“Cinderella story”: NASCAR Insider explains what makes a Wood Brothers win a special affair across the sport

In a recent episode of "The Teardown", The Athletic's Jordan Bianchi spoke about the importance of Harrison Burton's victory at this year's Coke Zero Sugar 400 at Daytona International Speedway. Burton, who drives the No. 21 Mustang for Wood Brothers, delivered his team their 100th Cup Series win on Sunday, a milestone that the team has been chasing since 2017.

In 2017, Ryan Blaney got Wood Brothers Racing their 99th win at Pocono Raceway and over a decade has passed since then. The 23-year-old driver led just one lap in the 160-lap event, clearing two-time Cup Series champion, Kyle Busch, en route to his first Cup Series victory.

Speaking of how unpredictable racing on Superspeedways like Daytona could be, renowned journalist and The Teardown host Jeff Gluck said:

"This racetrack man. You just never know what you're gonna get when you come here."

Bianchi agreed. Naming the 3.570-mile racetrack in Daytona Beach, Florida the "Wood Brothers Territory", he said,

"They've had so much success here over the years. They've won so many Daytona 500s; they've been involved in so many iconic moments. Whether it's Trevor Bayne winning, whether it's David Person (in) 76 (1976), whether it's Tiny Lund stepping in as a last-minute relief driver and winning... All of these cool moments have been associated with (Wood Brothers Racing) going way back in the day."

"They just added another one. To get their 100th win here, Cinderella story, the driver goes into the playoffs, it's really cool; it's a special moment," Bianchi added.

According to a report by NASCAR on NBC, Harrison Burton is now the 19th different driver to win a NASCAR race for Wood Brothers Racing and is also the only driver born in the 2000s to win a Cup Series race.

"It was the lowest point of lows"- Wood Brothers Racing President reflects on the team being without a charter in 2016 after their 100th win

Wood Brothers Racing was founded in 1950 by Glen Wood. Since its inception, the team has hosted bigshot drivers like David Pearson, Jeff Burton, Neil Bonnett, Buddy Baker, Junior Johnson, Fireball Roberts, and even Cale Yarborough. Honing a technical alliance with Team Penske, Wood Brothers Racing boasts the longest continuous tenure in the Cup Series.

However, before last Sunday, Burton's stint in the team had produced only one top-5 and five top-10 finishes in 96 starts. Furthermore, Burton will be replaced next year by Stewart-Haas Racing's Josh Berry. Recalling their lows over the past few years during an interview at the media center in Daytona, Jon Wood, a former NASCAR driver and the current President of Wood Brothers Racing, said,

"We sat in these seats, I don’t remember, maybe 2016 when we didn’t get a charter. And we were talking about it, and it was the lowest point of lows. And we had to do it. We had to come here, face the music, and say, ‘I think we’ll be OK.’ And we are."

"You’re gonna make me cry, and I don’t cry. You know, that’s the part that’s just so surreal in this is sitting in the same seat and thinking of where we were and where we are now. You go from the lowest of lowest to just on top of it, and I don’t know what else to say," Wood added.

Fighting against all odds, Harrison Burton has made it to this year's playoffs. His next race is at Darlington Raceway on September 1. Fans can watch Burton in action on NBC Sports and the USA Network (6 PM ET). Radio updates will be available on MRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio.