Burton, team looking to improve on strong season
by REA WHITE, FOXSports.com
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| Rea White (NASCAR Scene) |
Burton is on top of his game these days, starting the season in championship form. He's one the most consistent performers on the Cup circuit.
One wouldn't know it to be around Burton and his crew, though. They don't spout stats and driver ratings, don't point to their opening stretch that has a worst finish of 13th after 11 races. They don't predict championships or race wins. Burton gently sidesteps questions about whether he considers himself a favorite for the title this season. Yet, others must feel their confidence growing as the momentum continues.
Yet, Burton and his team continue to look for an edge.
While Burton already has a win and a streak of strong finishes this season, he is not one of those drivers leading races week to week. He's not the one that seems poised for a breakout run like Roush Fenway Racing's Carl Edwards or Joe Gibbs Racing's Kyle Busch. He is not someone, though, that people are taking lightly.
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Burton sees much improvement in his team since last year. While the team made a giant leap in 2006— the year Burton made the Chase for the Sprint Cup after finishing 18th in the standings the previous season— it has made more subtle improvements since then.
He's finished seventh in the standings the last two years and led the series at times last year. He's been atop the standings following four races this season and has not been lower than 12th overall after any of the first 11 races.
"There is no question that we're better than we were three years ago," Burton says. "We couldn't put ourselves in position to do the things we need to do three years ago, we just couldn't do it. Over the last two years and up to (this) point this year, we've had enough speed to put ourselves in position to have good finishes and contend for the championship. We made a big step in '06 and in '07 I thought we kind of stayed level, and I think we've taken a positive step this year.
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"I know it doesn't show in laps led, but there are a lot of areas that we won't talk about publicly. There are a lot of areas that we as a team feel that we're way stronger in. Those are backed up by evidence, so we're a much stronger team today at this point than we were last year at this point. I don't know what our laps led and all looked like last year, but I know we're a better team and I think that we'll shine as the year goes on, I really do."
In many ways, the team already is. With crew chief Scott Miller, Burton's team has shown the ability to turn a respectable day into an even better one. They've managed to continually make the cars better, to wait until the right moment to make their moves. They are racing with not only well-developed strategy, but with intelligence and sheer talent.
They may not be running at the front, seemingly waiting to strike every week, but they're working on getting to that point.
They're confident without being arrogant. Unwilling to throw their name into the championship hat, they are clearly a team that could end the season hoisting a trophy — but one that understands the detailed work needed to get to that point.
So as Burton assesses his season, he freely admits that the team worries about the lack of speed his car has shown in races. He knows they need to pick up the pace a little, but he also sees a lot of positives in this early-season run.
Team owner Richard Childress does as well. He sees a lot of good things coming from his trio of drivers — all three of whom are in the top nine in the standings.
"We just need to have enough speed to lead more laps," he says of all three of his teams. "We've got the consistency, we've got the performance, we've got the long runs, we've got a lot of stuff working, but I'd like to see more speed to be able to lead more laps."
Still, it would be hard to question the effort of Burton's No. 31 team this season.
They're a team that's capable of making things happen. If they make an incremental gain with this car, they will be an even more formidable operation to contend with. This season has clearly shown that once a team gets on top of its game, it's difficult to compete with them.
While Carl Edwards and Kyle Busch have each grabbed three wins each, while Denny Hamlin has been on a hot streak, Burton and his group have quietly and inconspicuously stayed right on pace.
Perhaps that's their greatest asset this year—their ability to do more with less. Imagine what will happen when they make another minor gain with this car.
"I think that we deserve a lot of credit in getting a lot out of average days," Burton says. "When we do it, it's been viewed as they've been lucky and they've been in the right place at the right time. It's very similar to what the 48 team (of Jimmie Johnson) has done over the last two or three years.
"How many races have they been running 20th and found a way to finish fifth, which by the way, that's a sign of a great race team. You're not always going to be your best, and when you're not your best, what do you make out of it? We haven't been what I believe to be our best yet. I believe that our best is yet to come.
"But in times when we haven't been our best, we have still managed to do a really nice job."
Rea White is a writer for NASCAR Scene, which is published weekly, 50 weeks per year. Visit www.scenedaily.com for more information. © 2007 Street & Smith Sports Group.
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