Last month, Harrison Burton got fired from his job. On Saturday, he became a Cup Series winner.
The 23-year old captured his first checkered flag in NASCAR's top-flight, slipping beyond Kyle Busch in an epic last-lap duel to take home the gold — and shake up the playoff picture in the process.
Burton, Wood Brothers Racing's only Cup Series driver, had to go through hell to don the Coke Zero Sugar 400 belt. There were three separate wrecks that turned the field into a scrap-heap, each one proving more dramatic than the last.
When the dust settled, that left Burton on the front row. He had quite the adversary standing beside him; Richard Childress Racing's Kyle Busch has 63 top-flight wins on his resume, the ninth-most in NASCAR history. He hadn't yet ended the day in victory lane this season. With a playoff spot hanging in the balance and the rest of the field bandaged and in triage, Saturday seemed as good a day as ever for the No. 8 car to race its way to glory.
Burton had other plans. After seemingly surrendering space and time to Busch during the opening two-and-a-half laps of overtime, Burton found his rhythm. Buoyed by Parker Retzlaff's late push, Burton slalomed his way beyond the RRCR standout as they approached the checkered flag. Despite Busch's best efforts, it was the No. 21 who frolicked in confetti in victory lane.
He cried the whole way down the track during his victory lap.
"Obviously got fired from this job," Burton said post-race. I wanted to do everything for the Wood Brothers that I could. They’ve given me an amazing opportunity in life."
With his win, Burton secured Cup Series win No. 100 for Wood Brothers Racing. His dad, Jeff — a former Cup Series star who has since transitioned to a role in NBC's broadcast booth — watched on from the gantry.
Burton entered Saturday's race in 34th place, the worst ranking among full-time Cup Series drivers. He ended it a Coke Zero Sugar 400 champion at NASCAR's most famous colosseum. It doesn't get much more unlikely than that.
The Sporting News tracked live updates and results from Saturday's race at Daytona. Below are the highlights and live race analysis as stock car racing's best and brightest limped their way through one of the most treacherous races in recent memory, the Coke Zero Sugar 400.
MORE: Watch the Coke Zero Sugar 400 live with Fubo (free trial)
NASCAR at Daytona results
| Place | Driver | Car No. | Team |
| 1 | Harrison Burton | 21 | Wood Brothers Racing |
| 2 | Kyle Busch | 8 | Richard Childress Racing |
| 3 | Christopher Bell | 20 | Joe Gibbs Racing |
| 4 | Cody Ware | 15 | Rick Ware Racing |
| 5 | Ty Gibbs | 54 | Joe Gibbs Racing |
| 6 | Bubba Wallace | 23 | 23XI Racing |
| 7 | Parker Retzlaff | 62 | Beard Motorsports |
| 8 | Brad Keselowski | 6 | Roush Fenway Keselowski Racing |
| 9 | Daniel Hemric | 31 | Kaulig Racing |
| 10 | Chris Buescher | 17 | Roush Fenway Keselowski Racing |
| 11 | Carson Hocevar | 77 | Spire Motorsports |
| 12 | Ross Chastain | 1 | Trackhouse Racing |
| 13 | Zane Smith | 71 | Trackhouse Racing |
| 14 | Chase Briscoe | 14 | Stewrat-Haas Racing |
| 15 | John Hunter Nemechek | 42 | Legacy Motor Club |
| 16 | Alex Bowman | 48 | Hendrick Motorsports |
| 17 | Erik Jones | 43 | Legacy Motor Club |
| 18 | Austin Cindric | 2 | Team Penske |
| 19 | BJ McLeod | 78 | Live Fast Motorsports |
| 20 | Joey Gase | 39 | NY Racing Team |
| 21 | Kyle Larson | 5 | Hendrick Motorsports |
| 22 | Austin Dillon | 16 | Richard Childress Racing |
| 23 | Todd Gilliland | 38 | Front Row Motorsports |
| 24 | Martin Truex Jr. | 19 | Joe Gibbs Racing |
