After being collected in a Lap One multi-car crash that put them two laps down, Harrison Burton and the No. 21 Menards/Dutch Boy team rallied to finish 23rd in Sunday’s Hollywood Casino 400 at Kansas Speedway.
Burton started the 400-miler from 28th place but was soon bounced back to 37th after the opening-lap crash. During a caution period at Lap 20 for a spin by Kyle Larson, the Menards/Dutch Boy team elected to take the wave-around and regained one lost lap. Burton ended the first 80-lap Stage in 36th place, then the second Stage saw a big comeback.
At Lap 144 he again was two laps down when the caution flag was displayed for a spin by Daniel Hemric. The Menards/Dutch Boy team elected to take the wave-around to move back to one lap down. Burton was in 33rd place and in the free pass position when the green flag flew again.
A caution for a wreck on the restart put Burton back on the lead lap for good. He worked his way to 19th place by the time the second Stage ended at Lap 165. Because he had made a pit stop before the end of the Stage Burton moved into 10th place when most of the leaders made their stops. He ran in the top 15 for several laps, then raced in the top 25 for the remainder of the race, eventually taking the checkered flag in 23rd.
Eddie Wood said he was proud of the way his team overcame adversity, especially on a weekend in which they were honoring Michael Dryman as a cancer hero. Dryman, who has been battling stage 4 metastatic colorectal cancer, is the husband of Sasha Soares, who is employed by Team Penske and works closely with the Wood Brothers team.
Burton and the Wood Brothers team now head to Talladega Superspeedway for next Sunday’s YellaWood 500.
WBR PR
