After successfully navigating his way through an afternoon of three-and four-wide racing at Talladega Superspeedway, Harrison Burton and the No. 21 DEX Imaging Mustang were involved in a multi-car crash with five laps remaining and left the track with a 34th-place finish.
Burton started the race ninth after a season-best qualifying effort and raced in the lead draft all afternoon. He finished the first Stage in 25th place and was 19th in the second.
As the laps wound down, Burton and his fellow Ford drivers, including the three-driver contingent from Team Penske, which has an alliance with the No. 21 team, made their final green flag stop together with 25 laps scheduled to run.
Their pit strategy propelled the group forward and Burton was running fifth by Lap 175. At that point the race boiled down to a two-lane battle with Ford drivers on the inside groove and mostly Chevys outside.
But some pushing went wrong with five laps remaining, and at least 28 drivers, including Burton in seventh place, were collected in the melee.
Burton’s DEX Imaging Mustang was towed back to pit road, but the car was too damaged to be quickly repaired and he was left with a 34th-place finish.
Burton and the No. 21 Wood Brothers team now head to Charlotte Motor Speedway for next week’s Bank of America ROVAL 400 on the track’s infield road course.
WBR PR
