Jeff Burton avoids mayhem to win at Bristol
Quote selected text Published March 16th, 2008 in NASCAR News
Jeff Burton raced past Denny Hamlin on a two-lap sprint to the finish today to give Richard Childress Racing a 1-2-3 sweep at Bristol Motor Speedway, and deny Joe Gibbs Racing a victory after its three drivers dominated the race.
Burton scored his first win at Bristol, the first win of the season for Chevrolet and led teammates Kevin Harvick and Clint Bowyer across the finish line in the first podium sweep in RCR history.
In doing so, the team stole a race that was dominated by JGR drivers Tony Stewart, Hamlin and Kyle Busch. The trio combined to lead 372 of the 500 laps, but Hamlin’s sixth-place finish was the best of the group.
Stewart led a race-high 267 laps — 10 more than he did in this event last year — but again fell short of the win. Mechanical problems ruined it for him last season, but it was questionable strategy and contact with Harvick that wrecked his chances this time around.
Stewart was chugging along toward the victory, trying to hold off the hard-charging Harvick and Hamlin, when Brian Vickers crashed to bring out a caution with 11 laps to go. Stewart thought he should pit for tires, but was overruled by crew chief Greg Zipadelli, who wasn’t sure there were enough laps left to warrant changing the tires.
So Stewart stayed out — along with Hamlin and Dale Earnhardt Jr. — while everyone else on the lead lap headed to the pits. Zipadelli instantly questioned the call.
“I don’t know if that was right or wrong,” he radioed Stewart, “but it’s in your hands now.”
Stewart jumped out to a huge lead on the restart with five laps to go, but Hamlin quickly chased him down and moved into first. Harvick, who restarted in fourth with fresh tires, also closed quickly on Stewart’s bumper. But as he moved in for the pass, the cars made contact and Stewart went spinning into the wall.
“I just lost it there underneath of Tony. Just made a mistake,” he said. “They can take it for what it’s worth, and move on.”
Stewart, who finished 14th, was livid on his radio after the accident but had calmed by the time he climbed from his car and was taking partial responsibility for the contact.
“I thought I left him enough room,” Stewart said. “I’m sure somehow it was my fault. I’m sorry I got in his way.”
RESULTS:
FIN, ST, CAR, DRIVER, MAKE, SPONSOR, PTS/BNS, LAPS, STATUS
1 8 31 Jeff Burton Chevrolet AT&T Mobility 190/5 506 Running
2 10 29 Kevin Harvick Chevrolet Shell / Pennzoil 175/5 506 Running
3 3 07 Clint Bowyer Chevrolet Jack Daniel’s 170/5 506 Running
4 14 16 Greg Biffle Ford Jackson Hewitt 160/0 506 Running
5 15 88 Dale Earnhardt Jr. Chevrolet National Guard / AMP Energy 155/0 506 Running
6 12 11 Denny Hamlin Toyota FedEx Express 155/5 506 Running
7 20 9 Kasey Kahne Dodge Budweiser 146/0 506 Running
8 16 8 Aric Almirola Chevrolet U.S. Army 142/0 506 Running
9 32 38 David Gilliland Ford FreeCreditReport.com 138/0 506 Running
10 4 17 Matt Kenseth Ford DISH Network 134/0 506 Running
11 2 24 Jeff Gordon Chevrolet DuPont 130/0 506 Running
12 36 2 Kurt Busch Dodge Miller Lite 127/0 506 Running
13 11 1 Martin Truex Jr. Chevrolet Bass Pro Shops / Tracker 124/0 506 Running
14 6 20 Tony Stewart Toyota The Home Depot 131/10 506 Running
15 21 42 Juan Montoya Dodge Texaco / Havoline 118/0 505 Running
16 9 99 Carl Edwards Ford Office Depot 115/0 504 Running
17 22 18 Kyle Busch Toyota M&M’s 117/5 504 Running
18 1 48 Jimmie Johnson Chevrolet Lowe’s 114/5 504 Running
19 27 19 Elliott Sadler Dodge Stanley Tools 106/0 504 Running
20 39 00 David Reutimann Toyota Aaron’s Dream Machine 103/0 504 Running
21 24 6 David Ragan Ford AAA Insurance 100/0 504 Running
22 31 66 Scott Riggs Chevrolet Haas Automation 97/0 503 Running
23 40 55 Michael Waltrip Toyota NAPA AUTO PARTS 99/5 503 Running
24 28 7 Robby Gordon Dodge RVs.com / Camping World 91/0 503 Running
25 25 96 J.J. Yeley Toyota DLP HDTV 88/0 503 Running
26 17 01 Regan Smith * Chevrolet DEI / Principal Financial Group 85/0 503 Running
27 30 28 Travis Kvapil Ford Yates Racing 82/0 503 Running
28 35 45 Kyle Petty Dodge Marathon American Spirit Motor Oil 79/0 501 Running
29 7 77 Sam Hornish Jr. * Dodge Mobil 1 76/0 501 Running
30 33 70 Jeremy Mayfield Chevrolet Haas Automation 73/0 500 Running
31 23 41 Reed Sorenson Dodge Target 70/0 500 Running
32 29 15 Paul Menard Chevrolet PEAK / Menards 67/0 499 Running
33 13 12 Ryan Newman Dodge ALLTEL 64/0 499 Running
34 34 22 Dave Blaney Toyota Caterpillar 61/0 498 Running
