Sports: Mission accomplished for Jeff Burton

Mission accomplished for Jeff Burton

By KEVIN KELLY

Jeff Burton's preseason goals are being realized.

Continuing a four-month hot streak that has lifted him to third in the Winston Cup standings, Burton won his fourth race of the season Sunday at Phoenix International Raceway.

"We came into this year wanting to contend for the championship and to do that you've got to win a certain amount of races, you've got to lead a certain amount of laps, you've got to gain bonus points," said Burton, who is eight points behind second-place Dale Earnhardt and 226 behind leader Bobby Labonte. "Our goals are to finish as high as we can in the points. ... We want to lead the most laps. We want to win the most bonus points. We want to do all those things and if we do those things we'll be winning races."

Burton has three wins, 13 top 10s and nine top fives in the last 16 races.

He led 105 of the 312 laps at Phoenix, the fifth time this season he has led the most laps.

"If you look at the last four months, how many laps we've led and how we're running in the front, we're real proud of that," Burton said. "We struggled in the middle part of the year, but we've overcome that and we're running better now than we've ever run."

CHAMPIONSHIP FORMULA: Labonte can clinch the Winston Cup championship in the Pennzoil 400 on Sunday at Homestead-Miami Speedway a number of ways, including finishing fifth or better, finishing sixth or better and leading a lap, or finishing seventh or better and leading the most laps. Any scenario that leaves Labonte 186 or more points ahead of the second-place driver after Homestead clinches the title.

He also can finish 28th or better in the last two races to clinch the title at the season-ending NAPA 500 Nov. 19 at Atlanta Motor Speedway.

"We had a good test down there (at Homestead)," said Labonte, who has a series-best 17 top-five finishes this season. "We're pretty happy about going back. We've got a good car that we're going back with, so we feel really good about going into a race track like that."

RETURN TO FORM: After finishing second to Tony Schumacher in the standings last season, NHRA Top Fuel driver Gary Scelzi clinched his third championship in four years at the O'Reilly Fall Nationals on Saturday at the Texas Motorplex.

The 40-year-old from Fresno, Calif., has an insurmountable 226-point over Larry Dixon with one event remaining.

"We made too many mistakes last year," said Scelzi, who has 22 career wins, eight this season. "We didn't try any less than we have at any other time, we just didn't get the breaks. Losing the championship was a big shot of reality for all of us. Getting it back is the best feeling in the world. I'm a little numb."

IMPRESSIVE DEBUT: He had one shot to make a lasting impression, and Casey Mears took advantage.

The son of off-road and former CART driver Roger Mears and nephew of four-time Indianapolis 500 winner Rick Mears finished fourth in his CART debut in the Marlboro 500 Oct. 30 at California Speedway.

"It was just an awesome day," he said. "At the halfway point I got comfortable and was really relaxed in the car. We were out there passing guys and I was racing with Juan Montoya, Adrian Fernandez and Gil de Ferran."

Mears started 15th in a third entry for Team Rahal and was one of just six cars running at the finish.

"I know I wasn't nearly as collected as Casey was, he just handled himself so well out there and I am so proud of him," said Roger, who finished eighth in his CART debut at Phoenix in 1982.

PIT NOTES: Dave Blaney's eighth place at Phoenix was a career best. He also was the highest-finishing rookie for the second time this season. ... With his third place, Steve Park has seven top-10s in the last 12 races. ... Team owner Jack Roush said Sunday that Pat Tryson, crew chief for Kevin Lepage and the No. 16 Ford, will leave the team and go to the Wood Brothers team next season. ... Steve Lane filled in as crew chief for Jeremy Mayfield at Phoenix. The team's regular crew chief, Peter Sospenzo, had planned to attend after going to his grandmother's funeral in New York on Saturday. But while leaving the funeral, Sospenzo's uncle was hit by a car and killed.

-Information from other news organizations was used in this report.