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Harrison Burton cut by crush panel, among other issues after debris flies into car at Daytona

Originally posted on 5 GOATs | By Jonathan Howard | Last updated Aug 22, 2025 11:15 PM ET

Before the caution came out for rain, Harrison Burton spun out on the backstretch at Daytona and had issues. The NASCAR driver told his team that he was hit by a crush panel, and he also had some kind of dust or debris get into his eyes.

NASCAR didn’t throw the caution flag. Harrison Burton spun out hard enough to break the crush panels, and then they came into the car and hit him. Burton says that he is all good and ready to get back to racing. But he has had a little bit of pain.

Burton was seen pouring water into his eyes. Then, in the video shown on The CW below, you can see the debris hit him. Red flag currently for weather, Burton is only a lap down, and there are only a few laps left in the stage. The 25 car should be back on the lead lap soon enough.

.@HBurtonRacing currently dealing with several issues. pic.twitter.com/b3sFiEL1so
— The CW Sports (@TheCW_Sports) August 23, 2025

Harrison Burton is in the middle of a points battle to make the playoffs. His cousin, Jeb Burton, trails him right now. However, this incident could be what puts Harrison behind enough to open the door for Jeb. Of course, there are two more races after this before the playoffs are completely decided.

Things are not over for Burton. He can get back on the lead lap pretty quickly. As long as his car holds up in the draft, he has a chance to add points to his lead on the other bubble drivers. But if things aren’t lining up and his speed suffers, we could see Jeb take advantage.

Harrison Burton fighting for playoff spot

With only 12 Xfinity Series drivers making the playoffs, Harrison Burton has to be on top of his game. There can’t be many more, if any, moments like his spin to start the first stage. When it comes to the thin points margins at the end of the regular season, one wreck can be what makes or breaks a season.

AM Racing brought Burton in because they needed someone to help guide them. Last year, they could barely get a top-10 finish with Joey Logano behind the wheel. There was also the fallout with Hailie Deegan. The two sides were just not compatible and needed different things at the time. It seems that Harrison has been a great fit.

This season, Harrison Burton has nine top-10 finishes, and two of those are top-fives. The performance overall has been much better than in 2024 for the AM Racing group. Burton won four races in the Xfinity Series during that 2020 season. It remains to be seen if he can get back to Victory Lane. He will at least try to make the playoffs.

This article first appeared on 5 GOATs and was syndicated with permission.

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