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Harrison Burton, a 2022 Cup rookie, has Brian Wilson as his crew chief
Brian Wilson will join Wood Brothers Racing as the crew chief for Harrison Burton’s rookie NASCAR Cup Series campaign next season, the company announced Thursday.
Wilson just finished his 18th season with Team Penske, which is connected with Wood Brothers Racing on a technical level.
They returned to the Xfinity Championship 4 one year after winning the NASCAR Xfinity Series championship with driver Austin Cindric, finishing second to Daniel Hemric.
Cindric, like Burton, will drive Penske’s No. 2 car in the Cup Series next season.
Wilson was a Penske engineer during Brad Keselowski’s 2010 Xfinity and 2012 Cup victories, in addition to being a crew chief. In 2004, he joined the Penske organization for the first time.
In 2022, he’ll team up with Burton, who just finished a two-year tenure as the No. 20 Xfinity entry for Joe Gibbs Racing.
Burton went winless in 2021 after a four-win season in 2020. He did, however, make it to the Xfinity playoff Round of 8 before being ousted in the Martinsville Speedway last cut event.
Burton made his first Cup start this season in the Talladega Superspeedway race in April. Gaunt Brothers Racing placed him 20th.
Wilson and Burton will work together to deliver Wood Brothers Racing their 100th Cup Series victory.
Since Ryan Blaney’s victory at Pocono in June 2017, the organization has been stuck on 99 Cup victories. Matt DiBenedetto, the team’s most recent driver, has failed to win in two seasons at the wheel of the No. 21 car.
“I don’t think I can put that into words,” Wilson told SiriusXM NASCAR Radio Thursday about perhaps claiming the Wood Brothers’ elusive 100th win. “I mean, that would be a huge moment for me, personally. It would be huge for Harrison. It would be huge for our whole team, for the Wood Brothers, for Ford.
“I think it’d be very hard to put it into words but obviously, it would be probably the best moment in my career. So, I can’t wait to try and make that happen.”
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