Harrison Burton is expected to remain in the NASCAR Cup Series and be behind the wheel of the No. 21 Ford for Wood Brothers Racing (WBR) in 2024, according to Jordan Bianchi of The Athletic.
An official announcement is expected to come soon. Burton, 22, has spent the past two seasons with WBR, though the results have largely been a mixed bag. During his rookie campaign in 2022, Burton recorded just two top 10s and finished 27th in the points standings. The 2023 season has been much of the same, two top 10s and currently sitting 31st in the points standings.
Ahead of Sunday’s Cook Out Southern 500 at Darlington Raceway, Burton was noncommittal about returning to WBR next season despite the announcement that Jeremy Bullins would serve as the crew chief of the No. 21 team for the remainder of the 2023 season and in 2024. Burton’s previous crew chief, Brian Wilson, swapped places with Bullins as the new crew chief of Austin Cindric and the No. 2 team at Team Penske.
Harrison Burton comments on Wood Brothers Racing future
“Yeah, we’ll see, it’s been ongoing,” Burton said, via Frontstretch. “I think a lot of it depends on how we run, right? We’ve shown improvements; we’ve also had weekends where we weren’t as good as we need to be. But, you know, I think this group has had a lot of confidence in me from the beginning that I can do it. It’s just about building into the driver I know I can be and that they believe in me to be.
“The swap is a good sign of that commitment to improve together. We’ll see, but luckily for me, I stay out of those conversations. I’m able to just drive. I’ve got a great group of people around me that help with all of that. And I can just drive a race car.”
News of Burton’s impending deal comes one day after Denny Hamlin solidified his future, inking a multiyear extension with Joe Gibbs Racing (JGR). Burton previously raced for JGR in the Xfinity Series, notching four wins and recording back-to-back finishes of eighth in the points standings.