“This is a great group. They build great race cars.” These words of gratitude came from Josh Berry after he attained his first Cup Series victory recently. The No. 21 Ford driver wheeled his race car from the 7th-place starting spot and was a quiet force throughout the Pennzoil 400. Then, the final caution of the day lent him his chance – and Berry clinched the 101st win for Wood Brothers Racing. However, this sheds some light on the previous No. 21 driver.
We all know how Harrison Burton went out with a blazing victory last year. He clinched the 2024 Coke Zero Sugar 400 race victory, a final and fitting tribute to WBR before he left the team. However, Berry’s win in Las Vegas highlights how much more Burton could have done.
The spotlight is on Harrison Burton
Well, the Wood Brothers Racing team has been going over a rough patch. NASCAR Hall of Famers Leonard Wood and the late Glen Wood introduced a racing legacy back in 1960. Their team featured a group of tight-knit Virginians who simply love racing, kinship, and winning. Legends like David Pearson, Cale Yarbrough, Kyle Petty, and A.J. Foyt have upheld the team’s name several times. However, the team’s struggles began in the 21st century. Since 2000, only four drivers visited Victory Lane – and Harrison Burton was the latest among them, as he won in Daytona last year.
However, Burton’s painful problems were heavily visible as well. During his Cup Series debut year in 2022, he only managed two top 10s in 36 races. This marked the least amount for WBR since it returned to full-time racing in 2016. Additionally, a NASCAR page on Reddit made a cutting comparison between Josh Berry and Harrison Burton, indicating the massive gap. For many years, people deemed the problem to lie with the Wood Brothers. But these stats further stress Burton’s lack of pace.
The Reddit post congratulating Josh Berry read: “In 5 starts, Josh Berry has managed to win on a mile and a half, get a fourth at Phoenix, lead multiple laps and get a stage win at Atlanta. In 108 starts in the same car, Harrison Burton has managed a fluke superspeedway win, a fluke top 5 at the Indy road course, two tenth places at superspeedways, and two top tens at normal tracks. The Wood Brothers car has now proven to be fast and that Harrison was the problem. Cheers to more wins for Berry.”
The 2024 win at Daytona was an iconic one, but it was one nobody expected. Kyle Busch was in the lead on the last lap and entering turn 3, Burton charged on his outside to take the lead. How did he make this move? With a push from Parker Retzlaff, who was driving a Chevrolet, the same OEM as Kyle Busch! This sparked controversy, as fans felt Busch was the deserving winner while Retzlaff was voluntarily working against his own OEM. Besides this, Burton’s time with WBR was rather uninspiring, as he was outside the top 25 in the standings for both the seasons when he did not manage a win, highlighting how that Daytona run carried his time at WBR.
HOMESTEAD, FLORIDA – JUNE 13: Harrison Burton, driver of the #20 DEX Imaging Toyota, celebrates winning the NASCAR Xfinity Series Hooters 250 at Homestead-Miami Speedway on June 13, 2020 in Homestead, Florida. (Photo by Michael Reaves/Getty Images)
Clearly, Josh Berry took the same No. 21 Ford that was so unlucky for Harrison Burton and charged to Victory Lane. Yet Harrison Burton is not faring any worse in his new ride. Driving the No. 25 AM Racing Ford, he has already wheeled his Xfinity Series car to three top-ten finishes across 5 races. The four-time Xfinity race winner set his goals straight ahead of this season: “My expectations are we’re going to perform well, win races and make the playoffs. That’s my goal and the mindset we all have to have.”
So the NASCAR community posted a flurry of mixed responses to the revealed stats. While Josh Berry is spectacular, Harrison Burton got his support as well.
NASCAR fans take a divided approach
Well, the first faction obviously fired shots at Harrison Burton. The current No. 25 Ford driver in the Xfinity Series could leave a heavy legacy in his Cup Series seat. He may have snapped a huge winless streak for Wood Brothers Racing in Daytona last year, but his stats remain damning. So one fan chimed in with the NASCAR Reddit post: “The wood brothers with Burton were sub 30th in points…The wood brothers with Berry won their 1st race at a real track since 2017…Harrison Burton was absolutely the issue.”
Josh Berry’s entry into WBR was a big deal. The 21-time CARS Tour race winner and 2020 NASCAR Advance Auto Parts champion received a grand reception, as the team was revamped for Berry. So one fan optimistically said: “Josh Berry is just a better driver. The whole 21 team was essentially rebuilt this offseason. Think you’re going to see this speed often throughout the year.”
However, another faction of fans cut Harrison Burton some slack. Jeff Burton’s son is performing better in the No. 25 Xfinity car than its previous driver, Brett Moffitt. One fan pointed out that maybe the team dynamic did not fall in place for Burton in WBR. “I’m not even sure. Burton is outperforming the 25 team from last year and Berry is outperforming Burton from last year. I think this is a situation of a separation that is beneficial for both sides.” Somebody else chimed in with this sentiment, stressing that the Xfinity Series suits Burton more. After all, Burton did not have the same exposure as Josh Berry did. “Maybe Harrison is just better staying down in xfinity. He’s at least making the 25 as competitive as when Brett Moffitt was in it.”
Somebody else pinned the blame on neither the driver nor the team. Instead, the blame was put on the Next-Gen car. Introduced in 2022, NASCAR’s 7th-generation innovation was difficult to comprehend for even legendary drivers like Kyle Busch or Denny Hamlin, who have openly admitted their struggles, as both are on 20+ race winless streaks. So the fan wrote, “The next Gen car isn’t a normal stock car either . Stick a decent (pre2021)cup driver in a v8 supercar and some will struggle.”
Harrison Burton’s stats provide a perspective on how better Josh Berry is performing. Yet other factors like team dynamics and car problems emerge as the NASCAR community pointed out. Which side are you on? Is Berry simply better than Burton? Or is Burton more suited to an Xfinity car in comparison to the Next-Gen car? Let us know in the comments!
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