Daytona never disappoints. Not only did Harrison Burton secure the maiden Cup Series race win of his career, but his triumph at the Coke Zero Sugar 400 was Wood Brothers Racing’s 100th victory in the team’s history. It couldn’t have happened more dramatically, as Burton only led one lap out of 164, overtaking Kyle Busch just half a lap before the checkered flag in overtime to secure his place into the playoffs by a fraction of a second–0.047-second–over Busch.

Nobody would have predicted that a driver who had lost his seat for 2025 and was far off from the playoff picture would secure a win at Daytona International Speedway in the penultimate race of the Cup Series regular season. But that’s exactly what happened, resulting in the 23-year-old second-generation driver giving an emotional farewell to his team in the post-race interview.

Despite the uncertainty surrounding his future, Harrison Burton refused to give up in the final lap of the Coke Zero Sugar 400. His relentlessness paid off, with Burton having Parker Retzlaff to thank for the game-changing push on the final restart. Whether the result changes his Cup Series future remains to be seen, but the 23-year-old will remember this magical victory for the rest of his life. Speaking after the race, the 23-year-old revealed how he felt after the victory: “I don’t know. I cried the whole victory lap. Obviously, I got fired from this job. I wanted to do everything for the Wood brothers that I could.”

Notably, the young driver got replaced by the soon-to-be-defunct Stewart-Haas Racing’s Josh Berry. Burton joined Wood Brothers Racing full-time in 2022 but unfortunately failed to replicate his previous success in the K&N Pro Series (where he won the series in 2017 with five season wins) in NASCAR’s top tourney. With just six top-10s in three seasons, it’s understandable why Wood Brothers Racing would have to take the heartbreaking step.

In an official statement on July 3 this year, the team introduced Berry as a “wealth of talent and determination” as if pointing out how Burton had missed the mark. But still, the #21 had nothing but love for his team members.

“They have given me an amazing opportunity in life. To get that 100 on my way out is amazing. We’re in the playoffs now. Let’s go to Darlington and see what happens.” The North Carolina native went on to say, “It’s been the hardest three of years of my life, obviously the hardest three years for some of these guys’ lives. To win it the way we just did it, to beat the best in the business — Kyle Busch — across the line, it’s pretty fantastic,” the Daytona victor further said in his post-race interview.

Unfortunately, the driver who just broke their seven-year-long winless streak is the one who will be without a Cup Series seat for next season as no other teams have shown an interest in him till now. Despite the unfavorable situation, with playoffs on the horizon and a regular series race at Darlington remaining, Burton will hope to change his fortune for 2025. He is the 13th driver to qualify for the playoffs, with three spots still remaining ahead of the regular season finale at Darlington Raceway.

Notably, there were a total of seven cautions this weekend, and by the end of the race, almost half of the field was out of contention. Noah Gragson, Ross Chastain, William Byron, Denny Hamlin, Corey LaJoie, Martin Truex Jr, Ryan Preece, Alex Bowman, Chase Elliott, Erik Jones, Tyler Reddick, Kyle Larson, Daniel Hemric, Ryan Blaney, Austin Dillon, Christopher Bell and John Hunter Nemechek were involved in a ‘big one’—the first one that evening after contact by Gragson and LaJoie.

While Elliott, Gragson, Hamlin and Preece were unable to continue after the incident, the second ‘big one’ ensued just eight laps to go after Michael McDowell spun out. A total of 14 cars were involved, including Kyle Larson, Justin Haley, Tyler Reddick and Bubba Wallace.

Ironically, the third ‘big one’ was caused by Josh Berry just two laps to go, setting the stage for Burton’s cinematic finish. The 33-year-old driver, who won Stage 1 and was leading the race at that point, got loose and went airborne, crashing into the inside wall.

While Berry’s misfortune put an end to the Wood Brothers Racing driver’s winless career, also on a dismal streak, somewhat similar to Burton, is Dayton’s P2 finisher, Kyle Busch. It was another heartbreak after coming agonizingly close to victory for the two-time Cup Series champion. With just one race remaining to secure a playoff spot, the Richard Childress Racing driver will hope luck is on his side at Darlington Raceway.

Kyle Busch opens up about heartbreaking Daytona defeat

Everyone thought that it was finally his moment. Having gone through the most frustrating season of his career, fans finally believed that Kyle Busch might get his first victory of the season at Daytona International Speedway. Despite starting the race in 11th place, and being relegated to 13th by the end of Stage 1, Rowdy managed to climb to seventh by the end of the second stage. He showed glimpses of his old form at Joe Gibbs Racing, leading eight laps while inching closer to the checkered flag.

However, everything changed with just half a lap to go, when Parker Retzlaff nudged Harrison Burton, propelling him to victory. Speaking after the race, Kyle Busch said, “Finished second, it’s all good. We were really, really, really lucky to miss those crashes tonight… Was hoping we could get those free No. 8 specials at @cheddarskitchen but it wasn’t meant to be. We’ll regroup and come back next week.” Expressing the only way he could have won the race, Rowdy went on to say, “Besides flat-out wrecking him, there was nothing I could do.”

NASCAR is a sport of fine margins, and lady luck certainly hasn’t been on Busch’s side this season. He narrowly missed out on a victory at Atlanta Motor Speedway earlier this year, finishing just 0.007 seconds from Daniel Suarez. Had both the results gone his way, Busch would have two victories under his belt, and the conversation surrounding his season would have been completely different.

As things stand, the Richard Childress Racing driver is 18th in the playoff standings, and if he doesn’t get a victory at Darlington Raceway, it would be the first time Busch fails to make it to the postseason since 2005. Do you think he’ll be able to change that fate next weekend? Let us know in the comments!