouse Jr. – OUT, Accident, two laps led

34. Corey LaJoie, 32 laps down

35. Shane van Gisbergen – OUT, Engine

36. Chase Elliott – OUT, Accident

37. Noah Gragson – OUT, Accident

38. Denny Hamlin – OUT, Accident

39. Ryan Preece – OUT, DVP

40. Daniel Suarez – OUT, Fire

Next on the 2024 NASCAR Cup Series schedule is the Cook Out Southern 500 at Darlington Raceway, which will serve as this year’s regular-season finale and officially determine the 16-car field for the 2024 NASCAR Cup Series Playoffs. The event is scheduled to occur next Sunday, September 1, during Labor Day weekend and air at 6 p.m. ET on USA Network.

August 25, 2024
Brian Wilson to call 100th Cup event as crew chief at Michigan

A significant milestone mark is in the making for Brian Wilson, crew chief for Austin Cindric and the No. 2 Team Penske Ford Mustang Dark Horse team in the NASCAR Cup Series. By participating in this weekend’s FireKeepers Casino 400 at Michigan International Speedway, Wilson will call his 100th event as a crew chief in NASCAR’s premier series.

A second-generation race engineer from Detroit, Michigan, Wilson grew up competing in go-karts. While working on his mechanical engineering degree at North Carolina State University, he was also a part-time worker for 10-time ARCA champion Frank Kimmel’s racing team. After earning his degree, he worked as Kimmel’s full-time shock specialist.

In 2004, Wilson joined Team Penske and worked on the No. 77 Penske-Jasper Racing Dodge team that was competing in the NASCAR Cup Series division with Brendan Gaughan. Two years later, he became a shock specialist for Penske’s iconic No. 2 Dodge team driven by Kurt Busch, the 2004 Cup champion. By 2007, Wilson was a race engineer for the Penske organization. After spending the 2009 Cup season with Penske’s No. 12 Dodge team piloted by David Stremme, Wilson worked alongside crew chief Paul Wolfe and Brad Keselowski in the 2010 Xfinity Series season. During the season, Keselowski notched six victories and achieved the first NASCAR championship for team owner Roger Penske and the Penske organization.

Wilson remained with Keselowski and Wolfe as the trio was assigned to Penske’s iconic No. 2 Dodge team in 2011. Their on-track success from the previous Xfinity season continued as Keselowski scored three victories, made the 2011 Cup Playoffs and finished in fifth place in the final standings. A year later, Keselowski achieved five victories and won the 2012 Cup championship, thus giving Roger Penske his first NASCAR Cup title.

In 2016, Wilson made his debut as a crew chief, where he spent a majority of the season leading Penske’s No. 22 “all-star” program that was shared between Joey Logano, Brad Keselowski and Ryan Blaney. At Charlotte Motor Speedway in October, Wilson notched his first career victory as a crew chief with Logano. He would return as a part-time crew chief for Penske’s No. 12 entry in 2017 with driving duties split between Sam Hornish Jr., Blaney and Logano, the latter of whom Wilson won with at Las Vegas Motor Speedway. From 2018 to 2021, Wilson would add 18 Xfinity victories to his resume and capture the 2020 series championship with Austin Cindric.

During the 2017 season, Wilson made his inaugural appearance as a Cup Series crew chief at Auto Club Speedway, where he navigated Keselowski and the No. 2 Ford Fusion team to a runner-up result. He would return for three additional events throughout the season, all with the No. 2 team, as Keselowski finished in the top seven in all events.

Five years later, Wilson was named a full-time Cup Series crew chief for the No. 21 Wood Brothers Racing Ford Mustang team that was set to be piloted by rookie Harrison Burton. Amid an early rollover wreck during the 64th running of the Daytona 500, Wilson and Burton would record a season-best third place at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway Road Course, two top-10 results and an average-finishing result of 22.8 before settling in 27th place in the final standings. Wilson would remain paired with Burton through the first 26-scheduled events of the 2023 season, where the duo notched two top-10 results before he reunited with Team Penske and paired with Cindric and the No. 2 Ford Mustang team as part of a Penske-Wood Brothers alliance swap as Jeremy Bullins returned atop the pit box of the No. 21 Wood Brothers team. For the final 10 races of the 2023 season, Wilson and Cindric notched two top-10 results before settling in 24th place in the final standings, seven spots ahead of Burton.

Remaining paired with Cindric for the 2024 season, Wilson and Cindric only notched a single top-five result through 14 scheduled events. Then at World Wide Technology Raceway in June, Wilson notched his first career win in NASCAR’s premier series as a crew chief after Cindric capitalized on teammate Ryan Blaney running out of fuel on the final lap to score his second Cup career victory, snapping an 85-race winless drought and be guaranteed a spot into the 2024 Cup Playoffs. The duo have since recorded an additional top-10 result in the form of a seventh-place run at Indianapolis Motor Speedway over their next eight events following the Gateway victory.

Through 99 previous Cup events, Wilson has achieved one victory, seven top-five results and 13 top-10 results while working with two different competitors as he strives to add a Cup Series championship to his resume.

“It’s definitely been a journey, depends on how far back you want me to go,” Wilson, said during a Team Penske pre-race media coverage at Indianapolis Motor Speedway on July 19, said. “As a crew chief, it’s been great. I’ve learned a lot. Obviously, I’ve had a chance to work with both Austin [Cindric] and Harrison [Burton. Really enjoyed working with both of them. I’ve learned a lot. It’s a tough level of competition. I love it. You have to be on your toes every week, so I think that’s the biggest thing. Just figuring out what it takes to compete at this level. It was great to get a win [at Gateway].”

Brian Wilson is scheduled to call his 100th Cup Series event as a crew chief at Michigan International Speedway for the FireKeepers Casino 400 on Sunday, August 18. The event’s broadcast time is slated to occur at 2:30 p.m. ET on USA Network.

August 13, 2024
The Domino Effect and Transition of Stewart-Haas Racing’s Drivers in 2024

In a span of three weeks during the 2024 summer stretch, three-quarters of Stewart-Haas Racing’s (SHR) current driver lineup in the NASCAR Cup Series division have found new teams to call home for the 2025 season. The change in teams that include rising stars Josh Berry, Chase Briscoe and Noah Gragson are all pieces of a domino effect that center towards the rapid, downsizing transition of SHR’s program for the foreseeable future.

