Harrison Burton responds to news he's being replaced by Josh Berry at Wood Brothers in 2025

Harrison Burton has broken his silence on Josh Berry replacing him at Wood Brothers Racing starting next year. The 23-year-old NASCAR Cup Series driver went to X to send a message to his fans about the surprising news.

“Obviously never good news and never news you want to hear as a race car driver,” Burton began. “But at the end of the day, that’s the way this business works and we need to put that behind us and we still have a great opportunity to go try and get the Wood Brothers their 100th win this season.

Tough news, but we don’t quit! Let’s have a good weekend in Chicago. Thanks for the support. pic.twitter.com/Gw1XPTHA63

— Harrison Burton (@HBurtonRacing) July 3, 2024

“They’ve been really good to me and my family, still have been over these last few weeks. Obviously, with all this stuff developing, our team is as motivated as ever to try to get them win No. 100, and I’m on that same boat. We’re still full steam ahead and pushing and trying everything we could. As that announcement was going live, we were in a meeting at the shop talking about Chicago.”

Burton continued: “Definitely full steam ahead. Still working hard, trying to make the best out of the opportunity we have. Whatever comes in the future just can move on and keep going and still have a great relationship with those guys and everything they’ve done for me. At the end of the day, that’s business, that’s how it goes. But this is not an excuse for us to lay down and die. We’re going to go down swinging.”

Why Harrison Burton is being replaced by Josh Berry

Burton, the son of NASCAR legend Jeff Burton, is in his third season with Wood Brothers Racing. During his time with the team, Harrison Burton has not won a race and has recorded just four top-10 finishes.

Berry joins Wood Brothers Racing after joining Stewart-Haas Racing for the 2024 season. Berry began looking for a new team after Stewart-Haas announced it was shutting down at the end of the year. On Wednesday, Wood Brothers Racing team president Jon Wood explained why they needed to make a move.

“We need to be better. There’s no secret,” Wood said. “This is a business that’s based on chemistry, and it’s a sport that’s based on results, and right now, we’re just not having those results. You know, Harrison shares some responsibility. If it’s on us — we’re not pointing fingers. We’re not here to say this one’s at fault; that one’s at fault. We’re just not where we need to be, and so finding that right chemistry and balance to have those results and performance, that’s what we’re looking for.”