Motorsports

Blown engine dents Burton's bid

By TIMES WIRES
Published August 21, 2006

BROOKLYN, Mich. - Resurgent Jeff Burton ran into a speed bump Sunday on the way to a hoped-for spot in Nextel Cup's Chase for the Championship.

Burton's engine failed 17 laps into the GFS Marketplace 400 at Michigan International Speedway, relegating him to 42nd place as he slid from fourth to ninth in the season standings.

With three races remaining to lock up one of the 10 spots in the 10-race Chase, that was a big blow for Burton and the Richard Childress Racing team. But the driver tried to cheer up his team and keep a positive attitude.

"I just wanted to remind everybody that this is a good race team and this happens to everybody," said Burton, who started from the pole. "Today was our turn, and we're not going to get down about this. This is nobody's fault. ... We have three races to get our business done and we're going to go get it done."

Another driver who had a bad day was Kyle Busch, who wound up 39th after tagging the wall, then wrecking two laps later after a tire blew.

It dropped him from fifth to a precarious seventh in the points.

Series leader Jimmie Johnson, race winner Matt Kenseth and Kevin Harvick, Burton's teammate, have all but sewn up spots in the Chase. The top two need only to start the next three races to make it.

Kasey Kahne finished fourth but remained 11th in points and gained only five on Dale Earnhardt Jr.

GOOD START: Elliott Sadler, in his first start in Ray Evernham's No. 19 Dodge, did something fired Jeremy Mayfield had not done all season - finish in the top 10.

Sadler, who left Robert Yates Racing (where he had five top-10 finishes this season) started second and contended early before finishing 10th.

"I've got a lot to learn about what these Dodges want and that's going to be our focus," he said. "But now we've got something to build on."

TOUGH START: David Gilliland, named on Friday to replace Sadler in the No. 38 Robert Yates Racing Ford, started in a backup after wrecking Saturday in practice. Sunday, he finished 38th after he hit the wall when his right front tire blew.

Other series

MOTORCYCLES: Ricky Carmichael, who has said this is his last season in the series, clinched his 10th straight AMA Motocross title by winning in Binghampton, N.Y. Dade City's Chad Reed, second in points, said he will miss the rest of the season with a shoulder injury. ... Mat Mladin completed a weekend doubleheader sweep in the AMA Superbike Championship in Alton, Va.

NHRA: The final three rounds of the O'Reilly Mid-South Nationals in Memphis were rained out. Racing resumes at 9 a.m. today.

[Last modified August 21, 2006, 02:06:34]