The domino effect of SHR during the 2024 season originated on May 28th when co-owners Gene Haas and Tony Stewart announced the decision that the organization, which has notched two Cup Series championships and 69 victories in 15 seasons, would cease operations at this season’s conclusion. The news ignited a shockwave across the NASCAR community that left many involved with SHR, including the competitors across the Cup and Xfinity Series divisions, uncertain about the future.

Nearly a month later on June 20th, Gene Haas flipped the script by announcing that SHR would be rebranded to Haas Factory Team. The brand change for SHR would result in Haas retaining one of its four Cup Series charters and field one Cup and two Xfinity teams for the 2025 season. It did not, however, guarantee all SHR competitors a landing spot for either ride as all were left to pursue new opportunities while balancing their mentality on the track for the remainder of the 2024 season.

Then on June 26th, Chase Briscoe emerged as the first SHR competitor to land a new home for the 2025 season after he inked a multi-year deal with Joe Gibbs Racing to pilot the No. 19 Toyota Camry XSE entry. Briscoe, who is currently ranked in 16th place in this year’s driver’s standings as he bids to make the 2024 Playoffs, is set to replace Martin Truex Jr., the 2017 Cup Series champion who is set to retire from full-time competition after this season. Ironically, Briscoe succeeded veteran Clint Bowyer in SHR’s No. 14 entry when Bowyer announced his retirement from full-time racing after the 2020 season just as Briscoe was commencing his Cup campaign driving for SHR and his childhood hero, Tony Stewart.

Briscoe’s transition to Joe Gibbs Racing occurs as the Mitchell, Indiana, native is currently competing in his fourth consecutive full-time season in the Cup Series, all behind the wheel of SHR’s No. 14 Ford entry. His top accomplishment as a Cup SHR competitor is notching his first career victory at Phoenix Raceway in March 2022, where he became the 200th competitor overall to win in NASCAR’s premier series. The Phoenix victory guaranteed Briscoe a spot into the 2022 Cup Playoffs, where he would transfer from the Round of 16 to 8 before he settled in ninth place in the final standings.

In addition to making 128 current Cup starts while logging in a total of 27 top-10 results and two poles, Briscoe has 11 career wins in the Xfinity Series, all with SHR from 2018-20. During the 2020 season, where he won nine races, the Hoosier native transferred all the way to the Championship 4 round and contended for the series’ title at Phoenix Raceway before settling in fourth place in the final standings. Before his success in the Xfinity circuit, he scored his first Craftsman Truck Series career victory in the 2017 finale at Homestead-Miami Speedway and claimed the 2016 ARCA Menards Series championship. With all of Briscoe’s current stock car success occurring while sporting the Blue Ford Oval logo in front of his entries, the Ford racing family will be minus one star as Briscoe will be piloting a Toyota for the first time in 2025 since the 2013 ARCA Menards Series West season.

Photo by Chad Wells for SpeedwayMedia.com.

Eight days after Briscoe’s announcement on July 3rd, Josh Berry was selected to pilot the iconic No. 21 Ford Mustang Dark Horse entry for the Wood Brothers Racing organization. Berry’s news comes as he is campaigning in his first full-time season both in the Cup Series and in the No. 4 SHR Ford entry, where he replaced the 2014 Cup champion Kevin Harvick after Harvick retired from full-time racing following the 2023 season. The 33-year-old Berry from Hendersonville, Tennessee, is currently leading the 2024 Cup Rookie-of-the-Year standings and is ranked in 21st place in the driver’s standings on the strength of two top-five results and four top-10 results through 20 starts.

Before competition in the Cup Series, Berry scored five victories in the Xfinity Series and made the Championship 4 field during the 2022 season, all while driving for JR Motorsports. He is also the all-time wins leader in the CARS Tour and CARS Late Model Stock Car Tour at 22 and is a former champion in both the NASCAR Advance Auto Parts Weekly Series and the CARS divisions.

Berry, who became the second competitor to pilot SHR’s No. 4 entry, is set to become the 48th competitor overall to make at least one start for the Wood Brothers in 2025, with the organization still pursuing its goal of achieving 100 victories in NASCAR’s premier series. Berry is also set to replace Harrison Burton, a third-year Cup Series competitor for the Wood Brothers and the 2020 Xfinity Series Rookie of the Year whose plans for the 2025 season remain uncertain.

Recently on July 10th, Noah Gragson removed his name from this year’s Silly Season list after it was announced that he would be joining forces with Front Row Motorsports for the 2025 season. Gragson, a 25-year-old native from Las Vegas, Nevada, is competing in his first full-time Cup season with SHR and in the No. 10 Ford after having his 2023 Cup campaign evaporating midway into the season following an off-track social media action that resulted in him being suspended and spending a month completing NASCAR’s sensitivity training program, RISE, before his suspension was lifted, all while competing for Legacy Motor Club. Currently, Gragson is ranked in 23rd place in the 2024 driver’s standings after recording six top-10 results through 20 scheduled starts. His best result in a Cup race is a third-place run generated at Talladega this past May.

Before the 2024 season, Gragson was competing with Legacy Motor Club prior to his mid-season suspension. Previously, he made select Cup starts between Beard Motorsports, Kaulig Racing and Hendrick Motorsports during the 2021 and 2022 seasons. He is also a 13-time race winner in the Xfinity Series and a two-time Craftsman Truck Series race winner, where he has finished a career-best runner-up in the final standings for both seasons.

Gragson, who is set to become the 44th competitor overall to make at least one Cup start with Front Row Motorsports, is set to be teammates with Todd Gilliland as part of the team’s three-car stable lineup for the 2025 season. Ironically, Gragson and Gilliland were teammates in the Truck Series during the 2017 and 2018 seasons, where both drove for Kyle Busch Motorsports. Front Row Motorsports’ third driver for the third Cup entry is yet to be determined as Michael McDowell, the 2021 Daytona 500 champion who is in his seventh season with the organization, is set to join Spire Motorsports for next season.

Photo by John Knittel for SpeedwayMedia.com.

As Berry, Briscoe and Gragson prepare for new adventures in 2025, Ryan Preece, the fourth Stewart-Haas Racing competitor, has yet to secure a new ride at this season’s conclusion. Preece, the 2013 Whelen Modified Tour champion from Berlin, Connecticut, is currently campaigning in his second full-time season with SHR and in the No. 41 Ford entry, where he is ranked in 26th place in the driver’s standings on the strength of two top-10 results and a strong fourth-place run at Nashville Superspeedway in late June.

