NASCAR: Harrison Burton’s maiden win sets a weird family trend
By Asher Fair
Harrison Burton secured his first career NASCAR Xfinity Series victory at Auto Club Speedway, setting a weird family trend in doing so.
Joe Gibbs Racing rookie Harrison Burton secured the first victory of his NASCAR Xfinity Series career in the third race of the 2020 season at Auto Club Speedway, the Production Alliance Group 300, on Saturday.
The 19-year-old Huntersville, North Carolina native, who made the first nine starts of his Xfinity Series career in a part-time role with Joe Gibbs Racing last year, finished in second and fifth place at Daytona International Speedway and Las Vegas Motor Speedway to open up the season prior to securing this win, which shot him to the top of the championship standings.
Burton started this 150-lap race around the four-turn, 2.0-mile (3.219-kilometer) oval in Fontana, California in second place, and he led 40 laps en route to securing the victory by 0.455 seconds over rookie teammate Riley Herbst in second.
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Teammate Brandon Jones, who dominated the race from the pole position, winning stages one and two and leading a race-high 70 laps, ultimately fell out of contention in the third and final stages.
Burton’s victory in this race set quite an unusual trend in Xfinity Series history, and a family trend at that.
He secured this victory on a Leap Day — Saturday, February 29, 2020. The Xfinity Series has been in existence since 1982, when it was known at the Budweiser Late Model Sportsman Series, so the 2020 season is its 39th season of existence. Heading into Saturday’s race, only one race had been contested on a Leap Day, which makes sense since they happen once every four years.
This race was held back seven years ago (okay, 28 years ago) on Saturday, February 29, 1992 at Rockingham Speedway in Rockingham, North Carolina.
The race winner?
Ward Burton, Harrison’s uncle. Ward is the father of Jeb, who currently competes part-time in the Xfinity Series, and the brother of Jeff, Harrison’s father and a former driver himself.
The only other NASCAR race across the top three series that has been held on Leap Day took place on Sunday, February 29, 1976. This race, a Cup Series race, was won by the legendary seven-time champion and 200-time race winner Richard Petty.
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The year 2032 is still 12 years away, but assuming that NASCAR‘s scheduling format remains the same, the second ever Cup Series race to be held on a Leap Day would presumably be held that year, as February 29 is the fifth Sunday of the month.
The first ever Truck Series race to be held on a Leap Day would presumably be held in 2036, as February 29 is the fifth Friday of the month, and the third ever Xfinity Series would presumably be held next on a Leap Day in 2048, as February 29 is the fifth Saturday of the month.