Burton, CAT Racing Team Conquer Adversity to Score Second Consecutive Top-10
Finish in the Lone Star State
In his second week calling the shots for the CAT Racing team, crew chief
Todd Berrier guided Jeff Burton and Company through hardship and misfortune
to earn their second consecutive top-10 finish in Sunday's Dickies 500 at
Texas Motor Speedway.
The No. 31 Richard Childress Racing team's ninth-place result helped them
maintain 17th in the overall point standings and gained ground on David
Reutimann in 16th, shaving 24 markers off his total. Burton also padded the
difference between him and Marcos Ambrose in 18th by 20 points with two
races remaining in the 2009 season.
Eagerness to start Friday's practice session was evident in the No. 31 camp
when the boys in black and yellow unloaded a brand new No. 31 Caterpillar
Chevy for the weekend's 334-lap showdown. As practice progressed, so did the
performance of the RCR entry. Burton averaged eighth-place lap times in race
trim but, when qualifying runs commenced, he found himself holding down the
second-fastest time. With less than 15 minutes remaining in the session, the
CAT Racing team sent the South Boston, Va., native back on track for another
mock qualifying run. But, as Burton was exiting Turn 2, a part failure
caused him to make heavy contact with the outer retaining wall. Significant
damage to the No. 31 Chevy forced the Berrier-led crew to unload the backup
car for Sunday's 500 miler.
As a result of having no on-track time with the backup Caterpillar Chevy,
the veteran driver recorded the 42nd-fastest time in qualifying later that
day. Down, but certainly not out, the new duo of Burton and Berrier put
their heads together and immediately turned their focus on fine-tuning their
machine during Saturday's twin practice sessions.
Saturday's perseverance translated over to Sunday's feature as the 21-time
Sprint Cup Series race winner quietly flexed his muscle and, with the help
of his over-the wall crew's lightning-fast work on pit road, he made his
presence in the top 20 by lap 91.
Burton never raced outside the top 20 for the remainder of the race and, at
times, posted lap times compared to, or better than, the frontrunners thanks
to Berrier's adjustment decisions and in-sync work by the crew on pit road.
He was 16th on lap 182, 13th on lap 205 and cracked the top 10 by lap 292.
As the race was nearing completion, it was apparent that fuel mileage was
going to be a factor in determining the outcome of the race. Knowing there
wasn't enough fuel in the Caterpillar Chevy for Burton to make it to the
end, Berrier's gutsy call on lap 319 for two tires and fuel would pay
dividends if the race stayed caution free.
Burton returned to the racing surface 16th, one lap down to the leaders, but
soon thereafter, a majority of the frontrunners began hitting pit road for
fuel, aiding the 42-year-old's advancement up the scoring pylon. The race
continued and ended caution free, playing right into the hands of the No. 31
team that produced a ninth-place finish for a team that kept their spirits
high all weekend long.
Kurt Busch was able to nurse his machine to the conclusion of lap 334,
capturing his second win of the season. Denny Hamlin, Matt Kenseth, Mark
Martin and RCR teammate Kevin Harvick rounded out the balance of the
top-five finishers.
Fellow RCR stable mates Clint Bowyer and Casey Mears finished seventh and
21st, respectively.
JEFF BURTON: "What a heck of a run with the CAT Racing team. These guys fought hard after
we had to load up our primary No. 31 Caterpillar Chevy when it received too
much damage when I hit the wall during practice. Todd (Berrier, crew chief)
did a great job dialing in our back up car for the race. We hope to carry
this momentum to the last two races of the season. What a great way to end
the weekend."
NASCAR's premier division continues its westward trek for the second and
final visit to the Arizona desert.
-credit: rcr
