After spending most of his career at NASCAR’s lower levels with Toyota, including two years in the NASCAR Xfinity Series with Joe Gibbs Racing, Harrison Burton made the jump to Ford with Wood Brothers Racing for his rookie season in the NASCAR Cup Series in 2022.
While the Wood Brothers continue to search for that elusive 100th team win, Burton spent this season learning the ropes of the Cup discipline, experiencing rookie blues early on. However, he put together a solid second half. He finished a career-high third at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway road course, finished in the top 20 in the final three races and started inside the top 10 in three of the last four events.
The 22-year-old caught up with Frontstretch to discuss the jump from Xfinity to Cup, the relationship he has with Team Penske drivers, his 2023 plans and linking the Burton and Wood Brothers’ legacies.
Luken Glover, Frontstretch: By getting used to the Next Gen car, how has the Cup Series differed from the Xfinity Series?
Harrison Burton: I think one of the biggest differences is how good the entire field is. Obviously, the top guys in Xfinity are really, really good; the top teams in Xfinity are really, really good. But I think the biggest difference is the quality of team and driver, from top to bottom, is really high. You can be racing a Cup champion for 20th, and if a Cup champion gets in the Xfinity field, he probably won’t be running 20th.
It’s a big difference. Obviously, the equipment matters as well. I guess my point is if you give a Cup champion good equipment in the Xfinity Series, he will probably run well. I think it’s crazy to see these guys you look up to kind of struggle at times, and it shows just how hard it is.
Glover: One of the biggest topics over the last couple of months has been the safety of the car. Personally, how have you felt about the safety of this car compared to others, and do you feel NASCAR is making the right improvements to make sure you are as safe as possible when you climb in?
Burton: It’s obviously a big story this year. Having drivers get hurt and sit out is never good, obviously. I will say that NASCAR has been, in my opinion, really transparent, especially recently with the drivers, and we’re working together with NASCAR.
I think that kind of relationship […] is kind of getting mended back some, which is really good. I think it’s been good to see them respond and work really hard. We get to know these…
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