General Discussion » Toyota recall includes 3.8 million cars sold in the USA
November 2, 2009 General Motors is recalling all models because of a problem with plastic supply and return ports on the modular reservoir assembly. The ...
Burton knows his No. 31 RCR team needs to 'step up' in the Chase
By SceneDaily Staff
Tuesday, September 09, 2008
David Griffin
NASCAR Scene
Jeff Burton must be happy that NASCAR's Chase For The Sprint Cup starts at New Hampshire Motor Speedway.
After all, the Richard Childress Racing driver has generally performed well at that track. He finished 12th there earlier this season and has four wins, seven top-five and 12 top-10 finishes at the track. He has an average finish of 13.1 in 27 Cup races there.
So he's hoping this weekend's Sylvania 400 can spark his championship run and help him improve his seventh position in the standings.
Burton and his team have been working with the team's cars, trying to figure out how to pick up a little more speed. He thinks they've made improvements, but admits that the finishes don't necessarily reflect that.
Burton finished sixth at Richmond last week, his first top-10 since finishing ninth at Indianapolis six races prior to Richmond.
“There have been some races where we ran well but don’t have the finishes to show for it," he said. "We either got involved in a wreck or had penalties that put us back in the field. What I have to do as a driver is to objectively look at where we are versus the competition.
"We’re a step off of where we need to be in comparison to the very best car. Our results don’t indicate it and the results are the only thing that matters. I believe that we are better than we were six months ago or four months ago. What we have to do is step it up right now."
He says that in 2006, he and his team were at their best in the Chase. Burton was the points leader following races in that segment before Jimmie Johnson passed him and went on to win the title. Burton finished seventh, but is relying on that experience to help his group this time.
"We put ourselves in position to win and that’s what we have to do now," he said. "We have to perform a little better and we have to execute. We did a great job of executing the first half of the regular season. The last third of the regular season we haven’t executed. We actually ran better, with the exception of California, in the last six or seven races but we haven’t executed as well as we did early on in the season. Once we start executing again, then we have to improve a little bit on our speed.”
Mentioned Drivers: Jeff Burton
2009 Sprint Cup Race for the Chase Standings
Driver Standings after the Checker O'Reilly Auto Parts 500
| 1 | Jimmie Johnson | 6492 |
| 2 | Mark Martin | -108 |
| 3 | Jeff Gordon | -169 |
| 4 | Kurt Busch | -211 |
| 5 | Tony Stewart | -285 |
| 6 | Juan Pablo Montoya | -289 |
| 7 | Greg Biffle | -321 |
| 8 | Denny Hamlin | -352 |
| 9 | Ryan Newman | -411 |
| 10 | Kasey Kahne | -476 |
| 11 | Carl Edwards | -520 |
| 12 | Brian Vickers | -666 |
Popular News
-
Championship battle may not be tight, but Chase still has some intrigue
Comments (79) -
Kyle Busch would consider Nationwide title his biggest achievement in NASCAR
Comments (70) -
Denny Hamlin vows to retaliate against Brad Keselowski
Comments (70) -
Jeff Gluck: Brad Keselowski's aggressive style should be embraced, not criticized
Comments (53) -
Jimmie Johnson's Texas trouble reignites NASCAR Sprint Cup championship battle
Comments (48)
Recent Headlines
-
Kevin Harvick, Ron Hornaday cap off championship year for KHI
Post Comment -
Roush Fenway Racing's Carl Edwards spins, leads final Nationwide practice
Post Comment -
Colin Braun wins Truck pole for season finale
Post Comment -
Denny Hamlin to have minor knee surgery Wednesday
Comments (1) -
Jimmie Johnson snags pole for Ford 400 at Homestead
Comments (9)
Poll PositionView All
Which has been most detrimental to NASCAR television ratings and attendance this season?
Promotions
-
Play "WIX Filters' Pick 3" stock car fantasy and win prizes. Season 2 is now in session!
-
Tweet your thoughts about each race and join the conversation with other fans.
-
Drive an authentic NASCAR Sprint Cup car at the NASCAR Racing Experience.
-
Make weekly pics for the Chase and be entered to win weekly SPEED Merchandise.
Comments
1 response to "Burton knows his No. 31 RCR team needs to 'step up' in the Chase".
Pat Draper said:
Sep 9, 2008 at 3:49 PMI really hope Jeff has a great chase this year. He is a class act, one of the nice guys in nascar. He has been such a help to RCR just by his knowledge of the sport. I for one would love to see him win this championship. Besides i have him as one of my fantacy picks going into the chase. Good Luck Jeff
Report as AbuseReport Abuse
This feature is intended to allow you to report comments that are abusive in terms of foul/vulgar language, harassment, racial/religious prejudice and any words/phrases of a related nature. This feature should not be used to report users who simply make a comment about your favorite driver, with which you do not agree. Commenting is a forum in which we can all express our opinions. Reporting abuse of others should be done with this in mind.
» Confirm Abuse Report