Can Burton Bounce Back?
Panic not in Burton's sightline . . . yet
BY RALPH N. PAULK
TIMES-DISPATCH STAFF WRITER
FORT WORTH, Texas - Jeff Burton isn't ready to push the panic button, but he admits a misstep during today's Dickies 500 at Texas Motor Speedway could severely cripple his Nextel Cup title chances.
Burton, a South Boston native, sat atop the Nextel Cup points standings for four weeks before relinquishing the lead to Matt Kenseth. In a span of two weeks, his fortunes have faltered strongly and now he's desperately fighting to narrow his 84-point deficit.
Burton can't afford to drive conservatively like he did in the first five Chase for the Nextel Cup races, which included his lone victory this year at Dover. He tried patience at Martinsville and Atlanta, but wasn't rewarded for his efforts.
Now, he's in the unenviable situation of having to push the No. 31 Chevrolet to its limits. And he can't wait too long to make his move today, considering he'll start near the back of the 43-car field after a disappointing qualifying effort leaves him sitting in Row 15.
"To me, what I am looking at, are we in the position to press to try to make something happen?" asked Burton, making his 437th career Cup start today. "I still don't think we are there."
Yet, he and crew chief Scott Miller agreed the moment to panic might be somewhere around the corner. With Phoenix and Homestead-Miami left after today's race, there's little room for error - and very little time to catch up.
"We definitely can't afford any mistakes," Miller said. "We still have a chance to win this thing."
It seems that fate has conspired to deny Burton his first-ever Cup title. Mostly, myriad tire problems affected his results at Talladega (27th), Martinsville (42nd) and Atlanta (13th).
Burton and Miller aren't pointing an accusatory finger, but something has gone awry during the second half of the Chase. Further complicating matters, Burton says, is the fact no one can put their finger on it.
"In this sport, there are a lot of finger-pointers," Burton said. "There are a lot of people that give up on people really quickly.
"In all honesty, if you have a driver or a crew member or a tire changer that continually makes a lot of mistakes, at some point, you have to do something about that."
more on Jeff Burton's bounce back
BY RALPH N. PAULK
TIMES-DISPATCH STAFF WRITER
FORT WORTH, Texas - Jeff Burton isn't ready to push the panic button, but he admits a misstep during today's Dickies 500 at Texas Motor Speedway could severely cripple his Nextel Cup title chances.
Burton, a South Boston native, sat atop the Nextel Cup points standings for four weeks before relinquishing the lead to Matt Kenseth. In a span of two weeks, his fortunes have faltered strongly and now he's desperately fighting to narrow his 84-point deficit.
Burton can't afford to drive conservatively like he did in the first five Chase for the Nextel Cup races, which included his lone victory this year at Dover. He tried patience at Martinsville and Atlanta, but wasn't rewarded for his efforts.
Now, he's in the unenviable situation of having to push the No. 31 Chevrolet to its limits. And he can't wait too long to make his move today, considering he'll start near the back of the 43-car field after a disappointing qualifying effort leaves him sitting in Row 15.
"To me, what I am looking at, are we in the position to press to try to make something happen?" asked Burton, making his 437th career Cup start today. "I still don't think we are there."
Yet, he and crew chief Scott Miller agreed the moment to panic might be somewhere around the corner. With Phoenix and Homestead-Miami left after today's race, there's little room for error - and very little time to catch up.
"We definitely can't afford any mistakes," Miller said. "We still have a chance to win this thing."
It seems that fate has conspired to deny Burton his first-ever Cup title. Mostly, myriad tire problems affected his results at Talladega (27th), Martinsville (42nd) and Atlanta (13th).
Burton and Miller aren't pointing an accusatory finger, but something has gone awry during the second half of the Chase. Further complicating matters, Burton says, is the fact no one can put their finger on it.
"In this sport, there are a lot of finger-pointers," Burton said. "There are a lot of people that give up on people really quickly.
"In all honesty, if you have a driver or a crew member or a tire changer that continually makes a lot of mistakes, at some point, you have to do something about that."
more on Jeff Burton's bounce back
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