NASCAR Xfinity Series Rookie Harrison Burton Reveals What He Learned from Denny Hamlin

The NASCAR Xfinity Series Playoffs are set to begin this Saturday at the Las Vegas Motor Speedway. Competing alongside the big names such as Austin Cindric and Chase Briscoe is rookie Harrison Burton, who has proved his worth this season. He now aims to utilize something that he learned from NASCAR Cup Series star Denny Hamlin.

Expectations were always high for the 19-year-old, whose father is former Cup Series star driver Jeff Burton. Harrison already has two race wins this season and goes into the playoff, finishing 7th in the regular season.

The Joe Gibbs Racing driver, though not a direct teammate of Denny Hamlin, has already learned a lot from him. Burton explains how he plans to implement those learnings about the mental aspect of the sport.

Burton reveals learnings acquired from Denny Hamlin

“I was really thinking, how can I beat Austin (Cindric)? What can I show him to make him do something that I want him to do? (It’s) things I listen to Denny Hamlin talk about and say on his radio. Using the mental side of the game to their advantage,” Burton said in an interview.

“That has been really fun to go to the places where that is a big deal and try to make the most of it,” he added.

Burton seems to be adapting to the ‘mind games’ of the sport very well. He cited an example of something he learned from another driver, Briscoe in this case, that shows he is quickly learning those small things that make a big difference.

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Burton learns the minute details that make a difference

“When that becomes muscle memory, that’s when you free up your brain and you’re able to strategize in your head. You’re able to show people lines that you know are going to hurt their tires but it’s fast. Then you run them down on a long run because they have been doing that,” Burton added.

He said that Briscoe’s strategy is showing the driver one lane, catching them in another, and passing them in another lane altogether, is something he admires.

The youngster enters the Playoffs with not much to lose, as he is just in his first proper season. But he seems to set high standards for himself. It will be interesting to see how he fares under pressure as the Playoffs begin on Saturday.