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Family tradition
Burton brothers have seemingly tamed Darlington
Posted: Thursday March 15, 2001 3:33 PM
Updated: Thursday March 22, 2001 4:05 PM
By Stephen Thomas and B. Duane Cross, CNNSI.com
If either Ward or Jeff Burton is going to keep the family tradition alive at Darlington this weekend, one of them is going to have to pull the proverbial rabbit out of the hat.
Between them, the battling Burton brothers have won three of the last four races at the track too tough to tame (Jeff has two wins to older brother Ward's one; Jeff finished second to Bobby Labonte last fall). But, in definite contrast to the recent past, neither Burton has the benefit of strong early season results on which to base a belief that he can win. Thus far in 2001, only Ward has so much as sniffed the top 10 (an 11th last week in Atlanta). Before winning here last year, Ward had three top 10s; Jeff had a win and second at Daytona.
Jeff, who won four races and finished third in Winston Cup points last year, is currently 38th. "This year hasn't gone according to plan," says a philosophical Burton. "That isn't from a lack of effort and it's not because we have a poor team. I've made some mistakes, we had some parts failures on Sunday -- we just haven't had anything go our way. We certainly have dug ourselves one hell of a hole."
Ever the realist, Burton the Younger doesn't in the least expect this weekend's return to Darlington to be the salve to the wound that is this season thus far. "Certainly it's a race track we'd look to go to for comfort with our results there," he says, "but as we know from this year, [past performance doesn't] mean a whole lot. We're going into it pessimistic, the same way we approach every race: Just 'cause we've done well there in the past doesn't mean we're going to do well this year. But it certainly feels good to pull in the gates."
However the Burtons might feel about Darlington -- it's a track they visited a lot when they were kids -- the oval is known to be exceptionally tough on drivers and cars. Generally speaking, you either love it or you hate it. And while the new Goodyear tires are an unknown at every track, they figure to be an even greater question mark at this notoriously difficult 1.36-mile oval.
The Burton brothers are simply hopeful that their vast experience and success at the track can somehow overcome what have been desultory years to date.
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Shawna Robinson
OK, so it's a six-race Winston Cup deal. Still, it's a great opportunity. "We can't just show up and hope to make the race," she says. ... And cynics say it's a good ol' boys sport. |
Johnny Benson
After twice posting his career-best finish during the 2000 season (second at the first Bristol race and the fall Dover race), it's just a matter of time before Benson is in Victory Lane. |
Steve Park
Did you know: Park has led the second-most laps this season (169). He may not be as well-known as teammates Michael Waltrip and Dale Earnhardt Jr., but once Park's team puts all the pieces together ... |
Dale Jarrett
Slowly recapturing the consistency of his 1999 championship season, Jarrett again is battling for the points title; he's second, 37 behind Jeff Gordon. After a 22nd-place finish to start the year, D.J. has posted a 10, 2 and 4. |
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Flattery
Kevin Harvick left grown men with lumps in their throats and tears in their eyes. ... What can he do for an encore? |
Flag
Mark Martin's 2001 season has been less than memorable, but on the bright side, it can't get much worse. After falling 11 spots in points, he's 25th.
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Flattery
Jerry Nadeau jumped 10 spots to seventh in the points standings after a third-place finish at Atlanta. |
Flag
On the other end of the spectrum is Elliott Sadler, who plummeted 10 spots to 19th after a 31st-place finish. |
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| Greg Biffle, last season's NASCAR Truck series champion, is five points behind points leader Jeff Green for the Busch series title. | |
| Green and Jason Keller -- ppc Racing teammates -- are the only Busch drivers who have finished in the top-10 in each of first four races. | |
| Dale Earnhardt Inc. fields three of the top 16 cars in Winston Cup -- Michael Waltrip (fifth), Steve Park (13th) and Dale Earnhardt Jr. (16th). |
| Ford is currently 0-for-2001 after 10 events on the Big 3 circuits -- 0-for-4 in Winston Cup and Busch and 0-for-2 in the Truck series. |
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| Busch Suncom 200 -- 12:30 p.m. Saturday (FX): 200.8 miles, 147 laps. 2000 pole winner: Mark Martin. 2000 winner: Mark Martin. |
| Winston Cup Carolina Dodge Dealers 400 -- 12:30 p.m. Sunday (FOX): 400.2 miles, 293 laps. 2000 pole winner: Jeff Gordon. 2000 winner: Ward Burton. |
| Dale Earnhardt's daughter and sister joined South Carolina Gov. Jim Hodges on Tuesday to proclaim this week Dale Earnhardt Memorial Week. "We lost a race driver and we lost an icon," said Hodges, calling the seven-time Winston Cup champion "truly the face of NASCAR." Earnhardt was killed in a Feb. 18 crash at the Daytona 500. This week's NASCAR race is the Carolina Dodge Dealers 400 at Darlington Raceway, where Earnhardt won nine of his 76 Winston Cup races. Cathy Earnhardt Watkins said the family appreciated the outpouring of prayers and calls after her brother's death. Earnhardt's daughter, Kelley Earnhardt, sobbed as she thanked Hodges for the honor. |
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