Burton Finds Fun In Brief Cup Return At All-Star Race

Harrison Burton (Kyle Beckman/Nigel Kinrade Photography)

MOORESVILLE, N.C – There was no wiping the smile off Harrison Burton’s face after he took off his helmet following a return to the premier level of stock car racing.

A 189-day hiatus away from the NASCAR Cup Series ended Sunday night for Burton, who jumped back into top-tier action during the NASCAR All-Star Race at North Wilkesboro Speedway.

Driving the No. 51 Morton Buildings Ford Mustang Dark Horse, Burton put together a quiet evening in Rick Ware Racing’s first-ever All-Star appearance, ultimately finishing 20th after 250 laps around the historic five-eighths-mile oval in Wilkes County.

Burton's surprise victory in last summer’s Coke Zero Sugar 400 at the 2.5-mile Daytona (Fla.) Int’l Speedway ensured the 24-year-old a spot in this year’s All-Star Race, with Ford and RWR teaming up to ensure the second-generation driver could take advantage of the opportunity available to him.

Harrison Burton in action at North Wilkesboro Speedway Sunday. (Kyle Beckman/Nigel Kinrade Photography)

After starting 18th for the main event, Burton dropped back and hovered around 22nd, battling John Hunter Nemechek and Ricky Stenhouse Jr. for the majority of the first quarter before Daniel Suarez crashed due to a tire failure that put the race under yellow at lap 58.

As the night progressed, the Statesville, N.C., native continued logging laps, as well as advancing slowly through the latter half of the 23-car field back to 18th before the new-for-2025 promoter’s caution was displayed with 35 to go.

During the caution, crew chief Jerry Kelley made the call for Burton to stay out on his set of Goodyear tires, creating a game of survival for the final 28 laps of the race.

As the final green flag was displayed, Burton hung for as long as he could before the drivers who pitted for fresh tires behind him got around the fading No. 51, pushing him back outside the top 15 with less than 15 to go.

Burton took on one last battle with Nemechek, but that fight proved unsuccessful as he finished the 41st renewal of NASCAR’s All-Star night at the end of the top 20.

It wasn’t anything to write home about, but Burton still left North Wilkesboro in high spirits.

“I had a lot of fun,” Burton said enthusiastically after running his first Cup Series event in more than six months. “It wasn’t the result we wanted, but I kind of felt like we were better than where we finished. We tried some strategy there at the end to have a shot there, but tires mattered more than I thought they would.”

Burton also felt his second-to-last run – the one prior to the promoter’s caution – was his best throughout the day, and that he rekindled many on-track friendships and battles as well.

“It was just such a fun time to be back in the Cup Series, racing against a lot of my friends and seeing a lot of my friends around the garage,” said Burton. “I felt like we made the car better and better throughout the weekend. The last caution, obviously it was the promoter’s caution and that probably took [away] some spots for us, but I’m proud of the effort.

“Hopefully, we’ll do it again some more.”

With his Cup Series excursion complete, Burton returns to his full-time venture of chasing a NASCAR Xfinity Series playoff berth with AM Racing. He sits 10th in the regular season standings heading into Charlotte (N.C) Motor Speedway for the BetMGM 300.

Broadcast coverage of the Xfinity Series race at Charlotte airs Saturday, May 24 at 4 pm ET, live on The CW, the Performance Racing Network, and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio, channel 90.