Race Review

Burton, AT&T Racing Team Continue Top-10 Ways at Charlotte

Race/Date: Coca-Cola 600/May 25, 2008
Location: Lowe's Motor Speedway – Concord, N.C.
Start Position: 14th
Finish Position: Sixth
Points Position: Second (Maintained position)

Another top-10 finish was the order of the day as Jeff Burton and the AT&T Racing team rolled to a sixth-place effort in Sunday's Coca-Cola 600 at Lowe's Motor Speedway.

The strong run was Burton's eighth top-10 and 12th top-15 finish in as many starts this season. The 40-year-old driver maintained his second-place footing in the NASCAR Cup Series championship point standings and currently sits 94 markers behind leader Kyle Busch.

The 20-time Cup Series winner started NASCAR's 600-mile classic showdown 14th and never looked back. He felt right at home by lap eight when he cracked the top 10 as he hardly raced outside that comfort zone the entire event.

Although Burton drove a slightly comfortable-handling machine to third by the halfway point of the 400-lap contest, the transition from day to night was more of a struggle for the veteran racer.

Six caution periods plagued the second half of the longest race on the circuit and crew chief Scott Miller took advantage of four of those yellow flags but summoning Burton to pit road in hopes of remedying his tight-handling machine.

The night's final pit stop under yellow flag conditions came on lap 331 when Burton relinquished the fourth position and the Miller-led team bolted on four fresh Goodyear tires, including air pressure adjustments to the left-sides, and fuel. Unfortunately, other teams opted for two fresh tires or only added fuel to their machines. He restarted the final 100 miles 11th and once again climbed the leaderboard.

Burton cracked the top five on lap 352 but was informed by Miller that he would need to stop for a splash of fuel in order to complete the race. Fortunately, most of the 43 teams had to do the same.

Pit stops got underway on lap 384 and before Burton peeled off the racing surface on lap 389, the South Boston, Va., native held the top spot on lap 388, gaining five valuable bonus points. He returned to the track 12th in the running order but was able to pick up some spots over the final 10 laps as more teams had to re-fuel, ultimately crossing the finish line sixth.

Kasey Kahne won his first points-paying race of the 2008 season and beat second-place finisher Greg Biffle to the line by 10 seconds. Busch, Jeff Gordon and Dale Earnhardt, Jr. rounded out the top-five finishers.

Richard Childress Racing teammates Kevin Harvick and Clint Bowyer finished 14th and 25th, respectively.

This weekend, NASCAR's senior circuit heads north for this year's first stop at the “Monster Mile” in Dover, Del.

The Best Buy 400 benefiting Student Clubs for Autism Speaks takes the green flag Sunday, June 1 at 2 p.m. Eastern Daylight Time. Flag-to-flag coverage will be televised live on FOX beginning at 1:30 p.m. EDT. The race will also be broadcast live on the Motor Racing Network and Sirius Satellite Radio. Qualifying for the 13th points-paying race on the 2008 NASCAR Cup Series schedule will be telecast live on SPEED Friday, May 30 at 3 p.m. EDT.

Burton Quote

“We had a great run tonight. Finishing sixth in a 600-mile event just says a lot about the AT&T team. Everyone from the fab shop to the engine shop to the crew guys here at the track came together and put together a great car. I knew fuel strategy would play a hand in tonight's race so I have to thank Scott (Miller, crew chief) for the great calls in the pit box tonight.”

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The stylized no. 31 and the RCR checkered flag logo are registered trademarks of RCR Enterprises, LLC. JEFF BURTON and Jeff Burton's autograph are trademarks of Jeff Burton Autosports, Inc. All trademarks, personal likenesses and the likeness of the no. 31 race car are used under license from their owners.