35 42 78 Joe Nemechek Chevrolet Furniture Row/ DenverMattress.com 58/0 498 Running
36 26 40 Dario Franchitti * Dodge The Hartford 55/0 497 Running
37 37 44 Dale Jarrett Toyota UPS 52/0 496 Running
38 19 43 Bobby Labonte Dodge Cheerios / Betty Crocker 49/0 489 Running
39 38 83 Brian Vickers Toyota Red Bull 46/0 486 Running
40 43 84 Mike Skinner Toyota Red Bull 43/0 441 Running
41 41 49 Ken Schrader Dodge Qtrax.com 40/0 420 Running
42 5 5 Casey Mears Chevrolet CARQUEST / Kellogg’s 37/0 417 Running
43 18 26 Jamie McMurray Ford Crown Royal 34/0 373 Running
* Denotes Rookie
Bookmark to:
- Burton testing at Nashville
- RCR and Burton looking to do long term deal
- Burton’s No 31 rolls onto Bristol with no logos-UPDATED
- Gordon says trouble inevitable at Talladega today
- Burton to Visit ESPN
Good win for Burton, and the nice old school Polish victory lap.
Crazy but awesome finish! Congrats Burton.
Again… Jr top 5 finish! Woot! 5th in points… and “some” say he doesn’t have what it takes… eat those stats LOL
hahaha AMEN jr88fan….that person above you is one of those people….IN YOUR FACE…#1 Hendrick driver so far in 2008 and i wouldnt be suprised if they keep it that way…3 STRAIGHT Top-5 Finishes….and i might add Martinsville is a really good track for hendrick…so i wouldnt be suprised if ole junebug knocked off another top5 or a WIN….so too all you JR NATION haters….this one is for you…
Keep up the good work Tony Eury! We know JR can drive..just give him good cars
Passing Darrell a Bud! Cheers (clink) =)
overreacting much?
Until our boy Junior gets a win, lets keep the level of cockiness
back shall we?
Andy wrote:
Sure would be nice, but don’t hold your breath because I doubt it will happen. Awesome day for RCR… With a little luck it would have been an awesome day for JGR too. All I know is I’m glad to see some variety and not just the Gordon/Johnson show week in and week out!
Andy wrote:
Maybe a tad over the top he was BUT the facts were true. Dale Jr. keeps clicking off top 5 finishes he will be #1.
Oh and it has been proven that a driver never has to win a race to win a Championship but Jr. will get that win, soon.
If he would have pitted, he might have had a shot at the win… Thats what 2 times this year he got screwed over by not pitting….
I wasn’t saying anything that isn’t true. The fact IS that Jr has had great finishes and as we have seen in the past (like Johnson), it doesn’t take a multitude of wins, just great finishes to get a championship. Sure, I would love to see Jr get wins, but being consistent and in top 5’s and 10’s is only going to keep him in the running and possibly a championship season. We all hear week in and out about how its all about the consistent finishes. We also hear over and over again with these commentators about “panicking about the season” or things falling apart for them because a race or two goes bad for someone. But that’s also being said in only 5 races, etc. So, all he is doing is paving his way forward towards that championship. It’s not being arrogant. I am tired of some of the people here constantly trying to bring Jr or his fans down or ALWAYS having a negative say or view of him. Well, this is just showing that they don’t really back that up. People have good weeks and good seasons and some have bad weeks, bad seasons. And, yes, we do have a long way to go, but its always nice to be able to celebrate to and to stay positive.
And, that was great too- to see RCR 123’s. Very cool.
Did Stewart just take blame for that mishap he had with Kevin Harvick? Seems depressed.
Yes, he pretty much did. I’d be depressed too considering he had a good run today and then blew it with that move. He really did seem to be the winning car in the end there and for that to happen, just blows. He and Kevin are pals, and just like Kevin said, they’ll work it out. I gotthe feeling that some stuff was said over the raio’s about that in Kevin’s ears from spotters and whatnot. He didn’t take to kindly to wahtever it was and whoever it was saying that stuff. He was rather ticked off because it was as if “they” who said it was attempting to cause a riff between those two. So, its nice that he put his foot down on the blame game and stood up for Tony as well.
Fisha695 wrote:
If he had pitted, the others may have gambled and stayed out. He was in the worst position possible
at that moment. It’s six of one and a half dozen of the other….He did the right thing.
I don’t think Tony was taking the blame in his interview, I honestly think he was being somewaht sarcastic.
