Harrison Burton on 'special' relationship with father Jeff: 'Helped me a lot as a man growing up'

Thirty-four hours removed from his crowning achievement in racing, Harrison Burton was still soaking in the thrill of earning his first NASCAR Cup Series win after Saturday night’s race at Daytona International Speedway.

“I was running before last night on, like, two hours of sleep total between 48 hours and was starting to get pretty tired,” Burton told NASCAR.com Monday morning. “Really was a fun, fun time. Had a lot of friends reach out and come hang out and spend time with my sister and all kinds of people that weren’t able to be there, which was really cool and really, really fun to try and just enjoy the moment, right? You just never know when your next one will come.”

MORE: Burton’s first win nets No. 100 for Wood Brothers

The struggles of Burton’s first two-and-two-thirds years at the Cup level underscore the gratitude and appreciation Burton has for his shining moment. What enhanced it was the presence of his dad, NASCAR Hall-of-Fame nominee Jeff Burton, who was there to enjoy the frills of the 23-year-old’s breakthrough victory. The elder Burton has seen the totality of Burton’s career — the thrilling highs working his way up the racing ladder to the Cup level in the No. 21 Wood Brothers Racing Ford down to the lows that have persisted in his first 97 series starts. Those lows have resulted in the team’s decision to part ways with Burton at season’s end in favor of Josh Berry in 2025.

Saturday night, Jeff Burton relished every facet of the victory celebration with his son — first from the NBC Sports broadcast booth, then to the tri-oval grass all the way to Victory Lane and the media center two hours after the checkered flag.

“It was really special,” Harrison Burton said of sharing the moment with his father. “I mean, man, I’ve spent a lot of time on the phone with him this year, spent a lot of time in person with him this year just trying to move forward in my career. And he was always trying to instill in me to never quit, and that was kind of the mantra for our entire team.

“Like I said in the media center, we won this race in the most Wood Brothers way ever, right? In a way that is hard-nosed, never quit, been down in the dumps and then find a way to win. That’s what the Wood Brothers do. So he seemed to be really proud of that. And I think, obviously, this year, he spent a lot of time telling me that he’s been proud of the way I’ve handled this situation as far as losing that ride and then not quitting and just making the most out of the opportunity we have. I think he was just excited that all those things that he tried to instill in me, I think, shined through in that moment.”

As a father, Jeff Burton “has always called himself a hard-ass,” the 23-year-old said, a sentiment which still stands even as the younger Burton navigates life in the Cup Series. In fact, Jeff Burton told NASCAR.com Saturday night of a conversation the two had in recent weeks, telling his son: “Harrison, you‘re a better race-car driver than you‘re allowing yourself to be at the moment.”

“That kind of hit home, right?” Harrison Burton said. “It’s like, man, I think he’s right. Like, what’s going on here? There’s definitely some mental aspects to this game. I think it’s mostly mental. And when you get beat up in your rookie year, and your second year, it’s just hard sometimes to go to the race track with the right mentality. It’s hard to go to the race track with the confidence you need to perform at this level, right? Like, I feel like I could jump in a race car and go fast; it’s just having the confidence to do that is hard.

“If you’re a percentage off, it’s a big deal in this sport, especially at the Cup level. I’ve shown that I have the ability to win races. I’ve shown that I’ve won Xfinity races and I can drive cars fast and I can do the right things. It’s just I didn’t do it consistently enough. And when you have flashes that show you can do it, you better dang find out how to do it all the time.”

The blunt nature of Jeff Burton’s critiques have never dissuaded Harrison’s efforts because both knew the advice and observations were meant to help drive him forward.

“My whole childhood was that way,” Harrison Burton said. “He was a loving dad — I’m not telling you he was a mean person — but he just told you how it was and was very realistic about situations, and he continues to be that way. And for me, I think that means a lot because you just know when he does tell you something that he means it. …

“I would win races and he’d tell me I needed to do something better, and I missed this opportunity and did this wrong. I’m like, ‘Oh, all right, I thought I won, but OK.’ And you know, He’s just always realistic with you. So when he does say good job, he means you did a good job. And when he does say you need to work on something, you know you need to work on it. So that’s helped me a lot as a man growing up in that scenario where I feel like I can take criticism well. I feel like I can learn from it. I don’t shut down from it.

“It’s helped me keep going in my Cup career when times were not the easiest. When times were hard, it was much easier to understand why and understand what’s going on and understand how to get better from it because I grew up the way I did.”

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Burton can now look forward to his first appearance in the NASCAR Cup Series Playoffs, attempting to guide the legendary Wood Brothers team from 34th in points to its first Cup Series Championship. It seems only fitting that a family-owned team won its 100th Cup race with a driver who comes from a racing family of his own.

“Even through the hard times that we’ve had, they still treat me with a lot of respect,” Burton said of the Woods. “They still believe in me. They still wanted me to succeed. They still root for me, and they’ve been really good to me and my family. I mean, they’ve just opened a lot of doors up and let me be my own person, and they have faith in me, and all those things kind of came together, right?

“We had Bailey Wood there, who’s one of the younger members of the (family) up on (the stage). We had Jon, we had Eddie and Len up there. Leonard was at home. He texted me. And by the way, Leonard’s very hip — he uses emojis and stuff for being 89 years old. I think that was pretty awesome. Just stuff like that, man. It just feels like you’re a part of their family when you’re driving for them.”