DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. (AP) — Outside his race car and far from playoff chances, Harrison Burton turned his fortunes around with a memorable lap at Daytona International Speedway on Saturday night.

Burton passed two-time Cup Series champion Kyle Busch on the final lap of overtime to secure his first career win and a spot in the NASCAR postseason.

Burton, 23, who had already lost his place in the famous No. 21 Ford at Wood Brothers Racing for next season, took the lead thanks to a huge push from little-known Parker Retzlaff.

Busch fought back and had a chance on the home stretch. He even got on Burton’s bumper, forcing Burton under the double yellow line. However, NASCAR officials ruled that the contact caused Burton to cross the line and did not penalize him.

“There was nothing I could do other than simply destroy him,” Busch said.

Busch finished second, followed by Christopher Bell, Cody Ware and Ty Gibbs. It was Burton’s first win in 98 career Cup starts and the 100th victory for the Wood Brothers.

“I cried the whole victory lap,” Burton said. “Obviously, I got fired from that job. I wanted to do everything I could for the Wood Brothers. They gave me an incredible opportunity in life and it’s unbelievable that I got them No. 100 on the way out. We’re in the playoffs now. Let’s go to Darlington and see what happens.”

Burton’s father, former NASCAR driver Jeff Burton, was commentating for NBC Sports and radioed in congratulations. He also rushed down from the announcer’s booth to celebrate with his son in victory lane.

“It’s been the toughest three years of my life, and obviously the toughest three years for some of these guys,” Harrison Burton said. “To win it the way we just did and beat the best in the business – Kyle Busch – down the stretch is just awesome.”

No one would have expected this, even though Daytona often produces unique winners. Burton finished in the top five once and in the top ten five times in his three-plus years at the highest level of NASCAR.

Now he can fight for a championship that would be even more unlikely.

Thirteen drivers have secured a spot in the 16-man playoff field thanks to their victories: Kyle Larson, Denny Hamlin, Bell, Tyler Reddick, William Byron, Ryan Blaney, Chase Elliott, Brad Keselowski, Austin Cindric, Joey Logano, Daniel Suarez, Alex Bowman and Burton.

Five other winless drivers are competing for the three remaining spots: Martin Truex Jr., Gibbs, Chris Buescher, Bubba Wallace and Ross Chastain. The regular season ends next week in Darlington.

All five participants were involved in accidents at Daytona, the worst of which happened later.

Josh Berry’s No. 4 Ford overturned and crashed into an interior retaining wall, upside down and sliding on its roof. Berry had to wait in his car for several minutes while security turned the car over. But after he was helped, Berry gave the crowd a thumbs up.

Berry was leading the race with two laps to go when Austin Cindric was spun sideways by Busch and collided with Berry.

It was the second time in less than a week that a Cup car rolled over. Corey LaJoie went on a wild ride at Michigan International Speedway on Monday, and NASCAR modified the cars in hopes of increasing starting speed and keeping the cars on all four tires.

“We have to figure out how to keep the cars on the ground,” said driver Joey Logano. “Things aren’t going very well right now.”

Michael McDowell’s No. 34 Ford looked like it was going to roll over a few laps earlier. Cindric spun McDowell sideways while bump drafting, and McDowell’s car went airborne after Logano hit it on the driver’s door.

McDowell’s car almost came to a stop when it overturned.

Daniel Suarez’s No. 99 Chevrolet broke down in the pit lane – literally.

Suarez’s trunk caught fire after a pit stop, a strange series of events that ended his evening after 37 laps.

It started when Suarez and Denny Hamlin were piled up on pit road behind Harrison Burton. Hamlin’s engine appeared to misfire while his exhaust hovered over spilled gasoline. This ignited a fire that spread to the rear of Suarez’s car. By the time Suarez completed a lap under caution, the fire had engulfed the entire rear of his car.

“Just a bad deal,” Suarez said. “I could feel heat on my back, but I couldn’t see it. Very unfortunate.”

NASCAR moves to Darlington Raceway to give drivers one last chance to secure coveted playoff spots.

AP Auto Racing: https://apnews.com/hub/auto-racing