NORTH WILKESBORO, N.C. — Harrison Burton will return to the NASCAR Cup Series this weekend, driving the No. 51 Rick Ware Racing Ford in Sunday’s All-Star Race.
Burton, who is racing full time in the NASCAR Xfinity Series for AM Racing this season, earned a guaranteed starting spot by winning at Daytona Int’l Speedway late last season when he was racing for Wood Brothers Racing.
Burton described how he landed with RWR for this event.
“It was kind of casually, I would say is a good word for it. It seemed like a good fit for both of us with me being eligible and being able to run the All-Star Race because of my win last year, and them wanting to have a car in the All-Star Race and wanting to go compete and try and run as good as we possibly can,” Burton explained. “So, it kind of just came together through conversation. Having known the Rick Ware Racing group from being in the garage and over time it became more and more real and all of a sudden we’re here and getting ready to go racing this weekend.”
Burton said being in the All-Star Race is important to him.
“Yeah, it’s really cool. You kind of never know if an opportunity will come and having an automatic bid into the NASCAR Cup Series All-Star Race is such a big deal to me,” Burton said. “Being in the race is a big deal and especially having my story with how it’s gone – of the ups and downs and now having a chance to kind of go and run in the All-Star Race is such a cool moment for me and something I’ve been really looking forward to. I don’t know about worried, but I really wanted to make this deal work out and I’m really happy it did and how it did.”
Burton, 24, said getting a full-time Cup Series ride remains a priority for him.
“For me, it was a risk to do this pathway of going to AM, a team that was coming off of a really, really rough season on their end,” Burton said. “For them it was a risk going to a driver that had just lost his job, but the thing that I think is really gonna help as far as getting me back on Sundays is, to me, it means more to be a part of a rebuilding race team and turn that team into a successful race team.
“For us, to be able to win a race, to be able to contend for race wins, that would be huge not only for myself as the driver on the race track, but also off the race track because there’s a lot of key decisions that I’ve been a part of, there’s been a lot of things that I’ve been a part of week in and week out to try and be a part of building this race team, and it’s made me a better race car driver.
“I’ve learned more ins and outs of race teams and more tough decision-making and been through tougher situations in this year than a lot of times in my career, so I think that is valuable, just as how it was valuable for me to race with the Wood Brothers and learn from Len and Eddie Wood and Joe Gibbs and Kyle Busch. I’ve been all over the place and in a lot of different ownership groups with how they run things, so I’m starting to learn all this stuff and I think I’m getting more valuable on the team side as well as on the race track.”
