Harrison Burton didn’t simply present up at Iowa Speedway final Saturday. He confirmed out. Beginning seventeenth, Burton clawed his method up the leaderboard, proving that the No. 25 DEX Imaging Ford Mustang had extra chew than many may need given it credit score for. By the point the mud settled, he’d snagged a fifth-place end. Not a nasty look in the event you’re preventing to maintain playoff hopes alive.
Burton stayed within the prime 15 for all 250 laps, earned 5 stage factors, and recorded his greatest common operating place of the season at eighth. Statistically talking, it was his greatest efficiency in ages. However stats solely inform half the story. This wasn’t only a “good day on the workplace” for Harrison. It was a gritty, all-out hustle to maintain his playoff dream alive.
Harrison Burton and the Playoff Chase
Now sitting 17 factors above the minimize line, Harrison Burton’s climb up the leaderboard was greater than only a good confidence booster. It was vital. With 4 races left within the common season, each single level issues, and Burton is aware of it. He’s forward of Ryan Sieg and cousin Jeb Burton, but when we all know something about NASCAR, it’s that on-track showdowns are what followers stay for and are at all times only one race away.
“It’s one week at a time,” Burton advised reporters with the kind of focus that most likely scares his competitors. “We’ve been good at that—not trying too far forward. It’s simply all eyes on the following weekend.” This implies no time for celebrating fifth-place finishes. Burton’s already plotting how he’s going to one-up himself on the subsequent race.
A Group That Thrives on Laborious Work
One factor Harrison Burton doesn’t shrink back from is giving credit score the place it’s due. In his case, that’s to the hard-working group behind his No. 25 automobile.“They work a variety of hours,” Burton mentioned. “I hold saying it each interview, however we most likely have fewer folks than most groups, they usually’re working a crap ton of hours. Simply makes me happy with these guys.” It’s a must to respect a driver who not solely respects his group however shouts them out each probability he will get. These are the varieties of feedback that make followers rally behind a driver, and actually, Burton appears to get that.
However Is Good…Good Sufficient?
Right here’s the factor about Burton’s present place within the standings. Certain, he’s 17 factors above the minimize line, however that lead means subsequent to nothing if somebody surprising nabs a win within the subsequent 4 weeks. Burton himself is aware of this all too nicely, contemplating his spoiler position in final season’s Cup Collection playoffs.
“I used to be the dude that sort of ruined some folks’s [Cup] seasons final yr doing that, profitable from behind in factors,” Burton bluntly declared, as if to remind everybody else simply how harmful a long-shot winner may be. He’s taking his personal recommendation now, strategizing not simply to cruise into the playoffs however to steal a win and punch his ticket outright. “You possibly can get a brand new winner,” he defined, “so, in my head, we now have to be aggressive and attempt to win one in all this stuff.”
Last Ideas
With the Xfinity Collection heating up because the playoffs loom nearer, it’s clear that Harrison Burton wants extra races like he had at Iowa Speedway. Whether or not that’s securing one other top-five end or pulling off an outright win, he should hold the momentum alive. The competitors’s too tight proper now for something lower than perfection.
If this fifth-place end says something, it’s that Harrison Burton thrives below strain. Whether or not he’s leaving all of it on the observe in a high-stakes factors battle or rolling the cube for a victory, this man has confirmed he’s in it to win it. The largest query now? Does he have one other gear left, or have we already seen the very best of Harrison Burton this season? Judging by the boldness in his voice, however don’t rely him out simply but.
