"THAT'S WHAT HAPPENED TO JOEY LOGANO": NASCAR VETERAN URGES HARRISON BURTON TO TAKE A STEP BACK AFTER JOSH BERRY ANNOUNCEMENT

NASCAR veteran Kenny Wallace had some advice for Harrison Burton, who Josh Berry is expected to replace behind the wheel of the number 21 Wood Brothers Racing car. In a recent episode of Coffee with Kenny, the 60-year-old Missouri native opined that Burton should take a step back in his career.

Earlier, Harrison Burton used to drive the number 20 Toyota for Joe Gibbs Racing in the Xfinity Series. The 23-year-old speedster won four races for the Toyota team in 2020 and even qualified for the playoffs that year. After finishing eighth on points for two years straight, Burton joined Wood Brothers Racing's Cup Series program in 2022. However, he finished 27th in his rookie Cup Series season.

Harrison Burton's average finish has come down from 22.8 in 2022 to 26.7 in 2024. Currently, he sits 33rd with 217 points and is 447 points behind the playoff cutline. Reflecting on the same, Kenny Wallace said,

"My advice and quote me right here, Harrison, go back to the Xfinity Series and win some races. Just didn't work out (in the Cup Series). Nobody's fault. You're a good driver, but listen, that's what happened to Joey Logano."

Joey Logano won his first Xfinity race in 2008 in the Meijer 300 driving the number 15 car for AM Racing. He earned 30 wins throughout his career in the Xfinity Series besides recording 143 top 10s and winning 36 poles. His remarkable success in the Xfinity Series drew the attention of Roger Penske, who signed Logano as the driver of the #22 Mustang in 2012.

With that said, Kenny Wallace feels that Harrison Burton's leap into the Cup arena might have been too soon. He also speculated why the #21 car was not as successful as it had expected when the team signed Harrison Burton.

Kenny Wallace shed light on Josh Berry's Cup situation at Harrison Burton's expense

Kenny Wallace revealed that he had a conversation with FOX Sports analyst Larry McReynolds about the current condition of Wood Brothers Racing. According to the veteran ex-crew chief, the Wood Brothers Racing race shop has nothing but a few show cars.

"Larry Mac said, "Listen, I've been to the Wood Brothers shop,"" Wallace recalled in the previous video. ""There's nothing in there. There's a couple of show cars and a dirt car. That #21 Wood Brothers car...that thing is right out of the Penske shop."

Wood Brothers Racing has been in a technical alliance with Team Penske since 2015. This alliance includes entries into Team Penske's driver development program and any collaboration with Penske personnel as and when needed.

Wallace further explained that Ford would do whatever they could to bear the name of Wood Brothers Racing as one of their allies and therefore, adding Josh Berry to their roster could be a step in the right direction for the entire Ford camp.

"Josh Berry is thinking that he can do a better job (with the #21 car)," Wallace said. "That's a Ford car basically. People at Ford love the Wood Brothers. They're gonna do whatever they can do to keep that name going. That's good for the sport."

"Let me tell you what, when you get rid of a driver and you buy a new driver that also lights a fire in the a** of that team, meaning, that Wood Brothers team," he added.

Josh Berry currently sits 19th in the Cup Series standings with 368 points to his credit. Both Berry and Harrison will compete in the upcoming NASCAR Cup Series race in Chicago on July 7.

2024-07-04T07:35:04Z dg43tfdfdgfd