After starting 25th, Harrison Burton and the No. 21 Motorcraft/Quick Lane Mustang worked their way to the front and showed good speed midway through Sunday’s GEICO 500 at Talladega Superspeedway. But like a lot of their competitors they ended up being knocked out of the race in a multi-car crash. Burton wound up 36th in the final rundown.
After finishing fifth in the second Stage, earning six bonus points, Burton restarted the third segment of the race from third place. He took the lead for the first time on Lap 127 and led on two other occasions for a total of 11 laps, swapping the lead several times with fellow Ford driver Ryan Blaney. But on Lap 142 Burton spun from the lead after a drafting push from Noah Gragson didn’t produce the desired result.
Burton managed to regain control of the Motorcraft/Quick Lane Mustang without incurring significant damage. He rejoined the field at the back of the pack and worked his way up into the top 20.
With five of the scheduled 188 laps left to run, Burton was swept up in a crash that started ahead of him. He was knocked into a skid and struck the inside wall. The Motorcraft/Quick Lane Mustang was too damaged to continue.
“Proud of our team!” Burton posted on Twitter after the race. “Always fun to put the 21 in the wind. Sorry [it] didn’t work out, but we’re working.”
Next up for Burton and the No. 21 team is next Sunday’s Wurth 400 at Dover Motor Speedway.
WBR PR