Through 171 current starts in the Cup Series, Preece’s highlights include winning his first pole position at Martinsville Speedway in April 2023, where he would lead a race-high 135 laps, and notching a total of four top-five results. Additional highlights for Preece across NASCAR’s top three national touring series include winning twice in both the Xfinity and Truck Series apiece, all while he continues to pursue his first Cup victory and that would enable him to be a force to be reckoned with in the Cup division for years to come.

Preece is not the only SHR competitor who is a free agent looking ahead to the 2025 NASCAR season. SHR’s two full-time Xfinity Series competitors that include Cole Custer and Riley Herbst have also yet to establish their plans for the future.

Custer, the reigning Xfinity Series champion and the current 2024 regular-season points leader from Ladera Ranch, California, is currently competing in his fifth full-time season in the Xfinity circuit, where he is piloting the No. 00 Ford Mustang, and second in a row since returning from full-time Cup Series racing from 2020 to 2022. During Custer’s three-year Cup campaign, he notched his first career victory at Kentucky Speedway in July 2020 following a four-wide pass for the lead on the final lap. Custer’s Kentucky victory automatically guaranteed him a spot in the 2020 Cup Playoffs. Despite ending up in 16th place in the final standings, Custer claimed the 2020 Rookie-of-the-Year title. To go along with one Cup career victory, Custer has also accumulated 13 victories in the Xfinity circuit and two in the Truck circuit, where he holds the record for being the youngest winner in the latter series at age 16. With Custer’s father, Joe, set to become the president of Haas’ rebranded team in 2025, Cole Custer is widely rumored to claim the seat of Haas’ lone Cup program entry, though an official announcement has yet to be made.

Meanwhile, Herbst, a one-time Xfinity Series race winner and driver of the No. 98 Ford Mustang from Las Vegas, Nevada, is left with uncertainly looking ahead to next season despite being on track to contend in this year’s Xfinity Playoffs as he is ranked in sixth place in the regular-season standings. Herbst is currently campaigning in his fifth consecutive full-time season in the Xfinity circuit and fourth with SHR amid an eventful career where he has recorded 79 top-10 results in 160 Xfinity starts and made the series’ Playoffs from 2020 to 2022. In addition to racing full-time in the Xfinity Series, Herbst has made seven Cup starts over the previous two seasons, including three between Rick Ware Racing and Front Row Motorsports. With a variety of stars left with uncertainty ahead of the 2025 season, it all but creates a variety of opportunities for Herbst to land a new home for the foreseeable future.

Photo by John Knittel for SpeedwayMedia.com.

With Stewart-Haas Racing set for major downsizing changes in 2025, the organization’s 2024 NASCAR season continues with the series’ lone visit to Pocono Raceway. SHR’s Xfinity Series program competes at Pocono for the Explore The Pocono Mountains 225 this Saturday, July 13th, at 3 p.m. ET on USA Network while SHR’s Cup program competes in The Great American Getaway 400 this Sunday, July 14th, at 2:30 p.m. ET on USA Network.

July 11, 2024
Stenhouse to make 400th Cup career start at Phoenix

With the 2023 NASCAR Cup Series season set to conclude this weekend at Phoenix Raceway, Ricky Stenhouse Jr. is set to achieve a milestone start of his own. By competing in this weekend’s Cup Series Championship Race at Phoenix Raceway, the driver of the No. 47 JTG-Daugherty Racing Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 will reach career start No. 400 in NASCAR’s premier series.

A native of Olive Branch, Mississippi, Stenhouse made his inaugural presence in the Cup Series at Charlotte Motor Speedway during the Coca-Cola 600 in May 2011. By then, he was campaigning on a full-time basis for Roush Fenway Racing in the Xfinity Series and served as an interim competitor for his Xfinity teammate Trevor Bayne in the No. 21 Wood Brothers Racing Ford Fusion. Starting in ninth place, Stenhouse recorded an 11th-place finish in his Cup Series debut.

The following season and after winning his first Xfinity Series championship, Stenhouse, who remained in the Xfinity circuit to defend his title, made four starts throughout the 2012 Cup Series season and in the No. 6 Ford Fusion for Roush Fenway Racing. His first start occurred during the 54th running of the Daytona 500 at Daytona International Speedway, where he rallied from being involved in a late multi-car wreck to finish 20th. He proceeded to finish a season-best 12th at Dover before finishing 35th and 39th, respectively, during his next two starts at Charlotte Motor Speedway and at Homestead-Miami Speedway.

After winning his second consecutive Xfinity Series championship in 2012, Stenhouse was promoted to the Cup Series to pilot Roush Fenway Racing’s No. 17 Ford Fusion on a full-time basis, where he replaced the 2003 Cup champion Matt Kenseth as Kenseth moved to Joe Gibbs Racing. Stenhouse’s rookie Cup campaign commenced with a 12th-place finish in the 55th running of the Daytona 500.

He proceeded to record his first Cup pole position at Atlanta Motor Speedway in September, six top-15 results and 18 top-20 results throughout the first 25 scheduled events. Despite not making the 2013 Cup Series Playoffs, the Mississippi native notched his first top-10 career result in the Cup circuit by finishing in 10th place during the regular-season finale at Richmond Raceway. He then finished eighth during the Playoff opener at Chicagoland Speedway the following weekend before achieving his first top-five finish in the form of a third-place run at Talladega Superspeedway in October five races later. Managing two top-20 finishes during the final three-scheduled events, Stenhouse capped off his rookie Cup Series season in 19th place in the final standings and claimed the Rookie-of-the-Year title over Danica Patrick. Overall, Stenhouse achieved a pole, one top-five result, three top-10 results, 35 laps led and an average finishing result of 18.9.

The following season, Stenhouse commenced the 2014 Cup season by finishing seventh during the 56th running of the Daytona 500. Three races later, he notched a career-best runner-up result behind teammate Carl Edwards at Bristol Motor Speedway in March. He would then endure a difficult regular-season period that included only three additional top-10 results during his next 22 starts as he did not make the 2014 Playoffs. During the Playoffs, Stenhouse’s low point occurred when he did not qualify at Talladega. Managing a total of five top-20 results during his final nine starts of the season, with his best result being 15th at Martinsville Speedway, Stenhouse concluded his sophomore Cup season in 27th place in the final standings and with an average-finishing result of 22.4.

The following two Cup seasons, Stenhouse accumulated a total of five top-five results, nine top-10 results, 37 top-20 results and nine laps led, with his best result being a runner-up finish behind Kevin Harvick at Bristol in August 2016. Despite not making the Playoffs during both seasons, he achieved a 25th-place result in the 2015 final standings with an average-finishing result of 24.3 and a 21st-place result following the 2016 season with an average-finishing result of 19.6. By then, he also surpassed 100 career starts in NASCAR’s premier series.