| 25 | Austin Hill | 33 | Richard Childress Racing |
| 26 | Josh Berry | 4 | Stewart-Haas Racing |
| 27 | William Byron | 24 | Hendrick Motorsports |
| 28 | Tyler Reddick | 45 | 23XI Racing |
| 29 | Ryan Blaney | 12 | Team Penske |
| 30 | Michael McDowell | 34 | Front Row Motorsports |
| 31 | Joey Logano | 22 | Team Penske |
| 32 | Justin Haley | 51 | Rick Ware Racing |
| 33 | Ricky Stenhouse Jr. | 47 | JTG-Daugherty Racing |
| 34 | Corey LaJoie | 7 | Spire Motorsports |
| 35 | Shane Van Gisbergen | 16 | Kaulig Racing |
| 36 | Chase Elliott | 9 | Hendrick Motorsports |
| 37 | Noah Gragson | 10 | Stewart-Haas Racing |
| 38 | Denny Hamlin | 11 | Joe Gibbs Racing |
| 39 | Ryan Preece | 41 | Stewart-Haas Racing |
| 40 | Daniel Suarez | 99 | Trackhouse Racing |
NASCAR at Daytona live updates, highlights from 2024 race
(All times Eastern)
11:05 p.m.: NASCAR took a look at Burton's restart and it's cleared! He's your race winner! He joins his father, Jeb and grandfather, Ward
11:02 p.m.: Burton steals it at the death! The Wood Brothers youngster secures his first Cup Series win. What a finish. What a performance by the 23-year old, who secured the Wood Brothers 100th top-flight win. The No. 21 car will be in the playoffs!
11:01 p.m.: Back to green and it's Busch in the lead. Overtime is three laps here and it looks like Busch is riding high at the front.
10:59 p.m.: Back to caution here. It's a new-look group of drivers in the top-10, with Harrison Burton, Parker Retzlaff and Daniel Hemric in the top-10.
10:50 p.m.: Berry is out of the car. Gave a thumbs up as he walked away from his bleeding chariot. Scary wreck there for the Stewart-Haas driver.
10:47 p.m.: RED FLAG! Huge wreck. Berry goes flying into the infield wall. Took a huge shot there. The safety team will try to flip the car over and get him out of there.
10:44 p.m.: Back to green here with three laps to go! Cindric and Berry lead the way!
10:43 p.m.: Cindric and Berry leading with four laps to go. You have to assume there's another caution waiting in the wings, however.
10:39 p.m.: Fourteen cars were involved in the mayhem, including the race leader McDowell, Larson, Wallace, Bell, Reddick, Blaney, Logano and Buescher. Could be the end of the line for a great few of Saturday's competitors.
10:32 p.m.: CAUTION! Another Big One! Even bigger than the last! Nearly every car inside the top 15 was affected.
10:30 p.m.: Three-wide with Cindric, Larson and Berry leading the pack.
10:29 p.m.: Keselowski is serving his pass through penalty. McDowell moves to the front row, joining Cindric who leads.
10:27 p.m.: Keselowski is penalized for his restart! However, things are still murky with 13 to go.
10:26 p.m.: Cindric and Keselowski lead the way as we ready for another green flag run! Here we go!
10:24 p.m.: Bell incurs contact from BJ McLeod on pit road. Didn't look like significant contact, but one to look out for with 16 laps left.
10:20 p.m.: Cindric wins the race off of pit road, clocking out with an impressive 2.2s refuel time.
10:16 p.m.: CAUTION! Nemechek goes sliding after incurring some contact from Larson. An unfortunate end to what was a wondrous day under the moon at Daytona.
As for the rest of the field, Nemechek's wreck changes everything. All drivers will now pit under caution.
10:15 p.m.: Sounds like drivers are planning to pit in the next 3-5 laps for most of the drivers in the field.
10:12 p.m.: Toyota starting to percolate, with Wallace and Bell joining Nemechek in the top-5. You have to expect that drivers will start to stream into pit road sooner rather than later. Only 24 laps to go.
