{"id":101978,"date":"2025-08-22T14:18:10","date_gmt":"2025-08-22T14:18:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/101978\/"},"modified":"2025-08-22T14:18:10","modified_gmt":"2025-08-22T14:18:10","slug":"i-reached-nascar-playoffs-after-i-was-fired-now-im-fighting-back-motorsport-sports","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/101978\/","title":{"rendered":"\u2018I reached NASCAR playoffs after I was fired – now I\u2019m fighting back’ – Motorsport – Sports"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"NASCAR<\/p>\n

Harrison Burton was a shock winner at Daytona last year (Image: Getty)<\/p>\n

It was the moment Harrison Burton always dreamed of. Crossing the line first in a NASCAR Cup Series race at Daytona.<\/p>\n

To make matters even sweeter, his legendary dad, Jeff, was watching it from the broadcast booth. He later made it down to the infield for an emotional embrace neither of them will ever forget.\u00a0<\/p>\n

What makes it even more special is the fact that Burton already knew he might not get many more chances.\u00a0<\/p>\n

He was in the unique position of giving Wood Brothers Racing its famous 100th win and a spot in the playoffs despite already knowing his time with the team – and with it his place at NASCAR\u2019s top table – was imminently coming to an end.\u00a0<\/p>\n

A year on, Burton will be back at Daytona but in the Xfinity Series rather than the Cup Series. Given the circumstances that played out, does he feel hard done by?\u00a0<\/p>\n

\"NASCAR<\/p>\n

Burton celebrated his emotional win with dad Jeff and his family (Image: Getty)<\/p>\n

\u201cYes and no,\u201d Burton admits to Express U.S. Sports. \u201cBy the time I won that race, I\u2019d been let go a long time before then.<\/p>\n

\u201cAll of a sudden, I learned a really good lesson, because after I got fired, I just raced my own way and started seeing results.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cI started running better and put a lot less pressure on myself to do things the way other people do. I just did it my way, and it ended up working out for those last few weeks. Qualifying really good, racing really well, winning a race.<\/p>\n

\u201cI learned a big lesson and I think it will help me for years as a race car driver.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

DON’T MISS:\u00a0<\/p>\n

Burton has taken those lessons to AM Racing, where he\u2019s 11th in the Xfinity Series standings and just above the cut line as he looks to secure a place in the playoffs.<\/p>\n

After the trials and tribulations of last year, it\u2019s been a refreshing experience and one which he believes has set him back on the right path after three years of toiling in the Cup Series.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s been fun,\u201d he says. \u201cObviously, you want to be racing on Sundays, you want to be a Cup driver. But for me, I\u2019ve loved racing with the guys I work with, and the schedule is, honestly, much better. It\u2019s easier on everybody.<\/p>\n

“The group we’ve had is just a bunch of old school racers. I\u2019ve enjoyed taking a step back, just learning to love racing again a little bit, and getting fully involved with this race team has been a lot of fun.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

The end goal remains the same: return to the Cup Series and prove he belongs.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\"NASCAR<\/p>\n

Burton is now chasing an Xfinity Series playoff place for AM Racing (Image: Getty)<\/p>\n

\u201cThat\u2019s what I hope for, right?\u201d He says. \u201cTo hopefully get back in the Cup Series, and I know I can do it. I know I have the ability to do it, it\u2019s just about making all the right decisions, doing all the little things right, and make sure it happens.<\/p>\n

\u201cThat would be my ultimate goal, for sure, but the way to do that is to do the best for the race team I\u2019m at right now and continue to build in the right direction.\u201d<\/p>\n

He recently got a taste of the Cup Series by competing in the All-Star Race at North Wilkesboro, where he was given a reminder of just how ruthless life is at the highest level.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cIt was so fun,\u201d he says. \u201cJust great to be back out there. Big ask, jumping in with a brand new race team and try and help them get rolling, but it was a lot of fun.<\/p>\n

\"NASCAR<\/p>\n

Harrison got a Cup Series refresher in the All-Star race (Image: Getty)<\/p>\n

\u201cYou get in a swing when you\u2019re racing in the Cup Series of how special it is to race in the Cup Series, especially an event like the All-Star Race. For me, just a cool experience to be able to say I did that.<\/p>\n

\u201cRan well at times. Tried a strategy at the end and got beat up a little bit, but just had fun racing, and that\u2019s what it\u2019s all about.\u201d<\/p>\n

Wherever Burton\u2019s career takes him from here, nobody can take away what happened at Daytona 12 months ago, and the pride he brought to his dad and the famous family name.<\/p>\n

\u201cI always just wanted to do right by his name and my uncle\u2019s name,\u201d he says. \u201cThey laid a great foundation for me and my cousin, Jeb.<\/p>\n

\u201cI just wanted to add to that legacy, not take away from it, and that\u2019s the biggest pressure. I feel I can say I have done that and just want to continue doing so.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Harrison Burton was a shock winner at Daytona last year (Image: Getty) It was the moment Harrison Burton…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":101979,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[70],"tags":[68017,1960,425,1703,99,68018,2097],"class_list":["post-101978","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-nascar","tag-harrison-burton","tag-motorsport-section","tag-nascar","tag-nascar-cup-series","tag-sports","tag-wood-brothers-racing","tag-xfinity-series"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/101978","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=101978"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/101978\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/101979"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=101978"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=101978"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=101978"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}