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Dodge Challenger 500 at Darlington Raceway
May 10, 2008
Post-Race Report
Burton, No. 31 Racing Team Hang Tough to Finish 10th at Darlington
Start Position: 12th
Finish Position: 10th
Points Position: 2nd
Jeff Burton and the No. 31 Racing team demonstrated teamwork and patience as the team battled back from a brush with the wall nearly halfway through the 500-mile event to earn a 12th-place finish in the Auto Club 500 at Auto Club Speedway of Southern California.
Strong pit stops coupled with veteran patience aided the No. 31 Racing team in Saturday night's Dodge Challenger 500 to earn a 10th-place finish at the track deemed "Too Tough to Tame."
The team's seventh top-10 finish allowed Jeff Burton to maintain the second spot in the NASCAR Cup Series championship point standings. He trails point leader and eventual winner Kyle Busch by 79 markers.
The 20-time Cup Series winner started the 367-lap showdown 12th and fought a tight-handling No. 31 Chevy for the first half of the event. Despite grappling with an ill-tempered machine, Burton raced in the top 10 and ran as high as fourth but only as low as ninth.
Just past the halfway point of the 500-mile contest, and after a pit stop on lap 202, the South Boston, Va., native began chasing a loose-handling machine, ultimately free-falling to 19th before a timely caution flag waved on lap 235.
Burton's crew chief, Scott Miller, made major air pressure adjustments to all four fresh Goodyear tires during the ensuing pit stop in an attempt to alleviate the ill-handling condition.
The dose of air pressure relieved the loose condition and the 40-year-old driver began making his way toward the front.
Over the closing stages of the race and after restarting 13th on lap 307 following the night's final pit stop, Burton was able to pick up three positions and crossed the line 10th.
Kyle Busch captured his third victory of the season and was followed to the checkers by Carl Edwards and Jeff Gordon. Dale Earnhardt Jr. and David Ragan rounded out the top-five finishers.
Richard Childress Racing teammate Clint Bowyer finished 15th while fellow teammate Kevin Harvick posted a 39th-place finish after his Chevy jumped out from under him and made hard contact with the backstretch wall on lap 147.
On Thursday, No. 31 Racing team's over-the-wall crew, led by pit crew coach Matt Clark, will participate in the fourth-annual Pit Crew Challenge. The event will be held at the Time Warner Cable Arena in Charlotte, N.C., and will begin at 7 p.m. local time.
Next up for Burton and the No. 31 Racing team is NASCAR's All-Star Challenge at Lowe's Motor Speedway. Live coverage of the event will be televised on SPEED Saturday, May 17 beginning at 7 p.m. Eastern Daylight Time. The race will also be covered live on the Motor Racing Network and Sirius Satellite Radio. Qualifying for the second and final non-points event of the season will also be televised live on SPEED Friday, May 16 beginning at 5 p.m. EDT.
Jeff Burton Quote
"Toward the last third of the race, I drove way more aggressively and my car got a lot better, too. We didn't hit anything all night and that was a good thing. We were tight then loose then back to tight. We were our best at the end but I'm proud of the No. 31 team for fighting and because of that we were able to get another top 10."