The 2017 Cup Series season was a breakout year for Stenhouse, who rallied from ending up 31st during the 59th running of the Daytona 500 amid a late multi-car wreck to finish fourth three races later at Phoenix Raceway amid a late pit strategy to remain on the track on old tires. After recording top-10 results in three of his next five starts, including a fourth-place run at Richmond Raceway, Stenhouse notched his second Cup career pole position at Talladega in May. He then proceeded to lead the first 13 laps and avoid a late multi-car pileup to overtake Kyle Busch on the final lap during an overtime restart and score his first career win in the Cup Series.

By then, he achieved the first Cup victory for Roush Fenway Racing since teammate Carl Edwards won at Sonoma Raceway in June 2014 and the first for Roush’s No. 17 entry since Matt Kenseth won at Kansas Speedway in October 2012. Seven races later, Stenhouse scored his second Cup career victory at Daytona in July after overtaking David Ragan during an overtime restart. Despite recording seven top-20 results during his next nine starts, the pair of superspeedway victories cemented Stenhouse and the No. 17 team into the 2017 Cup Series Playoffs, which was the first for the Mississippi native. Stenhouse then managed to transfer from the Playoff’s Round of 16 to 12 despite notching three consecutive top-25 results during the first Playoff round. With respective finishes of 13th, 26th and 29th throughout the Round of 12, Stenhouse was eliminated from title contention. Nonetheless, he capped off the 2017 season with four consecutive top-15 results before settling in a career-best 13th place in the final standings. By then, Stenhouse had tied his highest mark of top-five results accumulated in a Cup season to four while also recording career-high stats in top 10s (nine) and laps led (56) with a career-best average-finishing result of 17.1.

The following two seasons, Stenhouse went winless, but accumulated a total of four top-five results, eight top-10 results, 43 top-20 results and 242 laps led, with his best result being a third-place run at Talladega in October 2018. Despite leading 133 and 109 laps during the 2018 and 2019 seasons, respectively, he did not make the Playoffs during both seasons as he ended up in 18th place in the 2018 final standings with an average-finishing result of 19.4 and 23rd in the 2019 final standings with an average-finishing result of 20.5. By then, Stenhouse also surpassed 200 Cup career starts.

In mid-September 2019, Roush Fenway Racing announced plans to replace Stenhouse with Chris Buescher for the 2020 Cup season. A month later, though, Stenhouse joined forces with JTG-Daugherty Racing to drive the No. 47 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 1LE on a full-time basis for the upcoming Cup season. In his first start with JTG-Daugherty Racing, he notched his third Cup career pole for the 62nd running of the Daytona 500 after posting a pole-winning lap at 194.582 mph in 46.253 seconds. Despite leading 24 laps, Stenhouse was penalized late for advancing his position below the double yellow line boundary zone and was involved in a late incident during a green-flag pit stop cycle, which resulted in him finishing 20th.

He rallied the following weekend at Las Vegas Motor Speedway by finishing third amid a late pit strategy for a two-lap shootout before finishing fourth at Charlotte in May and second at Talladega in June after being edged by Ryan Blaney by 0.007 seconds. Ultimately, Stenhouse recorded 13 top-20 results throughout the 26-race regular-season stretch, which were not enough for him to make the 2020 Playoffs. With only six top-20 results recorded during the final 10 events on the schedule, including a 12th-place run at Texas Motor Speedway in October, Stenhouse concluded his first season with JTG-Daugherty Racing in 24th place in the final standings and with an average-finishing result of 22.6.

The following two seasons, Stenhouse achieved two top-five results, seven top-10 results, 36 top-20 results and 112 laps led, including a pair of runner-up finishes at the Bristol Motor Speedway Dirt Course in March 2021 and at Dover Motor Speedway in May 2022. After missing the Playoffs during both seasons, Stenhouse ended up 22nd in the 2021 final standings with an average-finishing result of 19.7, where he notched top-18 results during the first nine-scheduled events, before dropping to 26th place in the 2022 final standings with average-finishing result of 22.8. By then, he also surpassed 300 Cup career starts.

This season, Stenhouse’s fourth campaign with JTG-Daugherty Racing commenced on a high note with the driver leading the final 10 laps and fending off the field during two overtime attempts and amid two multi-car wrecks to win the 65th running of the Daytona 500 in February. The 500 victory made Stenhouse the 42nd different competitor to win the Great American Race in Daytona Beach, Florida.

He also recorded his third Cup Series career victory, his first since winning at Daytona in July 2017 and the second overall for JTG-Daugherty Racing since the time last he won at Watkins Glen International with AJ Allmendinger in August 2014. Managing a total of seven top-10 results and 18 top-20 results throughout the 26-race regular-season stretch, Stenhouse secured a spot into the Cup Series Playoffs for the second time in his career. Following respective finishes of 16th, 23rd and 10th during the Round of 16, however, Stenhouse was one of four competitors to be eliminated from title contention.

He has since finished no higher than ninth place during his next six Cup starts and he is currently ranked in 16th place in this year’s driver’s standings entering the season-finale event at Phoenix.

Through 399 previous Cup starts, Stenhouse has achieved three victories, three poles, 22 top-five results, 54 top-10 results, 561 laps led and an average-finishing result of 20.5.

Stenhouse is scheduled to make his 400th Cup Series career start in the 2023 series finale at Phoenix Raceway on Sunday, November 5, with the event’s coverage to occur at 3 p.m. ET on NBC.

November 1, 2023
Harrison Burton confirms return to Wood Brothers Racing for 2024 Cup Series season

Harrison Burton will remain with the Wood Brothers Racing and continue to drive the No. 21 Ford Mustang in the 2024 NASCAR Cup Series season, as confirmed during this weekend’s activities at Talladega Superspeedway.

The news comes as the 22-year-old Burton from Huntersville, North Carolina, is currently campaigning in his second full-time season in NASCAR’s premier series for the legendary organization, where he is currently ranked in 31st place in the driver’s standings on the strength of two top-10 results and an average-finishing result of 24.5.

“At the end of the day, it’s fairly easy for me because I am happy where I’m at, and I hope to continue to race where I’m at,” Burton said. “You know, it’s fairly easy for me to kind of just go to work with the guys that I’ve worked with for the last year and a half or so, and yeah, it’s not super distracting at this point.”

