A Cup Series spot is the most-wanted job in NASCAR. For any kid who grew up to be a racecar driver in the stock-car racing community, being a Cup Series driver is a dream. Wood Brothers Racing driver Harrison Burton has lived the dream of every NASCAR fan. The 22-year-old driver has been in and around the top flight since his debut in 2022; from the looks of it, the dream will continue in 2024 as well.

Returning in the #21 Ford Mustang, Harrison Burton will be racing in a Wood Brothers car next year. Being NASCAR’s first-ever 2000s-born driver to make an appearance in the Cup and the son of two-time Coke 600 winner Jeff Burton, the performance pressure has been rising gradually. This has pushed some fans to the brim of their patience.

Harrison Burton will drive for Woody Brothers in 2024

Burton’s ceiling as a racecar driver is yet to be found. Having spent two seasons in Xfinity before upgrading to the Cup Series, he has considerable experience in the circuit. In the 2023 regular season, he ranks 31st and has yet to show signs of winning a race. After a career-high third-place finish at the Indianapolis road course last year, he is yet to make significant progress from the back of the grid.

In the last two seasons, the youngster has amassed four top-10 finishes in a rough period apart from that. Speaking about how he wants his career to work out, the 22-year-old spoke to NASCAR.com and talked about dealing with the pressure that comes with his spot.

“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,” Harrison Burton said.

“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.”

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Previously Harrison has thrown hints about his dedication to Wood Brothers Racing, who are in search of their long-awaited 100th win in the Cup. The team has also signed some reinforcements to their support cast, with the Roger Penske-aided team bringing back Jeremy Bullins from #2 team of Austin Cindric.

NASCAR fans blame the Wood Brothers for a lack of ambition

Harrison has been a victim of hate on social media platforms for a long time now. Scapegoated very often, many professionals have spoken out against this treatment of him. But such messages have barely affected NASCAR fans. After the announcement of Harrison’s return next year, fans have taken to social media again to convey their angst and frustration. Most of them are visibly distraught about the Wood Brothers choosing money over talent.

Some followers have been firm in their belief that Jeff Burton played a big role in securing a Cup Series car for his son. One fan from the same school of thought voiced his opinion on Twitter, commenting, “Daddy is paying those bills. Notice Jeb doesn’t have the same success; his dad isn’t as rich lol”

Another comment bashed the team after alleging them of choosing to field a car with Harrison purely based on money. He replied, “Teams don’t care about having good drivers, just drivers with $$. He’s terrible”

“Why? Because he is Jeff’s kid? Should have stayed with @mattdracing!!!”, “Guess @JeffBurton paid off Penske to keep his kid in a top cup ride”, were some of the other comments aiming to establish the fact that family name has played a part here.

Another harsh critic of Burton commented that the price to pay for Harrison’s renewal is Wood Brothers continuing the search for a 100th win. He posted, “Sad to see that Wood Brothers will continue looking for their 100th win in 2025”

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It is sad to see that many other drivers could have got the chance instead of Harrison Burton which is not the case. At the same time, there has also been a lot of unwarranted hate for a young racer who has the tools to improve in the future.