Individually, the 2024 NASCAR season was difficult for Harrison Burton and AM Racing.
Burton struggled to gain his footing competing in the NASCAR Cup Series with Wood Brothers Racing (despite winning in the late summer at Daytona), which led to him being replaced by Josh Berry at season’s end.
Likewise, AM Racing lost grip of what had been a solid 2023 campaign with Brett Moffitt, bringing Hailie Deegan on board to run full-time. But, when that deal fizzled out, the second-year organization was forced to bring in a roster of interim drivers, who only collected a pair of top 10s (courtesy of Joey Logano).
So yes, there was some skepticism about bringing AM Racing and Burton together for the 2025 NASCAR Xfinity Series campaign, but after the opening five races have provided an electric start, those reservations have all been washed away.
For the Huntersville, North Carolina native, runs like the eighth-place finish Saturday at Las Vegas Motor Speedway have not only brought the driver some confidence from good performances but have also proven to be quite a bit of fun.
“It was different. The biggest thing was the line, I was not prepared to old Atlanta wrap the bottom, I was prepared to go try to run the top in [Turns 3 and 4] and it just felt like it took the right-front tire off doing that,” said Burton. “In the Cup car, that was where I made all my speed up there, was at the top, so total mindset change for me, and I had to learn that lesson the hard way the first stage, where I ran top, passed some guys, and then they’re going right back by me because I burnt my tires off.”
“But a lot of fun and really, really good package on these mile-and-a-halves in these Xfinity [Series] cars are a blast to drive.”
The 24-year-old started the season strong by being the only driver to score top 10 results in the opening two races of the season, finishing sixth and tenth at the drafting tracks of Daytona International Speedway and Atlanta Motor Speedway.
Burton and AM Racing also brought some decent pace (and strategy) to Circuit of The Americas (COTA), winning a stage and running inside the top 12 late before a mechanical issue derailed their finish.
After the first short-oval event of the year at Phoenix, there were still some question marks about everybody’s rank on the totem pole of the NASCAR Xfinity Series. Those questions are now answered after the first mile-and-a-half of the year at Las Vegas, especially those surrounding the expectations for the No. 25 Ford Mustang.
The son of NASCAR Cup Series winner Jeff Burton has been adamant since the pairing was first confirmed last September that AM Racing would be challenging for victories and fighting for a post-season spot in 2025 – and after Las Vegas, it appears that isn’t too far-fetched.
Driving the No. 25 Dead On Tools Ford Mustang Dark Horse, Burton and AM Racing finished an impressive eighth in Saturday’s The LiUNA! at Las Vegas Motor Speedway, the team’s third top-10 finish of the season.
While Burton wasn’t competing for the victory, just yet, he and crew chief Danny Efland were able to get the No. 25 to methodically work through the pack, getting into top 10 in the running order by the tail-end of the event, from the 18th-place starting spot.
“Just needed to get better sooner, like I felt like it took us two stages to get the Dead On Tools Ford Mustang where it needed to be on balance,” said Burton post-race. “We were just tight, tight, tight, and building tighter, it seemed like that was the death wish, if you were tight at the start of the run you were going to end horribly, so we were just freeing up all day and I was waiting for it to get too loose, but it never really did, it ended the race probably a little bit too tight, but really good on lap time and in the hunt there.”
“Overall, a decent day for us, and the days we need to keep stacking to put ourselves in a good point spot to get in the Playoffs.”
Burton and AM Racing leave Saturday’s The LiUNA! at Las Vegas, the fifth race of the 26-race NASCAR Xfinity Series regular season, sitting 12th on the NASCAR Xfinity Series Playoff Grid, with a five-point advantage over Carson Kvapil.
As the series heads to another mile-and-a-half, although a vastly different one, Burton will look to take his previous successes in the NASCAR Xfinity Series and translate them into another solid run for AM Racing, one that will help build their case towards making the post-season.