During the 2021 season, Burton, who was campaigning in his second full-time stint in the Xfinity Series for Joe Gibbs Racing, made his inaugural presence in the Cup Series at Talladega Superspeedway in April 2021 for Gaunt Brothers Racing, where he finished 20th. Three months later, Burton was named a full-time Cup competitor for Wood Brothers Racing for the 2022 season, where he replaced Matt DiBenedetto and piloted the iconic No. 21 Ford Mustang. In his first full-time Cup season, Burton notched a career-best third-place finish at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway Road Course. He proceeded to collect two top-10 results, lead 35 laps and record an average-finishing result of 22.8 before settling in 27th place in the final standings and runner-up to the Rookie-of-the-Year battle behind Austin Cindric.

This season, Burton’s highest on-track results include a sixth-place finish at Darlington Raceway in May and an eighth-place run at Pocono Raceway in July. After spending the first 26 scheduled events with crew chief Brian Wilson, who was with Burton since last season, Burton has been paired with veteran crew chief Jeremy Bullins as part of a Team Penske-Wood Brothers crew chief swap that involved Austin Cindric since the start of the 2023 Cup Series Playoffs and the duo are coming off a 20th-place finish at Texas Motor Speedway. Both Burton and Bullins are scheduled to remain together with the No. 21 team for the 2024 season.

Through 67 Cup starts, Burton has notched one top-five result, four top-10 results, 60 laps led and an average-finishing result of 23.5 as he continues his pursuit for his first victory in NASCAR’s premier series.

With his plans for next season set, Burton’s next scheduled Cup start is slated to occur at Talladega Superspeedway on Sunday, October 1. The event’s coverage is scheduled to air at 2 p.m. ET on NBC.

September 30, 2023
Blaney to make 300th Cup career start at Texas

Competing in his eighth full-time season in the NASCAR Cup Series, Ryan Blaney is poised to achieve a milestone start. By taking the green flag in this weekend’s Playoff event at Texas Motor Speedway, the driver of the No. 12 Team Penske Ford Mustang will achieve career start No. 300 in NASCAR’s premier series.

A native of High Point, North Carolina, Blaney made his inaugural presence in NASCAR’s premier series at Kansas Speedway in May 2014. By then, he was competing in his second full-time season in the NASCAR Truck Series with Brad Keselowski Racing and had accumulated two victories in the series along with his first Xfinity Series win at Kentucky Speedway in September 2013. Driving the No. 12 Ford Fusion for Team Penske, Blaney started 21st and finished 27th in his Cup debut. He then made his second series start at Talladega Superspeedway five months later, where he finished 22nd despite starting fourth.

The following season, Blaney competed on a part-time basis in the Cup Series for the Wood Brothers Racing, where he piloted the iconic No. 21 Ford Fusion. He entered in 16 of the 36-race schedule and went on to achieve a season-best fourth-place result at Talladega Superspeedway in May along with a total of two top-10 results and an average-finishing result of 25.3.

In 2016, Blaney was named a full-time Cup Series competitor in the No. 21 Ford Fusion for Wood Brothers Racing, which embarked on its first full-time campaign since 2008. Commencing his rookie campaign with a 19th-place result in the 58th running of the Daytona 500, Blaney’s highlights throughout the regular-season stretch included a fourth-place run at Michigan International Speedway in August, a fifth-place finish at Kansas Speedway in May and a sixth-place result at Las Vegas Motor Speedway in March.

Despite notching seven top-10 results throughout the 26-race regular-season stretch, he did not qualify for the 2016 Cup Playoffs. He rallied by finishing fourth at Chicagoland Speedway in September after utilizing a late pit strategy to remain out on the track on old tires for a two-lap shootout and inherit the lead until being overtaken by Martin Truex Jr. during the restart.

Finishing no higher than eighth for the final nine scheduled events, Blaney capped off his first full-time Cup season in 20th place in the final standings and in the runner-up spot behind Chase Elliott for the rookie title on the strength of three top-five results, nine top-10 results and an average-finishing result of 18.5.

Remaining with the Wood Brothers organization for the 2017 Cup season, Blaney kickstarted the season on a strong note by finishing in second place in the 59th running of the Daytona 500 behind Kurt Busch. He then endured an up-and-down voyage through the following 12 events by posting three results in the top 10. The highlight during this stretch was achieving his first Cup career pole at Kansas in May, where he went on to lead 83 of 267 laps and battle Truex for the victory until settling in fourth place in the final running order.

Then at Pocono Raceway in June, Blaney withstood a fierce duel against Kyle Busch to assume the lead with 10 laps remaining before holding off Kevin Harvick to score his first Cup career victory in his 68th career start. By then, Blaney recorded the 99th Cup victory for Wood Brothers Racing as he also became the third first-time winner of the 2017 season and the 189th different competitor to win in NASCAR’s premier series.

After achieving an additional four top-10 results for the remaining 12 scheduled events, where he surpassed 100 Cup career starts, the Pocono victory guaranteed Blaney and the No. 21 Wood Brothers team a spot in the Cup Playoffs for the first time. With four top-11 runs throughout the Rounds of 16 and 12, Blaney transferred all the way to the Round of 8, where his title hopes came to an end with respective finishes of eighth, sixth and 17th. With a 29th-place result at Homestead-Miami Speedway in November, Blaney concluded his sophomore Cup campaign in ninth place in the final standings. Overall, he achieved a victory, his first two poles, four top-five results, 14 top-10 results, 301 laps led and an average-finishing result of 17.3 throughout the 36-race schedule.

In July 2017, Blaney was announced to be rejoining Team Penske to pilot the No. 12 Ford Fusion while Paul Menard would be taking over the No. 21 Wood Brothers Racing Ford Fusion for the 2018 Cup season. Blaney started the 2018 season with early momentum after winning the first of two Daytona Duel events at Daytona in February, which awarded him the third-place starting spot for the 60th running of the Daytona 500. During the 500, he led a race-high 118 laps and was in contention until he was involved in a late multi-car wreck, an incident that relegated him back to seventh place in the final scoreboard.

Throughout the 26-race regular-season stretch, Blaney and the No. 12 team achieved five top-five results and 12 top-10 results with their highest on-track result occurring at Kentucky Speedway in July, as they made the 2018 Cup Playoffs. By then, he surpassed 100 career starts in NASCAR’s premier series. During the first two events in the Round of 16, Blaney finished fifth and 19th, respectively. Then during the inaugural Charlotte Motor Speedway Road Course event, he notched his first elusive victory of the season and transferred to the Round of 12 after dodging a final lap incident involving Truex and Jimmie Johnson.

