Getty Harrison Burton will have a new Ford Motorcraft scheme for 2023.
Wood Brothers Racing has made a change for the 2023 NASCAR Cup Series season. The team has changed up one of Harrison Burton‘s primary schemes.
The team provided a glimpse at the new look on Wednesday, January 4. The scheme will still feature the red, blue, and white colors of Ford Motorcraft. However, the red no longer runs down onto the front of the stock car. It now follows the natural line created by the hood.
We tweaked our @MQL_Racing scheme a tiny bit for ‘23. Back to our ‘old’ look, as close as we could anyway. I don’t know why but the big red on the nose last year always made me think of Snuffleupagus, so we’re going back to the clean look.
The layout of the red will change for the 2023 Cup Series season, but there will be other factors that remain the same. The stock car will still have the gold numbers sitting in front of the Ford Motorcraft logo. The Quick Lane logo will also sit above the rear tires.
The Scheme Has Similarities to Past Wood Brothers Schemes
GettyHarrison Burton races at Martinsville Speedway.
The Cup Series team noted in the tweet that this updated design will go back to its “old” look. It won’t be an exact recreation of past schemes, but it will be quite similar to cars that have contended for numerous wins in the past.
For example, this scheme is quite similar to the one that Matt DiBenedetto ran during the 2021 season, his final year with the team. The red still follows the lines of the hood while the Quick Lane logo remains above the rear tires.
The main differences between DiBenedetto’s Gen 6 car and Burton’s Gen 7 are the lack of a Ford Motorcraft logo on the side and the placement of the door numbers. This is expected considering that NASCAR made changes for the Next Gen era. Additionally, DiBenedetto’s ride did not have a blue stripe separating the red and white sections of the scheme.
This “old” scheme has also taken over cars driven by Ryan Blaney, Trevor Bayne, and Paul Menard. One of Bill Elliott’s schemes from 2008 was similar. Though the red did not extend down onto the hood. Bayne, in particular, used a version of this iconic scheme to win the Daytona 500 in 2011.
Burton Will Continue His Pursuit of Strong Performances in 2023
GettyHarrison Burton signs autographs for fans at Texas Motor Speedway.
The 2023 season marks Burton’s second consecutive campaign in the No. 21 Ford Mustang. He will return to Wood Brothers Racing after his rookie season, and he will continue to gain experience at the top level of NASCAR.
Burton dealt with issues early in his rookie season. He flipped upside down in the Daytona 500 after a push from Brad Keselowski, and he crashed the following week at Auto Club Speedway.
Burton was unable to finish seven races due to crashes, but he also made progress throughout the season. For example, he finished 11th in the Coca-Cola 600 before posting his first career top-10 finish at Atlanta Motor Speedway.
The rookie’s season continued with a career-best third-place finish at Indianapolis Motor Speedway and an 11th-place finish at Martinsville Speedway. Now he will return to Wood Brothers Racing and pursue even better performances on the track while showcasing a different version of the Ford Motorcraft scheme.