Harrison Burton gets win, playoff spot

After Saturday night’s thrilling finish in the Coke Zero Sugar 400 at Daytona International Speedway, only one race remains in the NASCAR Cup Series regular season.

Harrison Burton, in his final season with Wood Brothers Racing, blew by Kyle Busch after a restart in overtime to claim his first NASCAR Cup victory and earn a playoff berth, with only the Sept. 1 Cook Out Southern 500 at Darlington left in the regular season.

Burton, in the No. 21 Ford, became the 13th race winner of the 2024 season.

Here are the winners and losers in the Coke Zero Sugar 400 NASCAR Cup Series race at Daytona.

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Winners

Christopher Bell

Bell was involved in the first of two big crashes. The driver of the Joe Gibbs No. 20 Toyota got caught up in the crash that came on Lap 61 when Corey LaJoie gave Noah Gragson a bad push. Bell was among 17 drivers involved in the crash, which took out seven cars. Of all those drivers, Bell was able to recover and finished the race the highest in third place. It was his eighth top-five finish in 2024.

Harrison Burton

Burton, 23, who has been with Wood Brothers Racing since 2022, found out in early July he would be replaced by Josh Berry in 2025. No other NASCAR Cup team has picked up Burton, but that could change after the manner in which he won the Coke Zero Sugar 400, swiping the checkered flag from Busch at the end. It was the 100th all-time victory for Wood Brothers.

Parker Retzlaff

It’s a pretty safe bet Burton wouldn’t have been able to overtake Busch if not for the big push he got from Retzlaff. After shoving Burton into the lead, Retzlaff moved into second before dropping back and finishing seventh in the No. 62 Chevy. Retzlaff, 21, is an Xfinity Series driver who made his second overall Cup Series start in the Coke Zero Sugar 400. It was his first start with Beard Motorsports.

Losers

Josh Berry

Berry was in contention before hitting the wall and flipping his Stewart-Haas Ford down the backstretch with two laps to go in regulation. The native of Hendersonville, Tennessee, was in second place behind Austin Cindric when his car got airborne, landed on the roof and skidded into the infield retaining wall. Berry, who had taken the lead on Lap 103, said after the race that the crash was not as bad as it likely appeared.

Kyle Busch

Busch was on the brink of snapping his 45-race winless streak when he took the lead in overtime. He had managed to avoid both big wrecks to remain in contention throughout the race. Busch allowed Burton, with the push from Retzlaff, to take the lead but still had a chance to move back in front down the stretch. Burton, however, dropped to the inside and blocked Busch as they approached the finish line. Busch also came close to snapping his streak last week when he finished fourth at Michigan.

Corey LaJoie

It never comes as a surprise when a big crash, or the “big one,” as it is commonly known, comes at Daytona International Speedway. But the first of two on Saturday night didn’t have to happen. LaJoie, who ran well early and was in 16th place at the time, gave Gragson an awkward push on the left rear midway through the second stage. It forced Gragson to hit the wall and slide across the field, causing a 17-car pileup. LaJoie and Gragson were knocked out of the race, along with Chase Elliott, Denny Hamlin, Ross Chastain, Austin Dillon and Kyle Larson.

Reach Mike Organ at 615-259-8021 or on X @MikeOrganWriter.