During the Round of 12, however, Blaney’s title hopes evaporated with respective finishes of 11th, 29th, and seventh. Managing a strong runner-up result at Texas Motor Speedway in November and through the final four scheduled events, he capped off the season in 10th place in the final standings. By then, Blaney doubled his top-five results (eight), recorded two additional top-10 results (16 total) and a pole (three total), increased his laps led (660 total) and improved his average-finishing result (14.8) from his previous Cup season.

For the 2019 Cup season, Blaney clinched a spot in the Playoffs for a third consecutive season on the strength of seven top-five results and 12 top-10 results throughout the 26-race regular-season stretch. After notching two top-10 results during the Round of 16 and transferring to the Round of 12, he captured his first Cup victory of the season at Talladega in October after edging Ryan Newman at the finish line by 0.007 seconds and during a two-lap shootout. With an automatic pass to the Round of 8, Blaney finished no lower than eighth throughout the round but fell short of transferring to the Championship 4 finale by two spots in the Playoff standings. With an 11th-place finish at Homestead, he capped off his junior Cup season with 11 top-five results, 18 top-10 results, 422 laps led and an average-finishing result of 13.7.

In 2020, Blaney commenced the season by being edged by Denny Hamlin by 0.014 seconds in the 62nd running of the Daytona 500 amid a harrowing final lap accident involving Newman, whom Blaney bumped and sent into the outside wall and upside-down while battling for the victory. He rallied 12 races later by edging Ricky Stenhouse Jr. by 0.007 seconds to win at Talladega for a second consecutive time and for his fourth career victory in NASCAR’s premier series. The Talladega victory along with a total of eight top-five results and 11 top-10 results ensured Blaney a spot for the 2020 Cup Playoffs.

His title hopes, however, came to an early end after finishing no higher than 13th during the Round of 16. Nonetheless, he capped off the season with momentum and with six top-10 results during the final seven scheduled events before finishing in ninth place in the final standings. While he tied his accumulated top-five results (11) and led more laps than his previous season (668 total), he earned one less top-10 result from his previous season (17) and with an average-finishing result of 13.8.

The 2021 season was a career year for Blaney, who finished no higher than fifth during the first five scheduled events before notching his first victory of the season at Atlanta Motor Speedway in March after overtaking Kyle Larson under the final 10 laps. By then, he surpassed 200 Cup career starts. He proceeded to finish in the top 10 nine times during the following 18 events before capping off the regular-season stretch with back-to-back victories at Michigan and Daytona in August. Making his fifth consecutive appearance in the Cup Playoffs, Blaney transferred all the way from the Round of 16 to 8 on the strength of four top-10 results. He, however, did not transfer to the Championship 4 round due to respective finishes of sixth, 37th and 11th during the Round of 8 as he went on to finish fourth in the finale at Phoenix Raceway in November and seventh in the final standings. In addition to achieving his first multi-victory season, Blaney also recorded a total of 11 top-five results for a third consecutive season, a career-high 20 top-10 results and a career-best average-finishing result of 11.9.

This past season, Blaney endured his first winless season in the Cup circuit for the first time since 2016 despite achieving three poles, eight top-five and 12 top-10 results throughout the regular season. Mired within the results was his first All-Star victory at Texas in May, where he fended off Hamlin during a two-lap shootout. With a 15th-place result in the regular-season finale at Daytona in August, Blaney claimed the final transfer spot to the 2022 Cup Playoffs by a mere margin over Truex. Despite transferring all the way from the Round of 16 to 8 with three top-10 results, he missed the cutline to make the Championship 4 despite finishing as high as third during the Round of 8.

Blaney ended up finishing in second place in the finale at Phoenix, which marked his second runner-up result of the season, and in seventh place in the final standings. Despite recording three less top-10 results compared to his previous season (17 total) and with an average-finishing result of 13.6, he achieved a career-high 12 top-five runs.

Blaney commenced the 2023 Cup season with an eighth-place finish in the 65th running of the Daytona 500 despite being in two separate multi-car wrecks. He then proceeded to notch six additional top-10 results during the following 12 events, including two runner-up results. At Charlotte Motor Speedway for the Coca-Cola 600 in May, Blaney made a triumphant return to Victory Lane after leading a race-high 163 of 400 laps and beating William Byron by six-tenths of a second to notch his eighth career victory in NASCAR’s premier series and first since winning at Daytona in August 2021. With a guaranteed spot for the 2023 Cup Playoffs based on his Charlotte win, Blaney secured four additional top-10 results during the remaining 12 regular-season events before the Playoffs commenced. Despite recording respective finishes of ninth, 12th and 22nd during the Round of 16, Blaney was one of 12 competitors to advance into the Round of 12. He is currently ranked in 11th place in the Playoff standings with 3,008 points as he prepares to tackle the Round of 12 and continue his quest to contend for his first Cup Series championship.

Through 299 previous Cup starts, Blaney has achieved eight victories, nine poles, 65 top-five results, 126 top-10 results, 3,489 laps led and an average-finishing result of 15.5.

Blaney is scheduled to make his 300th Cup Series career start at Texas Motor Speedway on Sunday, September 24, with the event’s coverage to occur at 3:30 p.m. ET on USA Network.

September 20, 2023
Team Penske and Wood Brothers announce crew chief swap for Cindric and Burton, beginning in 2023 Cup Series Playoffs

With the 2023 NASCAR Cup Series Playoffs days away from commencing, Team Penske and Wood Brothers Racing announced a crew chief swap for two of their combined Penske-affiliated entries for the remainder of this season and entering the 2024 season.

Beginning with the Playoff opener next Sunday at Darlington Raceway, Jeremy Bullins, who was the crew chief for Team Penske’s No. 2 Ford Mustang entry piloted by Austin Cindric, will reunite with Wood Brothers Racing and lead the No. 21 team piloted by Harrison Burton. As a result, Brian Wilson, who was atop the pit box of Wood Brothers Racing’s No. 21 team for more than a season, will return to Team Penske and reunite with Cindric to lead the No. 2 team in NASCAR’s premier series.

The move for Bullins, a native of Walnut Cove, North Carolina, to Wood Brothers Racing, reignites a dynamic pairing as Bullins spent the 2015-17 seasons with the championship-winning organization as a Cup crew chief with Ryan Blaney piloting the No. 21 entry. Through 88 events, Bullins led Blaney and the No. 21 team to a late victory at Pocono Raceway in June 2017, which marks the 99th and latest victory for Wood Brothers Racing, and they went on to make the Playoffs and finish in ninth place in the final standings. The driver-crew chief duo also achieved a combined two poles, eight top-five results, 25 top-10 results and 332 laps led before both departed Wood Brothers and moved to Team Penske in 2018.

