Harrison Burton: It would be ‘unreal’ to win race No. 100 for legendary Wood Brothers Racing team

Harrison Burton’s been off to a rocky start since joining the NASCAR Cup Series full-time as the wheelman of the iconic No. 21 for the Wood Brothers Racing team.

However, he’s still only 23-years-old, and it’s evident he’s capable of much more than we’ve seen throughout his time in the Cup Series, as Team Penske has an undying belief in the young driver. Still, he remains in search of his first win, a win that would represent history for the Wood Brothers.

The next win for the Wood Brothers Racing team would be No. 100. Since their last win coming with Ryan Blaney behind the wheel, they’ve been waiting to join the ranks of other NASCAR teams that have accomplished the feat. Burton wants to be the one to deliver that honor to them.

Speaking with FOX’s Bob Pockrass, Burton elaborated on what it would mean to capture win No. 100 in one of the more recognizable cars in the field week-in and week-out.

“Yeah, obviously that’s their goal. We have a group capable of doing it,” Burton said, regarding win No. 100 for the Wood Brothers. “[Crew chief] Jeremy [Bullins] was on the car when Ryan [Blaney] won [No.] 99 for them. He understands what it’s like to kind of climb and build and get over that hump. We’ve been showing signs of life here recently that we can be competitive enough to do that. That first run at Bristol, going up and passing up through guys that are Cup champions. Obviously, that race ended horribly for us, but those signs are starting to come.

“And so to get 100 would be, it’d be unreal. Especially, it would be more special because of all the hardships we’ve been through and to overcome that would be really special.”

Alas, it’s been a slow grind for Burton since taking his talents to the Cup Series. He’s been behind the wheel for the Wood Brothers a total of 78 times now, and he’s only accumulated one top five finish, and four top tens, with an average finish of 24.1, according to DriverAverages.com.

Nevertheless, he remains confident, as he put it all in perspective later during his time while speaking with Pockrass.

“It’s hard. You have to kind of remind yourself sometimes of what you’re capable of. And I know that when I’m at my best, I can be one of the best in the world at this,” Burton added. “I just have to really find that form. And there’s been times I’ve found it — there’s been times where I feel amazingly confident in a Cup car. There’s been times where I haven’t, and understanding why and how is a big thing.

“A lot of it is, honestly, when I got to Cup, I got to where I had all this information, and I was kind of frozen by wanting to prepare. I overcomplicated things. I was thinking too much in the car. And all I heard is, ‘You have to prepare and work harder and find a way to beat these guys.’ And I was just drowning myself in that. And now I kind of realize I just need to drive fast and understand what that means and the commitment that means and solve that problem and then the rest will follow. So simplifying has been helping me recently, and I think that will start to show signs of improvement and feel good about it.”

Whenever Harrison Burton captures his first Cup Series victory, it’ll be huge for a myriad of reasons. We’ll see if he’s able to make good on his potential sooner rather than later, but the clock is ticking for the No. 21 wheelman to prove on his talent.