Much like many people always think that everything is George W. Bush’s fault,
certain people say that everything is always Tony’s fault. Like the drama with Goodyear last week,
it was okay for the other driver’s to complain, but it made CNN when Tony complained.
Yeah but wasn’t Jr the one that wanted to pit? As a crew chief for our modified team if we had radios (track doesn’t allow them for weekly races, only the bigger races) and if my driver wanted to pit, I’d let him, because they are the one driving the car and they are the ones that know how the car feels. And if it was a mistake pitting, well then that is on the drivers head because they are the one that choose to pit.
Oh here we go.. its Jr fault as usual. sigh. Sure he wanted to pit, but as like the other situation before, the decision was made too late. Tony Eury wanted Jr to stay out and risk it as did a couple others. He was in a no win. Jr wanted thsoe tires and he said that the car wasn’t good at that point, but by time Tony said “Ok, your call”, Jr had passed pit road. The only problem here that I see is that those two are communicating too late in their decision and this is the result that’s happening. They’ll get it straight. I wish Jr had gotten the tires. But like Jr even said, he still would have been in the same position in the end. He would have came out in the same spot and had fresher tires, but the car just had gone away and that was where he ended up anyway. So, apparently, no harm no foul. I just hope they get the communication straight soon, so there aren’t anymore “near wins” tossed away.
Dale Jr wanted to pit. Tony said he’d be fine, I don’t think
Tony was expecting that many cars to come down
pit road. Either way, Junior did great to only lose one
position during the whole restart to the finish.
But I agree, I think it’s more of the drivers choice. They
know what’s going on.
great finsh for all top ten
Junior has 4 top 10, or is it top 5 finishes which makes him the best at HMS right now. That is a surprise to many at this point of the season. Burton has laost a few races in similar fashion to how he won at Bristol. He’s as steady as they come. Harvick looked like and idiot getting into Stewart. Poor Hamlin. That’s the second or third time in the past year where he had problems that cost him at the end. The Gibbs cars are still the ones to beat.
congrats to RCR great race to sweep the top three. And to get off this JR argument I would just like to say one thing. How about Aric Almirola in the army 01 Chevy. Everybody said earlier this week that he sucked, and he would be lucky to finish the race. Then he pulls off a top ten good job brother, I’m glad I had something to cheer for DEI this week, also I would like to point out that Menard was have a great run until he got involved in that wreck( wrong place wrong time) man I’m telling yall DEI has some great young talent. Truex just couldn’t get the car right, and had to fight to stay on the lead lap all race and still cracks the top 15. Ok now back to what you people were saying, I hate to do it but I agree with Jr88fan,(hell just froze over) oh no I said hell I hope I don’t get fined.(see another post) Consistent top 5’s is what wins championships and JR has been having good finishes lately. I don’t not think he is going to win the championship but at least he is setting himself up to do so, and that’s what its going to take for JR to have any shot at the cup. So JR is doing what he needs to do to set himself up for when the chase starts, so jr88fan I will agree with you there. See I’m not that mean lol
RCR…123’s sweet!!! I think Hendricks needs to move aside because RCR is going to dominate. Last year Harvick dominated and Burton rarely finished outside of the top 10. This year RCR drivers have been finishing in the top 10. Its gonna be a great year!!!
I don’t agree that It was Dale Jr. call to come in or not that was the crew chiefs call. That is why he is in charge to make those calls. Jr. as the driver gives the crew chief input as to how the car is handling and if he thinks he can run to the finish on the tires he has or get passed by every one.
It is up to Tony Jr. to make a decisive call with enough time to come in or stay out.
Tony Jr. is up on the box, he has a overall view and every one gives him input to make the call but time after time he wavers and either puts it on Dale Jr. to decide or waits to long to say what he wants. Tony Jr. is not up to the job on this car, Period !!!
Fisha695 wrote:
Fisha thats called passing the buck = If you are the crew chief then you make the call other wise who needs you for what if all you do is put it on the driver to make the call so if he is wrong you don’t look bad ?? WRONG you don’t win races with that strategy…
Well I didn’t understand what Stewart said in his post-race interview Lol. All I heard was that he was sorry he was in the way or something. Remember he’s still on probation.
OMG!! Truexfan actually agreed with me! Hold the press’ LOL See we CAN agree on some things sometimes. BTW- I think that was pretty bad ass of Truex’s remarks made. Telling it like it was, good for him. Swearing or not. (which I don’t mind- see other thread) =)
Great race for RCR! JR had another good finish and is in the top ten in points. It is the crew chief who makes the call on pitting and it was not that bad of a call. Protect the points.
great win for Burton. He is the best, cleanst driver ever. great for rcr inc. Now that rcr has good cars maybe burton will get his championship ring this year. . he deserves it more then them cry babies at hendrick motor. 2 weeks and the good times will roll again and yea burton go get it done…
colonel wrote:
tisk tisk tisk i dont remember anything about hendrick crying yesterday
sal#24 wrote:
Hendrick did not cry…just some fans!