10:08 p.m.: The next race will come at pit road. When will cars start to peel off and fill their beak with fuel? With 30 laps to go, Haley holds firm, just ahead of Berry and John Hunter Nemechek, the only Toyota in the top-10.
9:58 p.m.: McDowell is running hard here. But it looks like Justin Haley will stride out to the front! He's won this race before — granted it was rain-shortened. Nevertheless, he's putting on quite the showing in the final stage.
9:50 p.m.: McDowell still holds the lead with 54 laps to go. Reminder: if a new winner emerges from tonight's race, the cut line changes. At present, Buescher is the 16th-seeded driver, while Wallace is the first driver out.
9:45 p.m.: And we're back to green once more! McDowell and Berry leading the field through Turn 1.
9:35 p.m.: A contentious second stage ends with Logano emerging through the mire to pick up the stage win. He's led the most laps thus far and figures to be in contention for the checkered flag when it's all said and done.
9:17 p.m.: CAUTION! Van Gisbergen's engine goes flat. He's done for the day! Looks like that coincided with Erik Jones slaloming onto the wall. Looked like some pieces of Jones' car could've gotten caught in Van Gisbergen's No. 16 car. At least that's what Kaulig Racing is saying.
9:02 p.m.: Back to green! Buescher leads the way after moving past Wallace on pit road.
8:49 p.m.: CAUTION! The first caution of the day comes flying out. And it's for the Big One! Looks like Noah Gragson took a shot from Corey LaJoie and proceeded to take out more than a quarter of the field. Carnage!
8:46 p.m.: Wallace still keeping his place at the front of the pack. Buescher — and by proxy, Keselowski — are doing everything in their might to supplant him. It's been an impressive run in Stage 2 so far for Wallace, the only Toyota car in the top-10 at present.
8:37 p.m.: We're back to green from Daytona. And it's Bubba Wallace who has climbed to the top of the mountain, racing to the lead 12 laps into the Stage 2.
8:29 p.m.: Suarez's car combusts into flames as he pulls into pit road. Fortunately, he escaped before the fire started to threaten him. NASCAR will certainly be looking at the circumstances of the inferno that turned Suarez's once-gleaming chariot into ashes.
8:22 p.m.: Stage 1 comes to a close with Josh Berry taking home his first-career stage victory. That's just what the doctor ordered for Stewart-Haas Racing, which has faltered throughout its final Cup Series campaign.
8:08 p.m.: Team Penske starting to assert itself as Stage 1 reaches its halfway point. Logano and Ryan Blaney continue to sway back-and-forth across the lanes, taking first- and third-place, respectively.
7:58 p.m.: Josh Berry and Joey Logano are caught in an epic battle with McDowell for that P1 position. Keselowski is also on the prowl, searching for a gap to explode through in the mire of dirty air that surrounds him.
7:56 p.m.: Things are pretty tame through four laps. Gilliland and McDowell holding firm atop the field. Looks like Austin Cindric could break into that top-three after receiving a hearty push from Brad Keselowski in the third lane.
7:53 p.m.: And we're off from Daytona!
7:45 p.m.: Front Row leading from the front row! It's Michael McDowell and Todd Gilliland leading at the top of the pack to start things tonight at Daytona. Both could desperately use a win here. They figure to be in good position to compete tonight, although you never know how a race as precarious as Daytona is going to shake out.
7:30 p.m.: Pre-race festivities are wrapping up. We're mere minutes away from the start of tonight's race.
7:00 p.m.: Plenty of intrigue surrounding Trackhouse Racing at the moment. Ross Chastain has the final postseason spot as of now, while Daniel Suarez has already clinched his spot in the postseason. They're adding another talent to their collection in 2025, too; Shane van Gisbergen will run full-time for Trackhouse in 2025 after a glittering showcase in the Xfinity Series this season.
6:45 p.m.: For a moment, it seemed as if bad weather could rear its ugly head once more for tonight's race. However, 45 minutes before the race's start, it seems that we are in the clear. At least for now.
What channel is NASCAR on today?
