Harrison Burton's first playoff run was doomed from the start

NASCAR Cup Series driver Harrison Burton. Matthew O'Haren-Imagn Images

Harrison Burton's first NASCAR playoff run was doomed from the start

By Samuel Stubbs | Last updated Sep 21, 2024 10:29 PM ET

Harrison Burton may have been the easiest first-round exit in the history of the NASCAR Cup Series playoffs.

His historic win at Daytona on Aug. 24 was a feel-good story for both Burton and the Wood Brothers, but nobody really expected the team that was 34th out of 34 full-time drivers in points to make a serious postseason run.

Burton's doubters would be proven right in the first round of the playoffs, as finishes of 31st at Atlanta, 24th at Watkins Glen and 35th at Bristol resulted in Burton's elimination from the playoffs at the end of Saturday's Bristol night race. A mechanical issue put Burton behind both the wall and the eight ball, and the No. 21 team was unable to recover.

Mechanical issues for one of the drivers in the #NASCARPlayoffs!@HBurtonRacing is behind the wall. pic.twitter.com/qQbfiMTLGx
— NASCAR (@NASCAR) September 22, 2024

Burton's only top-10 finish of the season aside from his Daytona triumph was a 10th-place effort at Talladega on April 21, and for the third consecutive season, Burton and the No. 21 team struggled to find any semblance of speed.

Burton's poor performance culminated in the announcement that he wouldn't return to the Wood Brothers in 2025, with Josh Berry joining the team in Burton's place. On Friday, it was announced that Burton will return to the NASCAR Xfinity Series in 2025, driving the No. 15 car for AM Racing.

For now, Burton has seven more opportunities to win another race for the Wood Brothers in the 2024 season, beginning with the Kansas Speedway on Sept. 28.

Samuel Stubbs

Hailing from the same neck of the woods as NASCAR Hall of Famer Mark Martin, Samuel has been covering NASCAR for Yardbarker since February 2024. He has been a member of the National Motorsports Press Association (NMPA) since October of 2024. When he’s not writing about racing, Samuel covers Arkansas Razorback basketball for Yardbarker

More must-reads: