Motorsports

Burton's clean victory sets a good example

By BRANT JAMES
Published September 26, 2006

Too often, the last few laps of a highly contested Nextel Cup race are burdened by the anticipation of the bump, the spin and the post-race carping. It's almost cliche.

But Jeff Burton's late pass of former series champion Matt Kenseth on Sunday at Dover International Speedway was a refreshing departure, proof of how riveting clean racing can be, and perhaps a harbinger of a gentlemanly but hard-nosed eight-week battle for the pair.

Burton stalked Kenseth's arguably superior car throughout the final laps, probing and attacking until he ducked under the No. 17 Ford to take the lead with six laps left, winning for the first time in 175 races. Kenseth was vocally upset over his team radio that his team gambled on fuel, causing the car to run dry in the last laps as he faded to 10th. But he managed a classy gesture by pulling alongside Burton's parked car on the track and exchanging a handshake and a thumbs-up with his former Roush Racing teammate.

"I was hogging a lot of the track and I was real tight," Kenseth said. "If I couldn't win, honestly, there's nobody else I'd rather see win the race. Jeff Burton is a great guy. He's a great friend of mine and I'm happy as can be that he won."

Kenseth began the race third in points, 41 behind, and remained third while pulling within 18 points of new leader Burton.

Burton, meanwhile, is now a super-dangerous player in the Chase, and not just because he leads by six points over Jeff Gordon. The veteran has said all summer - when his team began reeling off its 17 top-10s in 28 races - that all it needed was a win to join what he called the elite group of teams chasing the title. Now a proven winner and a solid point-gatherer, he figures to maintain great pressure on the teams chasing him.

Only Kenseth and Jimmie Johnson (18) have more top-10 finishes than Burton.

COUNTERPOINT: Every point matters in the Chase. Ask Johnson, who lost the 2004 title by eight to Kurt Busch. So losing five points at Dover could cost Gordon, who started on the pole but was passed by Ryan Newman before they completed the first mile. The four-time series champion would have gained five points - almost a foregone conclusion for the pole-sitter - and trailed Burton by just one after finishing third in the race.

Just five times in 28 races this season- Kasey Kahne at Texas, Kyle Busch at Las Vegas, Kurt Busch at Watkins Glen, Burton at Michigan and Gordon at Dover - has the pole-sitter not led the first lap.

SCHEDULE SET: Joe Gibbs Racing vice president Steve deSouza said Tampa product Aric Almirola, 22, will not take over the team's No. 20 Chevrolet in the Busch Series next year, but will run another full truck series slate with Spears Racing and contest at least 15 Busch events in another JGR car. Brandon-born Denny Hamlin, fourth in the Chase for the Championship standings, will return for at least 23 races in the No. 20 Busch car, deSouza said.

Almirola has three top-10s in 19 truck starts and a best finish of fifth at Indianapolis in six Busch starts.

"If you ask him, he'd probably say he was disappointed," deSouza said, "but from our standpoint we are thrilled with what he has done in the Busch car and he's right where we think he ought to be."

TRYOUTS: Former Hendrick Motorsports developmental driver Chase Austin, 16, two-time Champ Car race winner Ryan Hunter-Reay and the 17-year-old grandson of the late Dale Earnhardt are among 16 drivers participating in a multi-phase talent showcase for NASCAR teams hosted by General Motors.

Participants have been testing in similarly prepared Busch Series and dirt cars at different sites, with a final Busch session scheduled Oct. 10-11 at Nashville Superspeedway.

Joey Logano, 16, a Joe Gibbs Racing prospect and the youngest to win at the USAR Pro Cup level, is also participating.

DeSouza said there were multiple reasons to allow three of the team's prospects to participate, including getting expensive testing time cheaply.

"It also gives us and them a real snapshot of where they stack up against other drivers that are coming up," he said.

Jeffrey Earnhardt is the son of Earnhardt Sr.'s oldest son, Kerry, a truck series driver who has never replicated the success of his half-brother, Dale Jr.

SPARK PLUGS: Nextel Cup tests will be held next season at Daytona (Jan. 8-10 and 15-17), Las Vegas (Jan. 29-30, Bristol (Feb. 28-March 1), Richmond (April 3-4), Charlotte (May 7-8), Dover (May 14-15) and Talladega (Sept. 10-11). The "Car of Tomorrow" will be implemented at Bristol, Richmond, Dover and Talladega in 2007.

[Last modified September 26, 2006, 01:16:26]