DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. — A look at the winners and losers from Saturday night’s Cup race at Daytona International Speedway.
WINNERS
Wood Brothers Racing — It had been eight years since the organization last won a race until Harrison Burton delivered the team’s 100th Cup victory on Saturday at Daytona. The Wood Brothers have now won a NASCAR-sanctioned race in eight consecutive decades.
Long: Victory Lane at Daytona becomes a family celebration
Harrison Burton’s first NASCAR Cup victory was a special occasion for many families.
Harrison Burton — It’s been a tough year for Burton, who will lose his ride with the team after this season. Until Saturday night, Burton had one top-10 finish this year, but he took the lead from Kyle Busch on the final lap to take his first career series win and secure a playoff spot.
Cody Ware — His fourth-place finish matches Rick Ware Racing’s best finish in Cup. David Ragan finished fourth for the team in the 2020 Daytona 500. Ware’s finish was the best of his Cup career.
Ty Gibbs — His fifth place puts him in the top five for the second time this year.
Parker Retzlaff — In his second Cup start, the 21-year-old Xfinity Series regular was in position to battle for the lead in overtime. After pushing Harrison Burton into the lead, Retzlaff was shuffled back but still finished seventh.
LOSERS
Kyle Busch — It feels wrong to put him here after his second-place finish at Daytona, but Busch is focused on winning and he just missed out on it, losing the lead on the final lap. He wants to extend his streak of consecutive winning seasons to 20 and avoid missing the playoffs for the first time since 2012. Think about it, Busch is .054 seconds away from becoming a two-time winner this year. He finished third by .007 seconds behind Daniel Suarez at Atlanta in February and lost to Harrison Burton by .047 seconds on Saturday night. On the plus side, Busch has finished in the top 10 in back-to-back races for the second time this season.
Bubba Wallace — He finished sixth, but remains the first driver to fall outside of a playoff spot. With the cutline moving up as Harrison Burton clinches a spot, Wallace heads into the Sept. 1 season finale at Darlington Raceway 21 points behind Chris Buescher for the final playoff spot.
What drivers said after NASCAR Cup race at Daytona won by Harrison Burton
A wild night of racing with two cars shot through the air and a first time Cup winner.
Ross Chastain — He entered Daytona with the final playoff position, but fell behind Bubba Wallace and is 27 points behind Chris Buescher for the final playoff position heading into Darlington. Chastain came back to finish 12th after being involved in a crash.
Daniel Suarez — Denny Hamlin’s exhaust ignited spilled fuel in Suarez’s pit box and it reached the back of Suarez’s car, igniting it. Suarez got out of the car safely, but his race was over, resulting in a last-place finish.
