With his father in the commentary booth, Harrison Burton turned the NASCAR playoff race on its head. The Wood Brothers Racing driver’s stunning last-lap win at the Coke Zero Sugar 400 saw him qualify for the playoffs despite being ranked P34. While this was a feel-good moment for the driver on his way out of the WBR at the end of the season, questions were raised about whether he merited his place in the postseason on the back of just one win and an overall underwhelming season.

Names such as Denny Hamlin and Kevin Harvick while not directly raising objections over Burton’s win, expressed their reservations about NASCAR’s current playoff system, which follows a “win and you’re in” format. But now that the first race of the playoffs is through, Burton’s presence in the top 16 is finding more acceptance from fellow drivers.

Brad Keselowski backs up Harrison Burton’s controversial playoff position

It took a while for everyone to come around, but now it looks like most have made peace with having Burton in the top 16. The jump from 34th was quite drastic, but Burton did nothing wrong and played by the book to make his way.

During the NASCAR Cup Series playoff media day last week, Fox Sports asked a few drivers about how they feel about Burton and his playoff appearance while the driver is also seeking a new ride for the 2025 season. Brad Keselowski was among those who had straightforward advice for the 23-year-old driver.

Speaking to Fox Sports Keselowski said about Burton, “You’re a race winner. Make sure you have a ride for the all-star race, whoever that is.” Keselowski’s first comment about Burton being a race winner is an obvious but strong reminder that the driver is in the postseason on merit. The current NASCAR rules dictate that you need to register one win to qualify for the playoffs. Burton did it and many of those above him failed to achieve it.

Just like Burton, others had the same opportunity in the regular season and he cannot be blamed for taking his chance. The truth as Keselowski put it is that Burton is a race winner and that holds merit and reputation. At Daytona, he held off Kyle Busch, way ahead of him in the standings in 16th spot, in the final lap to secure Wood Brother Racing’s 100th win.

While an impressive showing in the playoff will go a long in securing a ride for the next season for Burton, he had a less-than-ideal start in Atlanta.

The first playoff race turned out to be a disaster for the young driver, as he was involved in a late-race crash, which led to a DNF. After the race in Atlanta, Burton is placed 14th and is ‘on the bubble’ of missing out on the top 12. But there are still two races for him to get back in the game.

By the looks of it, anything can happen before 2025 starts and by getting into the top 12, Burton can further prove that he is not in the playoffs by luck. Currently, the Huntersville native is ‘on the bubble’ with Brad Keselowski, who is 1 point behind P12 in the playoffs.

Meanwhile apart from Keselowski, other drivers came forward to side with Burton’s playoff position and

Tyler Reddick the regular season champion, had some words to share about Burton. Speaking of Burton’s victory coming in after 90+ starts, Reddick mentioned, “He won in his 98th career start, and so did Chase Elliott and Kyle Larson. I think he’s set. He’ll figure it out.”

Kyle Larson joined in to defend the driver. Larson put things into perspective by saying, “He [Burton] seems like a positive person with a great mindset. He’s got a great mentor in his dad [Jeff Burton]…. You’ve just got to be positive; take each race in the playoffs week by week; try and do a good job.”

The 2021 champion reminded Burton that “these next 10, more eyes are on you with yourself being in the playoffs to do a good job. Whatever that next opportunity is, try to take advantage of it, work hard, run up front if you can, and just be a good leader for your team.” There was more support for Burton.

Ryan Blaney dismissed concerns about Burton meriting his playoff spot and said, “He did a great job of getting to this spot to earn a playoff spot and capitalizing on a moment and winning and jumping on the chance of that. He’s super motivated and his confidence level is really high as it should be.” We also heard from Denny Hamlin, who had a piece of advice for the young driver.

“Just have fun. Ultimately, probably a few weeks ago, he didn’t think he’d be in this position so you really have nothing to lose. Go out there and have fun. Don’t take it all too seriously. Just keep your normal routine and enjoy the moment,” he said.

Many other drivers spoke positively about Burton, which is a departure from what the narrative was following his win in Daytona.

Burton’s win and playoff win was heavily scrutinized by Hamlin and Kevin Harvick

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Shortly after Burton’s dramatic win, NASCAR insider Eric Estepp questioned whether the “win and you’re in” system is justified and how it affects more consistent drivers. On his YouTube channel, he mentioned, “Harrison Burton won tonight, a legitimate winner – he’s in the playoffs. But is Harrison Burton a playoff driver, or is the Wood Brothers a playoff team? No. They’ve been outside the top 30 in points all year…for the better part of 3 years.”

Denny Hamlin seemed in agreement and said that though this format adds excitement it might be unfair to those drivers that have been doing well in the regular season without a win. “I find that hard to swallow, but I know it’s the rules. So, it’s just up to us to win, right?” he stated.

Burton’s season before his win was less than remarkable. He had two Top 10 finishes and a solitary top-5 finish to his name with four DNFs. On an episode of ‘Kevin Harvick’s Happy Hour’ last month, the former driver questioned, “I just wonder what the balance is between ‘do we want our best 16 cars’ or do we want it to be exciting? This is not anything against Harrison Burton. It’s not anything against Daniel Suarez. But are those our best 16 cars that we’re going to have racing for the championship? Or does it matter?”

Well, Burton’s dramatic entrance into the playoffs did spark a debate, but it seems many people have slowly come around. The driver will hope for an extended postseason run after a disappointing start as his next season hopes also hang in the balance. Do you think that with the playoffs Burton will be able to book himself a ride for 2025? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below.