- TV channel: NBC (U.S.) | TSN (Canada)
- Live stream: Peacock, Fubo
- Radio: MRN
Saturday's race will be broadcast on NBC in the United States. Canadian viewers can find the action on TSN.
Veteran announcer Leigh Diffey will lead the race's lap-by-lap commentator, supplanting longtime announcer Rick Allen, who is moving down to the Xfinity Series. He'll be joined by former Cup Series stars Jeff Burton and Dale Earnhardt Jr., as well as former Daytona 500-winning crew chief Steve Letarte.
Cord-cutters can follow the action on Peacock, as well as with Fubo, which offers a free trial.
NASCAR start time today
- Date: Saturday, August 24
- Time: 7:30 p.m. ET
The Coke Zero Sugar 400 has a listed start time of 7:30 p.m. ET., but pre-race festivities are expected to push the waving of the green flag closer to 7:45 p.m. ET.
NASCAR at Daytona starting lineup 2024
Leading the field for Saturday night's race are Michael McDowell and Todd Gilliland. Below is the rest of the starting lineup for Saturday night's race:
| Starting pos. | Driver | Car No. | Team |
| 1 | Michael McDowell | 34 | Front Row Motorsports |
| 2 | Todd Gilliland | 38 | Front Row Motorsports |
| 3 | Joey Logano | 22 | Team Penske |
| 4 | Ryan Preece | 41 | Stewart-Haas Racing |
| 5 | Josh Berry | 4 | Stewart-Haas Racing |
| 6 | Chase Briscoe | 14 | Stewart-Haas Racing |
| 7 | William Byron | 24 | Hendrick Motorsports |
| 8 | Austin Cindric | 2 | Team Penske |
| 9 | Kyle Larson | 5 | Hendrick Motorsports |
| 10 | Chase Elliott | 9 | Hendrick Motorsports |
| 11 | Kyle Busch | 8 | Richard Childress Racing |
| 12 | Brad Keselowski | 6 | RFK Racing |
| 13 | Chris Buescher | 17 | RFK Racing |
| 14 | Ryan Blaney | 12 | Team Penske |
| 15 | Noah Gragson | 10 | Stewart-Haas Racing |
| 16 | Austin Dillon | 3 | Richard Childress Racing |
| 17 | Martin Truex Jr. | 19 | Joe Gibbs Racing |
| 18 | Bubba Wallace | 23 | 23XI Racing |
| 19 | Denny Hamlin | 11 | Joe Gibbs Racing |
| 20 | Harrison Burton | 21 | Wood Brothers Racing |
| 21 | Alex Bowman | 48 | Hendrick Motorsports |
| 22 | Daniel Suarez | 99 | Trackhouse Racing |
| 23 | Austin Hill | 33 | Richard Childress Racing |
| 24 | Ross Chastain | 1 | Trackhouse Racing |
| 25 | Tyler Reddick | 45 | 23XI Racing |
| 26 | Ty Gibbs | 54 | Joe Gibbs Racing |
| 27 | Christopher Bell | 20 | Joe Gibbs Racing |
| 28 | Daniel Hemric | 31 | Kaulig Racing |
| 29 | Parker Retzlaff | 62 | Beard Motorsports |
| 30 | Zane Smith | 71 | Spire Motorsports |
| 31 | John H. Nemechek | 42 | Legacy Motor Club |
| 32 | Shane Van Gisbergen | 16 | Kaulig Racing |
| 33 | Cody Ware | 15 | Rick Ware Racing |
| 34 | Corey Lajoie | 7 | Spire Motorsports |
| 35 | Ricky Stenhouse Jr. | 47 | JTG Daugherty Racing |
| 36 | Justin Haley | 51 | Rick Ware Racing |
| 37 | Carson Hocevar | 77 | Spire Motorsports |
| 38 | BJ McLeod | 78 | Live Fast Motorsports |
| 39 | Joey Gase | 44 | NY Racing Team |
| 40 | Erik Jones | 43 | Legacy Motor Club |