O’REILLY: Harrison Burton swept up in foggy mess at Charlotte

May 23

by Brock Beard / LASTCAR.info Editor-in-Chief

*PHOTO: Small Budget Racing, @BudgetRacing51*

Harrison Burton picked up the 2nd last-place finish of his NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts Series career in Saturday’s Charbroil 300 at the Charlotte Motor Speedway when his #24 Dead On Tools Toyota was collected in a multi-car accident after 51 of 91 laps.

The finish, which came in Burton’s 123rd series start, was his first of the season and first in an O’Reilly Auto Parts Series race since October 5, 2019 at Dover, 217 races ago. In the O’Reilly last-place rankings, it was the 13th for the #24, the 172nd for Toyota, and the 422nd from a crash. Across NASCAR’s top three series, it was the 44th for the #24, the 437th for Toyota, and the 1,458th resulting from a crash.

Between his last series last-place finish and this one, it’s been a rollercoaster ride for young Burton. It immediately predated his breakout year in 2020, when he scored his first four series victories, including a dramatic last-lap pass on Noah Gragson in Texas. His Cup debut came the following year, a 20th-place showing for Gaunt Brothers Racing in Talladega, before he replaced Matt DiBenedetto at Wood Brothers Racing. Burton claimed history in the Clash at the L.A. Coliseum in 2022 by being the first NASCAR driver to roll onto that track, and the first to take a lap in competition driving NASCAR’s NextGen car. Everything else was a struggle until August 2024, when only after it was announced he’d be released from the team did he pull off a dramatic victory in Daytona. This, too, was the result of a last-lap pass, this time on Kyle Busch.

Returning to the O’Reilly Auto Parts Series last year, Burton performed admirably, even qualifying for the Playoffs, but ended the year without a win. Part of this may have been the team – he signed with AM Racing to pilot their #25 Ford, a team that had endured a particularly miserable 2024 campaign, and just recently announced they have suspended operations. For this season, he’s made his way to the #24, the now full-time second entry at Sam Hunt Racing, paired with Dean Thompson in the #26. Many expected results closer to when he last ran Toyotas at Joe Gibbs Racing. But Burton endured terrible luck without a single top-ten finish in the first 14 races. This included Dover, where he qualified a strong 9th, then was spun by Rajah Caruth. But headed into Charlotte, his father Jeff Burton – who witnessed his win at Daytona in 2024 while broadcasting for NBC – was inducted into the NASCAR Hall of Fame

For Charlotte, Burton was one of 38 drivers entered for as many starting spots, putting all entrants into the starting field. He was set to roll off 20th in line for qualifying, but persistent rain cancelled both practice and qualifying, putting him 19th on the grid.

Securing the 38th and final starting spot was J.J. Yeley, who this week was selected to drive the lone Ford in the field, much as Logan Bearden had last week in Dover, RSS Racing’s part-time #38 Ford. This time around, Yeley carried associate sponsorship on the quarter panels from Carolina Land & Grading Solutions. By the time the green flag dropped, Yeley had already moved to 37th as Dawson Cram surrendered the 34th spot in the #35 Denver Dirt Chevrolet, marking what is reportedly the last time Mike Harmon Racing is fielding their car in place of Joey Gase Motorsports with Scott Osteen. Cram crossed the stripe 3.911 seconds back of the lead to Yeley’s 3.566.

By the end of Lap 1, Cram remained in the 38th spot, now 5.030 seconds back of the lead, and Yeley reported his car’s splitter was hitting “a little bit on entry.” Harrison Burton then entered the last-place battle as the field entered Turn 3, where he slid sideways on the inside line and made it to the apron. Cram was running the high lane as he tip-toed past Burton, who prepared to pit and replace his flat-spotted tires. During Burton’s extended stop, Yeley and his spotter reported the rain was picking up. Still under yellow on Lap 6, Andrew Patterson took over last after he incurred the first penalty of the day for pitting his #32 Winsupply Chevrolet on a closed pit road. Patterson caught back up to the field on Lap 7, but NASCAR kept waving off the one-to-go signal due to the rain.

The race restarted on Lap 12 with Cram immediately taking over the last spot again, Patterson now up to 36th. On Lap 14, Cram caught and passed Joey Gase in the #55 Good Dad Gang Chevrolet, which was shown 6.837 seconds back of the lead. Moments later, NASCAR reported a competition caution would fall on Lap 25. By then, Gase was counting the laps: according to his radio traffic, his car struggled over the bumps in Turns 1 and 2, then ran free in Turns 3 and 4. By Lap 20, he was 14.238 seconds back of the lead and more than a full second back of 37th-place Cram at 12.981. Gase reeled in Cram on Lap 24, cutting their gap to about eight-tenths, but lost ground again by the time the competition yellow fell on Lap 26. Gase was still on the lead lap, through 21.899 seconds back of the leader.

On Lap 30, Josh Bilicki took over the last spot after an extended stop for his #07 Mando Chevrolet. By then, Gase incurred a pit penalty for equipment over the wall too soon while Yeley pulled out of line since his crew came over the wall too soon. Gase retook last on Lap 31, followed by Yeley on Lap 32. But on Lap 33, the rain picked up enough to force everyone down pit road under the red flag. At first, NASCAR instructed drivers to stay in their cars, then a few minutes later let them climb out. “Should’ve stayed out,” said someone on Yeley’s channel. “We’d be leading this bitch.”

