‘Confidence’ biggest lesson learned in Harrison Burton’s rookie campaign

AVONDALE, Ariz. — Harrison Burton officially wrapped up the 2020 Xfinity Series Rookie-of-the-Year honors at the conclusion of Saturday’s (Nov. 7th) Desert Diamond Casino West Valley 200 at Phoenix Raceway.

Burton beat out fellow contenders Joe Graf Jr., Jesse Little, Riley Herbst and Kody Vanderwal for the award.

“I think the biggest thing for me was just having confidence in myself,” Burton said. “These Xfinity Series cars are so tough to drive. You are always on the edge of grip if you are going fast. I had a great time this year building that confidence.”

Throughout 2020, Burton posted wins at Fontana, Homestead-Miami, Texas and Martinsville.

In 33 starts, Burton netted four wins, 15 Top-5 finishes, 22 Top-10 finishes, 291 laps led and finished eighth overall in final points.

“You can’t point at one thing and say I got better at this, and this and this, if you could, it would be a lot easier to be a better racecar driver,” Burton said. “There is a whole picture that you have to put together. I have great people around me that help me get there.

“I feel like we were a competitor to win the championship this year. We won four races. We needed a little bit more to get to where the Championship 4 was as far as consistency, and we just came up short. I learned a lot and the biggest thing was just confidence.”