It almost took a decade! The last time Wood Brothers Racing won a Cup Series race was back in 2017 at Pocono Raceway. But that streak was finally broken at Daytona International Speedway when Harrison Burton was the first driver to cross the checkered flag, finishing ahead of Kyle Busch.

At that time, the only thing that must have crossed his mind was the sheer magnitude of the victory. After all, it was his first triumph at NASCAR’s highest level and his team’s 100th victory since its inception. But the race win had much bigger implications than what met the eye at the Coke Zero Sugar 400.

NASCAR legend Jeff Burton was in the booth, cheering his son’s victory, when he realized the massive reshuffle this win would’ve caused in the playoffs, affecting Bubba Wallace and Ross Chastain’s postseason hopes.

Harrison Burton’s victory causes playoff implications

What were the odds that Harrison Burton would secure a victory at Daytona? For many drivers, the penultimate race of the regular season was their best hope of securing a playoff spot. After all, superspeedways are notoriously unpredictable, allowing drivers to pull off an upset. Only this time, it wasn’t one of the usual suspects who got the result.

Instead, it was a driver who hadn’t ever won a Cup Series race, becoming the 13th racer to qualify for the postseason. With only three spots remaining and just one race at Darlington, the pressure is now on Bubba Wallace and Ross Chastain, who will need to improve on their 6th and 12th-place finishes from the Coke Zero Sugar 400 to qualify. Speaking to Motorsports on NBC, Jeff Burton expressed his regret at being insensitive about the impact of the race win on other drivers.

The 57-year-old said, “One of the regrets of the evening was not taking enough time to recognize the impact that that win had, right? Big as that win was for Harrison, it was equally as bad of a win for Ross Chastain and Bubba Wallace, who, by the way, both came to Victory Lane and congratulated Harrison with full sincerity.” As the two drivers did that, Jeff Burton soaked in the moment, which he called “different,” not because it was his son who won but because of how big a moment it was for NASCAR.

Harrison Burton made the playoffs despite being 34th in the standings – essentially last in the full-time races. And he did this just a few weeks after losing his seat for next year. So, instead of analyzing the consequences of the No. 21 driver’s Daytona win, “I think I got caught up in [the moment] and didn’t do a better job of addressing the implications. That’s the only regret that I have,” Jeff Burton said. And the implications are quite significant.

With just one race to go before the regular season ends, there are just three spots left in the postseason. Bubba Wallace is 21 points below the playoff cutline, which means a victory or securing enough points at Darlington Raceway would be imperative to secure a spot. The 23XI Racing driver will hope to secure some stage points to apply pressure on Chris Buescher, who currently occupies the final spot in the playoff bubble.

Meanwhile, Ross Chastain is 27 points below the cutline and will need to outperform several rivals – including Wallace, Buescher, Ty Gibbs, and Martin Truex Jr – to keep his hopes alive. The Trackhouse Racing driver will take solace in the fact that he has a good record at Darlington, with two top-five results in his career so far. That said, Jeff Burton’s reaction after his son secured his first Cup Series victory is understandable.

After all, Harrison Burton took 98 Cup Series starts to enter Victory Lane at NASCAR’s highest level. It was a monumental moment for the 23-year-old driver, who became the third racer in the Burton family to win at the iconic 2.5-mile oval. Emotions were running high, especially because Josh Berry is replacing Harrison Burton at Wood Brothers Racing after the 2024 season. As Burton makes his way to the playoffs, Bubba Wallace and Ross Chastain will go again in Darlington, hoping to secure one of the three remaining spots. But they won’t be the only ones.

While Burton’s win would’ve stung Wallace and Chastain, you can’t deny how much Kyle Busch would’ve been thinking of what could’ve been. He was running in first during the final restart, but the No. 21 driver overtook him on the final lap and defended until the end. “Besides just flat-out wrecking him, there was nothing else I could do,” Busch said after the race.

Now, he sits 106 points behind the cutline, and only a win will save his season. Otherwise, 2024 will be the first season since 2005 where the two-time Cup Series champion won’t make it to the playoffs. So, it’s now or never for Kyle Busch and…

It’s now or never for Bubba Wallace

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As the season progressed, Bubba Wallace’s performances improved considerably. The 23XI Racing driver is the in-form racer heading into the last race of the regular season, with four top-10 results in the last five Cup Series races. However, the 30-year-old hasn’t secured a race win all season, while his teammate Tyler Reddick is at the top of the driver standings with 2 wins in 25 races. Wallace has been in this situation before, having qualified for the postseason through points in the 2023 season. The Cook Out Southern 500 allows him to repeat that feat despite the track being one of the most grueling for drivers.

Bubba Wallace said about his playoff hopes, “We just have to outpace [Chris Buescher and Ross Chastain] by a handful of cars from start to finish. When we feel like we’re backed into a corner, our team responds really well, so we just gotta continue to do that.” He added, “I’m confident in our team and our ability as long as all the outside factors execute – pit crew and strategy. There’s no reason why we can’t be in victory lane.” 

As things stand, Wallace’s winless streak extends to 68 races, with his last triumph coming at Kansas in October 2022. The Alabama native is having the best season of his career so far, with 5 top-5 and 10 top-10 results. However, the time has come to break that unflattering record, and what better way to do it than in the final race of the regular season?

What are your thoughts about Bubba Wallace’s playoff hopes? Let us know in the comments!