From 2018 through the first 26 events of the 2023 season, Bullins has achieved eight Cup victories while working with three different competitors (Blaney, Brad Keselowski and Austin Cindric). His latest triumph was winning the 2022 Daytona 500 with Cindric, who proceeded to finish 12th in the final standings and claim the Rookie-of-the-Year title. He also achieved a breakout season with Keselowski in 2020, with the duo achieving four victories and making the Championship 4 round before finishing in the runner-up spot in the final standings. In addition to his success in the Cup Series, Bullins has 21 victories as an Xfinity Series crew chief under his resume and played an instrumental role in leading Penske’s No. 22 entry to back-to-back Xfinity owner’s championships (2013 and 2014).

This season, Bullins and Cindric have only achieved three top-10 results and an average-finishing result of 21.1 through 26 scheduled events. Their best on-track results of this season thus far were three sixth-place runs at Las Vegas Motor Speedway and Circuit of the Americas in March along with the inaugural Chicago Street Course in July. Currently situated in 22nd place in the standings, they did not make the 2023 Cup Series Playoffs a year after making it.

For Wilson, the transition to Team Penske’s No. 2 team reunites the Detroit, Michigan, native back with the three-time Cup Series championship-winning organization to which he first joined in 2004 and was a race engineer during Penske’s first Xfinity Series championship in 2010 and first Cup Series championship in 2012, both achieved by former Penske competitor Brad Keselowski.

Photo by John Knittel for SpeedwayMedia.com.

Wilson called over 160 Xfinity events as a crew chief and achieved 23 victories from 2016-21, 13 of which were made by Austin Cindric and with whom Wilson will also reunite. During this span, he led Team Penske’s No. 22 entry to three Xfinity owner’s championships (2017, 2020, and 2021) and guided Cindric to the 2020 Xfinity Series driver’s championship. He also called his first four Cup events as a crew chief for Keselowski and the No. 2 entry in 2017 before being named a full-time Cup crew chief for Harrison Burton and the No. 21 Wood Brothers Racing team in 2022, who ended up 27th in the final standings.

This season, Wilson and Burton have only achieved two top-10 results and an average-finishing result of 23.8 through 26 scheduled events. Their best on-track result of this season thus far was a sixth-place run at Darlington in May. Currently situated in 30th place in the standings, they too did not make the Playoffs for a second consecutive season.

Team Penske + Wood Brothers to Trade Crew Chiefs

Effective immediately for 2023 & 2024, Brian Wilson will serve as CC for Austin Cindric and the No. 2 Team Penske Ford Mustang. Jeremy Bullins will serve as the CC for Harrison Burton and the No. 21 Wood Brothers Ford Mustang. pic.twitter.com/QMvwlEB1SK
— Team Penske (@Team_Penske) August 28, 2023

With Bullins now paired with Burton and Wilson reunited with Cindric, the new driver-crew chief duo sets their sights on concluding the 2023 season on a strong note, beginning in this weekend’s NASCAR Cup Series Playoff opener at Darlington Raceway for the Cook Out Southern 500. The event is scheduled to occur on Sunday, September 3, at 6 p.m. ET on USA Network.

August 28, 2023
Brian Wilson joins Wood Brothers Racing as crew chief for Harrison Burton in 2022

The legendary Wood Brothers Racing team took to social media to announce that Brian Wilson will be joining the organization to serve as crew chief for rookie Harrison Burton and the iconic No. 21 Ford Mustang team for the 2022 NASCAR Cup Series season.

Wilson, a native from Detroit, Michigan, and a graduate from North Carolina State University with a degree in mechanical engineering, is coming off his sixth season as a crew chief in the NASCAR Xfinity Series for Team Penske. He guided Austin Cindric and the No. 22 Ford Mustang team to five victories, a pole, 22 top-five results, 26 top-10 results, an average-finishing result of 8.2, a runner-up result in the driver’s standings with Cindric and an owner’s championship for the team in 2021, which marked Team Penske’s sixth Xfinity owner’s title.

Having spent the previous three seasons as a full-time crew chief for Cindric, Wilson achieved his first championship as a crew chief during the 2020 Xfinity season with Cindric, who won six races and achieved 19 top-five results, 26 top-10 results and an average-finishing result of 8.6 throughout the season.

In 163 appearances as an Xfinity crew chief that spans back to 2016 and all with Team Penske, Wilson achieved 23 career victories between four different competitors (Ryan Blaney, Austin Cindric, Brad Keselowski and Joey Logano). He also achieved 14 poles, 89 top-five results and 126 top-10 results between six different competitors, including Sam Hornish Jr. and Paul Menard.

The 2022 season will mark Wilson’s first as a full-time NASCAR Cup Series crew chief. He previously served as a Cup crew chief in four races in 2017 for Brad Keselowski and Penske’s No. 2 Ford Fusion team, where Keselowski finished in the top 10 in all races Wilson was atop the pit box and calling the shots. Wilson also served as a race engineer for Keselowski in the Cup circuit for five seasons prior to becoming an Xfinity crew chief in 2016.

Wilson replaces Jonathan Hassler, a former Team Penske race engineer who became the crew chief for the Wood Brothers Racing team in June and in place of veteran Greg Erwin. Hassler is set to join Team Penske and serve as crew chief for Ryan Blaney and the No. 12 Ford Mustang team for the 2022 Cup season.

First piece of business, we’d like to introduce a relative newcomer to the #NASCAR world. A fella named Brian Wilson (maybe you haven’t heard of him, he’s only got an xfinity championship and runner up finish to his name, among others) will be our crew chief starting in LA. pic.twitter.com/WfcP1u1vKu
— Wood Brothers Racing (@woodbrothers21) November 11, 2021

The 2022 season will also mark the first full-time Cup campaign for driver Harrison Burton, who is set to pilot the No. 21 Ford as a Cup Series Rookie-of-the-Year contender. The second-generation competitor from Huntersville, North Carolina, spent the previous two seasons in the NASCAR Xfinity Series with Joe Gibbs Racing. During the two-year span, Burton achieved four career victories, 25 top-five results, 44 top-10 results, an average-finishing result of 11.4 and two Xfinity Playoff appearances, where he finished in eighth place in the final standings in both seasons.

