Harrison Burton “always hated” Jimmie Johnson for a naive reason
Jimmie Johnson joined fellow 7 times Cup winner Richard Petty, as co-team owner ahead of the 2022 season finale.
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Harrison Burton and Jimmie Johnson
Harrison Burton will mark his second full-time Cup season in 2023 with Wood Brothers Racing. Son of Roush Racing legend Jeff Burton, the No:21 Ford Mustang driver had a solid Rookie season last year. He finished last season P27 in the drivers standing with one top 10 and one top 5 finish. Burton impressed towards the end of the season with back-to-back finishes inside the top 20.
Going into the 2023 season, the youngster has the opportunity to race against seven times Cup champion Jimmie Johnson who returned to the Cup series as co-owner of LEGACY MOTOR CLUB. Both drivers will square off against each other in the season opener Daytona 500. Burton is excited to race against his dad’s former rival for multiple reasons.
In one of his latest interviews, the youngster revealed that he hated Jimmie Johnson while growing up, as he was defeating his father to win races. Jeff Burrton started his cup series career in 1993, and his final full-time season was in 2013, the same year Johnson won his last championship. Johnson finished his career with 83 wins and seven championships, while Jeff Burton won 21 races and no titles. Burton’s best Cup runs came before JJ made his debut, and he never had the best cars to fight Johnson’s No:48 HMS car.
“I always hated Jimmie Johnson when I was a little kid because he would win all the races I wanted my dad to win and win the championships that, my dad, I wanted him to win. So, I have to beat him to avenge my dad, right?” Harrison Burton said.
“It’s really cool for a young guy like me to race someone that has won seven championships in our sport. When you first get into Cup, that’s not even like a thought in your brain that you want to win seven championships one day. You just want to win your first race,” Harrison Burton added.
Austin Cindric proclaims Jimmie Johnson as the GOAT
Team Penske Racing driver Austin Cindric who beat H. Burton to win the 2022 Rookie of the Year Award, has nothing but praise for Johnson. He told NBC Sports that Johnson is the most excellent NASCAR driver of all time and shared his appreciation for JJ for his two years in the Indy car series.
“I think Jimmie Johnson is the greatest of all time because of the format changes, the car changes, and the dominance in such a short amount of time, winning all those races,” Cindric told NBC Sports.
“I want to see how he handles himself in those types of situations. It’s going to be new for him, racing the Next Gen car. He spent the last couple of years at a pretty steep learning curve in IndyCar, and I have a lot of respect for that. Looking forward to it. Hopefully, we can trade some paint,”
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Justin P Joy
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