On an already somber weekend marred by the new of Kyle Busch’s tragic death on Thursday afternoon, and with the Truck Series race already postponed twice to after the O’Reilly race, this rain delay stretched nearly four-and-a-half hours, ultimately postponing the Truck Series race once more to Sunday morning. When engines re-fired, NASCAR ran at least five more caution laps, allowing both Yeley and Gase to officially serve their tail-end penalties. Also docked was Bilicki for a tire violation. Scoring showed Bilicki briefly retake the last spot on Lap 35, followed by David Starr in the #53 Chevrolet, whose last completed flag showed 15,924.622 seconds, reflecting the approximate length of the red flag. Bilicki was again shown last on Lap 36, followed by Cram, who held it on the Lap 37 restart, 3.576 seconds back of the lead.

On Lap 38, Cram remained in last, 5.443 seconds back of the lead, then 9.080 by Lap 41, when he was a half-second back of the now 37th-place Gase. Cram’s crew told him he was running well through Turns 3 and 4, allowing him to run laps faster than Gase. On Lap 45, just moments before the caution fell to finally end Stage 1, Cram dropped Gase to last place and opened up a gap of seven-tenths of a second. Still, when the caution fell, Cram wasn’t happy with his car, and even said it wouldn’t run better with fresh tires. Again, the last spot changed hands quickly and frequently under caution. Taking the spot on Lap 49 was Nathan Byrd in the #42 24 Hour Garage Door Service Chevrolet, then Starr on Lap 50, and Cram on Lap 51. By then, heavy fog was now encroaching on the track, causing a particularly dark spot entering Turn 3.

This led to the critical Lap 52 restart, where Cram was running 3.8 seconds back of the lead when the spotter told him to back it down for a crash. Runing round the 10th spot, Harrison Burton found himself running in a line of traffic on the outside line. To his left, Sheldon Creed’s #00 Road Ranger Chevrolet made contact with the right-rear of Brandon Jones’ #20 Menards / Pennington Toyota. This caused Jones to snap loose and slam into the right side of teammate Brent Crews in the #19 Younglife Toyota. Both cars then hooked to the right at the entrance of Turn 3, trapping poor Burton against the outside wall, collecting him in the wreck. Under the ensuing caution, all three cars slid down to the apron, where all three dropped their window nets. With no drivers off the lead lap, Cram tip-toed through the scene again, this time picking up debris as he drove through.

On Lap 55, three separate tow trucks brought the cars to the garage with Jones leading Crews. Burton’s truck waited a little longer to start bringing his car behind the wall. By then, Burton was classified in last place with Crews in 37th and Jones in 36th. However, TheCW’s leaderboard strangely showed last place change hands on the Lap 59 restart with Crews taking the spot from Burton. At the time, all three were listed as “off” as NASCAR had just that week expanded the Cup Series’ “Damaged Vehicle Policy” to both the O’Reilly and Truck Series, allowing further repairs behind the wall. While Burton and Crews didn’t return to the race, Jones did – even after he was interviewed at the infield care center. This allowed Jones to pass Sam Mayer, whose #41 Charbroil Chevrolet pounded the Turn 2 wall soon after the restart. Yeley rounded out the group, citing fuel pump issues when he pulled up to the team’s modest hauler.

A few find their way through the fog to solid finishes

There was very little racing after this. As the fog continued to thicken, Cram started to leak fluid in Turns 1 and 2, causing several of the frontrunners to skate up the track and into the outside wall. Ross Chastain took the victory with just 91 of the 200 scheduled laps completed. On the other side of that, Leland Honeyman finished a solid 15th in his first series start of the season, this time driving Mario Gosselin’s #92 DPR Construction Chevrolet. Austin Green took 16th in the #87 Purple Hearts and Homes Chevrolet, marking his third-straight top-20 finish after an ugly start to the year. Lavar Scott took 17th in the #45 Urban Affairs Coalition Chevrolet, marking his best run since Rockingham. Watkins Glen last-place finisher Patrick Staropoli took 18th – his best run since Texas – while Talladega last-placer David Starr climbed from the back to take a solid 20th-place finish.

LASTCAR STATISTICS

*This marked Toyota’s first last-place finish in an O’Reilly Auto Parts Series race this season. The last time Toyota trailed an O’Reilly field was June 21, 2025, when Justin Bonsignore’s #19 TW Cable LLC Toyota lost the engine after 7 laps around Pocono.

*This was the first last-place finish for the #24 in an O’Reilly race since June 14, 2025, when Christopher Bell’s turn in the #24 Mobil 1 Toyota at Mexico City left him with a blown engine after 36 laps. The number had never finished last in an O’Reilly race at Charlotte.

THE BOTTOM FIVE

38) #24-Harrison Burton / 51 laps / crash

37) #19-Brent Crews / 51 laps / crash

36) #41-Sam Mayer / 61 laps / crash

35) #20-Brandon Jones / 62 laps / running

34) #38-J.J. Yeley / 64 laps / fuel pump

2026 LASTCAR O’REILLY AUTO PARTS SERIES OWNER’S CHAMPIONSHIP

1st) DGM Racing x JIM, Joey Gase Motorsports with Scott Osteen, Young’s Motorsports (2)

2nd) AM Racing, Big Machine Racing, Haas Factory Team, Hettinger Racing, JR Motorsports, RSS Racing, Sam Hunt Racing, SS-Green Light Racing, Viking Motorsports (1)

2026 LASTCAR O’REILLY AUTO PARTS SERIES MANUFACTURER’S CHAMPIONSHIP

1st) Chevrolet (11)

2nd) Ford (3)

3rd) Toyota (1)

2026 LASTCAR O’REILLY AUTO PARTS SERIES DRIVER’S CHAMPIONSHIP