After picking up a solid eighth-place result in Friday’s NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts Series event at Daytona International Speedway (his third top-10 finish of the season for Sam Hunt Racing), Harrison Burton thought his weekend was going to be over.
The Huntersville, North Carolina-native, in his role as reserve driver for LEGACY MOTOR CLUB, typically remains on-site a day past his O’Reilly Auto Parts Series commitments if a NASCAR Cup Series team, whether that be LEGACY, or in a pinch, someone else, needs a quick fill-in.
On Saturday, Burton was across the street looking at buying a fishing rod, when his phone rang, and 23XI Racing told him he’d be driving the No. 35 in Saturday’s event at Daytona – ruining his plans to go fishing on Lake Lloyd that night.
After qualifying inside the top five for Saturday’s Coke Zero Sugar 400 at Daytona International Speedway, Riley Herbst woke up Saturday not feeling great – which the team later revealed was due to lingering effects from a wreck at New Hampshire Motor Speedway. So, after conferring with 23XI Racing, Herbst decided to step aside for the regular-season finale.
The first option for 23XI Racing to drive the No. 35 Tree Top Toyota Camry XSE would have been the team’s reserve driver, Corey Heim. However, the Marietta, Georgia-native was already scheduled to compete in the event, driving the No. 67 CELSIUS Toyota Camry XSE.
So, Burton, the reserve driver for another Toyota Racing USA-aligned organization, LEGACY MOTOR CLUB, and a good friend of Riley Herbst, was their guy. A victory in the 2024 Coke Zero Sugar 400 certainly didn’t hurt his case, either.
“I knew there was a chance that I would get put in, so I prepared throughout the week and was ready to go, so that made it easy,” Burton said. “I was actually in a fishing shop across the street, looking at buying a fishing rod because I thought Riley [Herbst] was going to race and I was going to fish in Lake Lloyd tonight, and they called me and said I was racing.”
“So, I walked out of the store, didn’t buy a fishing rod and came and got in this No. 35 Toyota Camry. It was a lot of fun. I enjoyed it. Huge opportunity and fun to be back out here.”
After having to start at the rear of the pack due to a driver change, Burton spent the evening running pretty conservatively on a night where the complete unknown of NASCAR’s new superspeedway package left some drivers expecting a total wreck fest. But, as the laps clicked off, the Tree Top-sponsored No. 35 continued to inch closer to the front of the field.
“It’s a weird race, right? To just save all day, I don’t know, I ran probably a total of 15 laps full out, so, just trying to put yourself in position and when you go, go smart and be efficient when you go,” Burton said. “So that’s the big thing and kind of didn’t get worked out to where we got cycled out front but had a decent day out of it.”
After a three-year stint in the NASCAR Cup Series for Wood Brothers Racing from 2022 to 2024, Burton was replaced by Josh Berry in the No. 21 Ford Mustang Dark Horse and has spent the last two years in the NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts Series trying to prove his worth to get back to running on Sunday – first with AM Racing and now with Sam Hunt Racing.
The 25-year-old hadn’t hit the track in the NextGen car since his last race with Wood Brothers Racing in 2024 (before Saturday), but being a reserve driver keeps him close to the NASCAR Cup Series action, and that’s something he likes.
“I’ve actually enjoyed it. I get to hang out every Sunday and watch the Cup [Series] guys and learn and get better,” Burton said. “It’s motivating to be close, right? Whenever you get your shot, you got to make the most of it so you got to be ready, so that’s the big thing, and really thankful for the opportunity.”
Next weekend at Darlington Raceway, Burton will return to NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts Series competition as he looks for his third straight top-10 finish with Sam Hunt Racing, as he looks to finish the year off strong with the No. 24 Toyota GR Supra team.
PHOTO: Rory Malloy
