Harrison Burton couldn’t follow in his cousin’s footsteps at Talladega Superspeedway. The cousin of Saturday’s Xfinity Series winner Jeb Burton managed to lead 11 laps in Sunday’s GEICO 500, a career high, as well as score a fifth-place finish in the second stage, but didn’t remain up front for long.
Burton was spun while leading off the front bumper of Noah Gragson on lap 142, and managed to collect the car as it spun into the infield grass through the corner.
Though Burton radioed his team that he had no idea why the car spun, Gragson said that it was just a bad place to push.
“I was pushing him and there was just a big bump heading into [turn] 3,” he said. “I’ve got to call Harrison or go see him and just apologize. Obviously I didn’t mean to get into him. Just a complete mistake; my fault.”
Though Burton saved the car despite spinning in front of the field, Austin Dillon, Joey Logano, Zane Smith and Austin Hill were collected as the field checked up, and Dillon and Smith were forced out of the race.
Dillon said that Logano spun into Smith to cause the secondary wreck back in the field, adding that, with this package at a superspeedway, “it’s kind of hard to make runs and move through the pack,” adding some of that desperation.
Burton ultimately finished 36th and out of the race after being sent into the inside wall in a lap 185 crash when Joey Logano spun off Corey Lajoie’s front bumper.
“I just got clipped in the right front and clipped the inside fence,” Burton told assembled media after leaving the Infield Care Center. “I tried to check up, just couldn’t slow down in time to miss – I don’t even know who I hit. It’s frustrating, but that’s superspeedway racing.”
Despite the ending, though, Burton managed to lead laps and establish himself at the front of the field, something he’s struggled to do as he competes in his second season in the Cup Series.
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