Burton puts Chase sights on Johnson

Forty-one-year-old Jeff Burton now has two race wins in 2008, but his victory Saturday night at Lowe’s Motor Speedway outside of Charlotte, N.C., could not have come at a better time.

The Richard Childress Racing driver – who seemed to be washed up when he left Roush Fenway Racing in 2003 – once again put himself in a solid position to battle for his first-career Sprint Cup title after closing the gap to just 69 points on two-time defending champion Jimmie Johnson. The last time Burton contended for a championship was 2006 after he won the second race of the Chase for the Championship in Dover, Del.

Burton, who has 506 career starts in NASCAR’s top series and falls in the “older statesman” category of the young-faced NASCAR of today, certainly wasn’t counting his somewhat-underdog team out of the title during a post-race press conference Saturday night.

“It’s way too early to be handing anyone the trophy. It’s our job to put ourselves in position to go to Homestead with a chance to win,” Burton said.

Edwards needs Johnson-like run to get back in contention

Saturday night, Carl Edwards likely felt he was participating in a glorified practice session rather than a vitally important race in his efforts to secure a first-career Sprint Cup championship.

An electrical problem in his No. 99’s ignition system brought the back-flipping driver from Columbia, Mo., to a grinding halt on lap 67 of 334-lap event.

This problem baffled Edwards’ crew after both the primary and back-up ignition systems failed, which forced the team to replace the entire system under green flag conditions. Edwards re-entered the race 16 laps down, out of contention. Edwards finished the night in 33rd position and dropped to fourth place in the Chase, 168 points behind point leader Johnson.

Thankfully for Edwards, all is not lost in his pursuit of a championship – especially if Johnson falters during the last half of the Chase. Last season, Johnson left the LMS race 68 points behind teammate and 2007 race winner Jeff Gordon.

Johnson went on a tear for the next four races. He won each race and shot past Gordon in the standings to earn the season championship by 77 points – a 155-point swing. Incredibly, Gordon’s worst finish during that stretch was a 10th-place run.

Dropping the Green Flag: Martinsville, Va.

The Details
Race Tums Quikpak 500
When 1:30 p.m. Sunday (TV coverage 1 p.m.)
TV/Radio ABC/105.1 FM
Location Martinsville Speedway, Martinsville, VA.
Distance 263 miles (500 laps)
Track Layout .526-mile paperclip oval
2007 Winner Jimmie Johnson

Miller’s Preview:

Martinsville is the sight of a very emotional period for Hendrick Motorsports and team owner Rick Hendrick. The track was a success for the team, yielding 16 victories, but it was also the sight of the team’s greatest tragedy. En route to the race in October 2004, 10 people aboard an HMS team jet were killed when it crashed on a final approach. Hendrick’s son, Ricky, was among those killed.

Though years have passed since the incident, the memory is undoubtedly still fresh in the minds of HMS drivers and employees, and for that reason – and the team’s past success on the Virginia short track – I’m going with an HMS driver to score the win.

Miller’s Pick: Jeff Gordon