The race wins, such as that at Daytona last weekend, are the sprinkles of excitement that the current playoff eligibility criteria enables. Riding on the same wave, Harrison Burton’s win is worthy of a grand celebration in its own right. And his father, Jeff ‘The Mayor’ Burton, is proud of his achievement and overwhelmed by his connections in the garage that were subsequently revealed.

To stay relevant in NASCAR, drivers need to keep achieving milestones. The Coke Zero Sugar 400 victory was an important one for Harrison Burton. At the juncture that he is at right now, he can use all the attention that he can muster. His future is dependent on what he makes out of the coveted playoff seat he just earned.

How does a driver know they’re doing the right thing?

It is difficult to realize self-worth as a driver when you’re not hitting the mark in a sport that always keeps moving forward. You feel stagnant when everything around you is just progressing. But that’s the time to keep your head down, stay persistent, and wait for your moment. While that moment will also be transitory, whenever it arrives, it will mean something.

When talking about Harrison’s last weekend victory, Jeff Burton shared on Kevin Harvick’s Happy Hour, “Very few people get to leave the sport they want to. And a lot of people leave the sport and they’re angry, they have anxiety about it, because it’s not on your terms. It typically, you leave the sport and you kind of feel like you’re forgotten, you kind of feel like, you know, people don’t care, the sport doesn’t care.”

Even Kevin Harvick recently shed light on the moment he thought he ‘made it,’ which happened to be right at the end of his career. He only felt relieved when he could retire from the sport on his own terms. But Jeff showed a different angle of the notion where he said the sport cares, but just for the time being. “It does, but it just moves on. And so, even when you’re in the middle of it, you know, there’s times you wonder like am I doing the right thing.” The world does not stop for anything. Although, the people who need to, should pause to see how far they’ve come. And then just continue with the journey.

Jeff Burton did the same to relish his son’s first NASCAR Cup Series victory after three years of his full-time career in the series. “I just got out of the way and just sat in the corner and watched and I drink a few beers and watching people, the number of people that came up to search Harrison out, I thought was really cool. And it meant a lot to me because that showed me that he is connected in the garage that people do care about him.”

There are times when people recognize you, but they probably never got a chance to come up to you. You only get to know when people come up to you that you were being eyed all this while.

What has it been like for Harrison Burton before this win?

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The fate of Harrison Burton seemed sealed for 2025, as he does not have a ride for the upcoming season. But there are still some spots remaining to be filled and he might just have made a mark to be eligible for one of those. Whilst many candidates from Xfinity have a dig at those spots, Harrison may prove worthy enough to stand out through the post-season.

There were also rumors that the #21 driver would repatriate to the middle series for the time being and come back stronger. Nonetheless, it is now very well known that the 23-yo has the kind of relationship in the garage that will sail him when he’s ready, whenever that might be.

Even Dale Earnhardt Jr mentioned in one of the Dale Jr Download episodes about the pleasing personality of Harrison. “I think that when people were coming into the victory lane to congratulate him after the race, is because of their respect and appreciation for his character.” 

Harrison Burton could dominate the NASCAR scene if he can build up on his recent success. What do you think?