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Got to be perfect Many elements play into a Coca-Cola 600 win
Posted: Tuesday May 23, 2000 04:43 PM
It’s here – the longest race on the NASCAR Winston Cup Series schedule. The Coca-Cola 600 is upon us, yet again. As you may know, I view this race as a tremendous challenge. It’s a long, tiring race which can offer plenty of drama and can be quite rewarding. Last year, the Exide Batteries Racing Team was on its game as we won the 600 and a $1 million bonus courtesy of the Winston No Bull 5 program. You know, we’re eligible for another bonus again this year in Charlotte. Obviously, I’d love to package up last year’s race and replay it this Sunday night. Unfortunately, that’s probably not going to happen. It’s a new season and last year means nothing, quite frankly. It takes a great race team and a great race car driver to get the job done in the 600. This race is unlike any other on the schedule. As a result, preparation by both team and driver has to be dead-on. The race is so demanding, both physically and mentally. You better be ready to go, otherwise, you’re not going to have much of a chance for success. One of the bigger challenges in this race is getting the race car set up for changing conditions. It’s a race that we start in the daylight and end in the dark. The weather and the track can change on you real quick. Last year, we found a happy medium with the No. 99 car. We were also real fortunate to make the right call during our last pit stop which made the car better and ultimately helped us to the win. While this is a big race for us and one we’d love to win again – for a number of reasons – we can’t place too much emphasis on this one race. There has to be a big picture mentality that we have to take. This is merely race No. 12 of 34 races. We’re not even at the halfway point yet! We are making good progress, as far as the points race, heading into the 600. We’re still in fourth, having come out of Richmond a couple of weeks ago with a seventh. We are closing the gap on the leader. We’re only 59 points behind Bobby Labonte. What’s really been encouraging of late is that we have completed every lap of every race since we wrecked in Atlanta the fourth race of the season. That’s important. We need to continue to stay out of trouble. Okay, I imagine you folks are dying to find out how I feel going into the 600 with another shot at winning $1 million, right? Well, let’s just say I’m trying not to dwell on it. There’s already plenty of pressure involved with Winston Cup racing, why place more on yourself. Then again... Jokes aside, our job is to win a race Sunday night. Whatever rewards that may come with that, we’ll enjoy then. Not before. You can’t daydream or else you’re asking for trouble. Anyway, after you have enjoyed your Memorial Day weekend cookouts, tune into the 600 Sunday night. Of course, you know which team you should root for. Until right before our date with the “Monster Mile,” stay well. Jeff Jeff Burton is in his fifth season driving the No. 99 Exide Ford Taurus for Jack Roush. His diary appears weekly on CNNSI.com.
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