Burton's path to professional racing began with a go-kart received at age two and progressed through quarter midget competition, in which he won three USAC championships. His first late model win came in early 2014, and his first super late model victory followed at New Smyrna Speedway in early 2015. A Charlotte, North Carolina native, he made his debut in the CARS Super Late Model Tour in 2015.
Burton broke through nationally in the ARCA Menards Series, winning on his superspeedway debut at Toledo Speedway in his second career start in 2017, then repeating the feat at Pocono Raceway in 2018 — a win he dedicated to former driver John Andretti, then battling colon cancer. He later won in his superspeedway debut at Daytona for Venturini Motorsports in 2019.
Running with MDM Motorsports, Burton became the youngest driver to start a K&N Pro Series East race when he entered the 2016 season opener at New Smyrna. His 2017 K&N East campaign was particularly dominant: he won five of fourteen races, including a rain-shortened race at Bristol and an attrition race at Memphis, and beat Todd Gilliland for the championship by overcoming an eight-point deficit entering the finale.
Burton drove for Kyle Busch Motorsports across three partial seasons beginning in 2016. His debut at the 2016 Alpha Energy Solutions 250 at Martinsville made him and Kyle Donahue the first drivers born in the 2000s to compete in any NASCAR national series. He earned his first Truck Series pole in the 2018 M&M's 200 at Martinsville and won his first series stage at ISM Raceway that November.
Burton joined Joe Gibbs Racing in the series (now O'Reilly Auto Parts Series) for the 2020 season. On February 29, 2020, he earned his first series win at Auto Club Speedway, holding off teammate Riley Herbst. The victory made him the first driver born in the 2000s to win in the series, and made him and his father Jeff the only son-and-father duo to both have won at Auto Club. He added a second regular-season win and reached the playoffs before being eliminated in the first round, then took a pair of post-elimination wins at Texas and Martinsville. He went winless in 2021 but advanced one round further in the playoffs.
Following his Cup Series years, Burton returned to the series in 2025 with AM Racing in the No. 25 Ford Mustang Dark Horse, recording nine top-ten finishes and earning AM Racing's first-ever playoff appearance. He parted ways with the team after the season and signed with Sam Hunt Racing to drive the No. 24 Toyota GR Supra full-time in 2026.
Burton made his Cup Series debut in April 2021 with Gaunt Brothers Racing at Talladega, becoming the first driver born in the 2000s to contest a Cup race. He was named the driver of Wood Brothers Racing's No. 21 Ford Mustang for 2022, replacing Matt DiBenedetto. His debut season included a best finish of third at Indianapolis Motor Speedway in July 2022, though the overall campaign was inconsistent. The 2023 season was difficult, with only two top-ten finishes and a 31st-place points finish.
Burton's defining moment came on July 7, 2024, at the Daytona summer race, when he edged Kyle Busch by 0.047 seconds to claim his maiden Cup win. The victory was simultaneously the 100th all-time Cup win for Wood Brothers Racing — their first since Ryan Blaney at Pocono in 2017 — and secured Burton a spot in the 2024 Cup playoffs. Despite the historic win, he was eliminated in the Round of 16 and finished 16th in the final standings, with an average finish of 25.7 across the season. Wood Brothers announced he would be replaced by Josh Berry for 2025.
In 2026, Burton became the reserve driver for Legacy Motor Club in the Cup Series, and was on standby to replace Erik Jones during the race at Circuit of the Americas when Jones felt unwell, though Jones ultimately finished the race.
Burton has competed in IMSA's Michelin Pilot Challenge as part of Ford Motor Company's sports car development programme. Paired with Zane Smith, he won the 2023 Daytona four-hour opener of the Michelin Pilot Challenge calendar by 0.688 seconds.
Burton attended the Cannon School in Concord, North Carolina and took a gap semester after graduating in 2019 to concentrate on racing. He is the son of Jeff Burton, nephew of former Cup driver Ward Burton, and cousin of current driver Jeb Burton.
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