Wrecks galore! It seems pointing fingers at Truck drivers alone won’t cut it anymore, as Cup drivers have also caught the bug of aggression right from the get-go of the 2024 season. The Daytona 500, already behind schedule, kicked off with quite the spectacle. Merely five laps into the iconic 200-lap showdown on Monday afternoon, a whopping six cars found themselves, including Wood Brothers Racing’s Harrison Burton’s, tangled in a massive crash, setting the tone for what lay ahead.

Burton, in a sticky situation, was unable to hit the brakes 

The action got heated when John Hunter Nemechek, squeezed three-wide out of a turn and got a tap from Brad Keselowski, setting off a chain reaction. Burton was swept up in the chaos, sliding off the track with rookie Carson Hocevar in tow. As they skidded back onto the asphalt, Ryan Preece, Jimmie Johnson, Austin Dillon, and Kaz Gaala found themselves in the wrong place at the wrong time.

The aftermath saw Burton’s car bear the brunt of the collision, its front left in tatters. Both Gaala and Hocevar had to hitch a ride back to the pits, while Johnson’s #84 was under the mechanics’ care. The incident triggered a flurry of pit stops as drivers scrambled for fresh rubber and fuel.

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Post-incident, Harrison Burton, Hocevar, and Graala were given the all-clear after a quick check-up. However, in his post-race interview, Burton didn’t shy away from hinting at the day’s excessive crashes, noting the “over-wrecking in the early hours for sure.”

In a chat with Matt Weaver post-race, a disheartened Burton shared, “It’s frustrating. Once I got on to the grass couldn’t slow down because it was so wet. slid and slid and slid and came across the rest of the field. So, I’m alright. I don’t know what to say or to do different. I don’t even think I got wide open at that point. […] I am okay. It was obviously harder than it should probably have been, just having come back across the field like that. It’s a pretty helpless feeling. But I am okay.” Burton made a comeback to the Wood Brothers Racing team with the hopes of doing better and probably aiming for their 100th win.

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#21’s aspirations to clinch the milestone 100th victory for his team came crashing down

Back in October 2023, the news broke that Harrison Burton would be steering the #21 Ford for Wood Brothers Racing in the NASCAR Cup Series for the 2024 season. Over the past two seasons, Burton has notched up four top-10 finishes, with his crowning achievement being a third-place finish at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway road course during his debut year. Amid swirling rumors about his future, Burton made it clear in August last year that his heart was set on staying with the Wood Brothers as he carved out his path in the racing world.

“At the end of the day, it’s fairly easy for me because I am happy where I’m at, and I hope to continue to race where I’m at. You know, it’s fairly easy for me to kind of just go to work with the guys that I’ve worked with for the last year and a half or so, and yeah, it’s not super distracting at this point,” Burton explained.

“It’s Challenging”- Harrison Burton Unravels the Looming Pressure Over His Cup Series Seat After a Regressing Season

Burton’s jump to the #21 team two years ago came after a successful term in the Xfinity Series, where he celebrated victory lane 4 times with JGR. And that’s why, his transition to the Cup Series also marked a switch in loyalties from Toyota to Ford. But, during the first race itself, of the 2024 season, he learned the hard way that winning the 100th one for the team is not going to be an easy one for sure.