Harrison Burton has high hopes for his NASCAR Cup Series freshman year driving for the iconic Wood Brothers Racing Ford.
Burton makes the move up from the Xfinity Series, where he spent the last two season with Joe Gibbs Racing. While he has made one Cup Series start, the second generation driver is well aware of the steep learning curve ahead coming from behind the wheel of an Xfinity Series car.
RELATED: Changes to know for the 2022 season | A look at Wood Brothers Racing’s storied history
“It’s definitely a different race car,” Burton said after last week’s Next Gen car test at Daytona International Speedway. “That’s for sure, but at the end of the day it’s still the same techniques, the same mentality. I thought Daytona in particular was a lot more like the older generations racing. I think the pack runs that we did were really racy and really competitive and it was challenging.
“The way the cars line up and they’re a handful, which is good. It should be harder to drive these race cars and it was a fun weekend, for sure, trying to figure all that out. I got to work with my teammates and race team and I think we made some good progress there.”
Burton’s Cup Series opportunity also comes with the expectation of taking over one of the sport’s most iconic rides in the Wood Brothers Racing No. 21 entry. The weight of the legacy and history of the ride is something not lost on the young driver who fully acknowledges it’s something that will also be one of the challenges he’ll face in his rookie campaign.
“It’s definitely a cool opportunity and a big responsibility to carry on that legacy and do it the right way,” Burton said. “That’s not lost on me, but I think the biggest thing for me is that I’ve kind of always put that same pressure on myself to perform and do well.
“External pressure doesn’t really change my mentality about things. I think all drivers want to be the winner. We all want to do the best we can and I think that personality is the same with Wood Brothers and we’re all aligned with our goals. We just have to work really hard to go accomplish them.”
But overall, in his early relationship with the team, Burton has complete optimism of what lies ahead.
“It’s nothing but excitement and that’s been cool to see,” he said. “It’s definitely nice to be wanted to be a part of a race team and I definitely feel like they want me to be here and I definitely want to be here, so as far as that goes I don’t feel like there’s any pressure to prove myself, but for myself personally there is.
“I’ve always wanted to be the best I can be and I feel like last year didn’t really show that, but there’s always room to improve and I feel like those years always kind of make you better.”