Burton replaces Matt DiBenedetto, who spent the previous two seasons driving for the Wood Brothers in the Cup circuit. In two seasons, DiBenedetto earned six top-five results, 20 top-10 results and a Cup Playoff appearance in 2020, where he finished in 13th place in the final standings. DiBenedetto, who finished 18th in the 2021 Cup final standings, has yet to announce his plans for the upcoming NASCAR season.

Wilson is set to make his NASCAR Cup Series crew chief debut with the Wood Brothers Racing team in 2022, beginning at Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum for the Busch Light Clash at The Coliseum. The event is scheduled to occur on February 6, 2022, at 8 p.m. ET on FS1.

November 11, 2021
Stenhouse to make 300th Cup start at Martinsville

Competing in his ninth full-time season in the NASCAR Cup Series, Ricky Stenhouse Jr. is within reach of a milestone start. By competing in this weekend’s event at Martinsville Speedway, the driver of the No. 47 JTG-Daugherty Racing Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 1LE will achieve career start No. 300 in NASCAR’s premier series.

A native of Olive Branch, Mississippi, Stenhouse made his Cup Series debut in May 2011 during the Coca-Cola 600 at Charlotte Motor Speedway. By then, he was a full-time Xfinity Series competitor for Roush Fenway Racing. Driving the No. 21 Ford Fusion for the legendary Wood Brothers Racing team as a substitute competitor for Trevor Bayne, Stenhouse recorded an impressive 11th-place result in his Cup debut.

Returning for four Cup races in 2012 and in Roush Fenway Racing’s No. 6 Ford Fusion, Stenhouse made his first start of the season at Daytona International Speedway in February for the 54th annual running of the Daytona 500. He finished 20th after being involved in a late multi-car wreck. He went on to finish a season-best 12th at Dover International Speedway in September, 35th at Charlotte Motor Speedway in October and 39th at Homestead-Miami Speedway in November. Despite the struggles during his part-time Cup schedule, Stenhouse went on to win the 2012 Xfinity Series championship, which marked his second title in two years after winning his first in 2011.

In 2013, Stenhouse graduated to the Cup Series on a full-time basis and in Roush Fenway Racing’s No. 17 Ford Fusion, where he replaced the 2003 Cup champion Matt Kenseth. Starting with a 12th-place result in the season-opening Daytona 500, Stenhouse captured his first Cup career pole at Atlanta Motor Speedway in August and a career-best third-place result at Talladega Superspeedway in October. He also earned a total of three top-10 results, an average result of 18.9 and a 19th-place result in the final standings. Above all, he captured the 2013 Cup Rookie-of-the-Year title over Danica Patrick.

Stenhouse opened his sophomore Cup season (2014) on a strong note by finishing seventh in the Daytona 500. Three races later, he notched a career-best second-place result at Bristol Motor Speedway in March behind teammate Carl Edwards. Despite recording a total of five top-10 results throughout the season, Stenhouse did not make the Playoffs and he failed to qualify for the Cup race at Talladega in October. In the end, he concluded his sophomore Cup season in 27th place in the final standings.

Remaining at Roush Fenway Racing for a third full-time Cup season in 2015, Stenhouse earned a season-best fourth place at Bristol in April and a total of three top-10 results. He went on to conclude the season in 25th place in the final standings. By then, he surpassed 100 Cup career starts.

In 2016, Stenhouse managed to earn a career-high four top-five results, including a runner-up result at Bristol in August, and six top-10 results. They were not enough, however, to draw him and his No. 17 Ford team into Playoff contention as the driver concluded the season in 21st place in the final standings.

Through the first nine Cup races of the 2017 season, Stenhouse earned two fourth-place results and was ranked in 15th place in the regular-season standings. The following race at Talladega, he earned his second Cup career pole. Stenhouse then went on to lead 14 laps and fend off a late battle against names like Kyle Busch, Jamie McMurray and Jimmie Johnson in overtime to capture his first Cup career win in his 158th series start. By then, Stenhouse became the 11th different competitor to win a first Cup race at Talladega and he recorded the first victory for Roush Fenway Racing since June 2014.

Seven races later, Stenhouse prevailed on another overtime shootout by overtaking David Ragan on the penultimate lap and fending off the field for a final circuit to collect his second Cup career victory in the Coke Zero Sugar 400 at Daytona in July. Despite not recording another top-10 result for the remaining nine regular-season events, Stenhouse’s superspeedway victories at Daytona and Talladega were enough for him to earn a Playoff spot for the first time in his career.

In the Playoff’s Round of 16, Stenhouse finished 25th, 15th and 19th, which were enough for him to advance to the Round of 12 by a slim margin. After finishing 13th, 26th and 29th in the Round of 12, however, he was eliminated from title contention. Despite the midway exit, Stenhouse went on to conclude the season in a career-best 13th place in the standings and in a season where he won his first two Cup career races and earned a pole, four top-five results, nine top-10 results and an average result of 17.1 (his overall best from a full-time Cup season).

The following two seasons, Stenhouse recorded a total of four top-five results and eight top-10 results along with a career-best 133 total laps led in 2018. He did not, however, make the Playoffs in both seasons, finishing 18th in the final standings in 2018 and 23rd in 2019. By then, he also surpassed 200 Cup career starts.

After five full-time seasons with Roush Fenway Racing, Stenhouse was replaced by Chris Buescher for the 2020 season. Not long after, though, Stenhouse joined JTG-Daugherty Racing to drive the No. 47 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 1LE for the upcoming season.

In his first run with JTG-Daugherty Racing, Stenhouse captured the pole position for the Daytona 500, which marked his third Cup career pole and third overall for the team. During the main event, however, Stenhouse, who led 24 laps, finished 20th after being involved in a late on-track incident while trying to enter pit road for a green flag pit stop. He rebounded the following race at Las Vegas Motor Speedway by finishing third following a late shootout to the finish. Stenhouse went on to finish fourth at Charlotte in May and a close second-place result at Talladega in June. The results, which included three top-five results and four top-10 results, were not enough for Stenhouse and the No. 47 Chevrolet team to qualify for the Playoffs as the driver concluded the season in 24th place in the final standings.

Stenhouse is coming off a strong runner-up result at the Bristol Motor Speedway Dirt Course and he is ranked in 14th place in the regular-season standings through the first seven Cup events of the 2021 season.

Through 299 previous Cup starts, Stenhouse has achieved two career victories, three poles, 19 top-five results, 39 top-10 results and an average result of 20.4.

Stenhouse is slated to make his 300th Cup career start at Martinsville Speedway on Saturday, April 10, at 7:30 p.m. ET on FS1.

April 7, 2021