Nextel Cup driver Jeff Burton answered questions on Thursday, Nov. 1.
From e-mail: Do you think there should be more emphasis on victories in the quest for a championship? It seems like there have been cases in the past few years where a driver wins a bunch of races but hasn't had much of a chance to win the series title.
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Jeff Burton won the Nextel Cup race at Texas Motor Speedway in April.
Jeff Burton: There was more emphasis put on winning this year. There were more points awarded this year and as positioning the teams in the Chase was based on that.
I believe that winning should matter more than second place, but second should count for something. It's not like baseball, with two teams. When you finish fifth in our sport, you still beat 37 cars. That changes the ballgame compared to other sports.
Winning should be more than second place, but it shouldn't be that fifth doesn't count for something. I do think the team that wins the most races should be rewarded for that, but you have to remember that our races are long and there is a component of being able to finish the races that should be rewarded as well. We can't forget that.
TMSfan: You must be fond of Texas Motor Speedway, considering you're the first repeat winner here. What has been the key to your success at TMS?
Jeff Burton: Honestly, it hasn't all been succesful. It's been really good or really bad and very little in between. It seems like every time we go there, it's different. And adjusting to that is difficult and that's why we've had only one repeat winner.
hendrickrules: You obviously would still like to have a say in the Chase, but it looks like a two-man race between Jimmie Johnson and Jeff Gordon. If you were picking, who wins this thing?
Jeff Burton: I don't think it's a two-man Chase. I think it's a two-man Chase if we were going into the last race of the year. But there's three races left. We saw last week that anything can happen at any time. It can become a three- or four-man race. I think it's coming down to three. Jeff, Jimmie and Clint Bowyer are the three are in the hunt. They all run well. It would be a tough pick. I'm pulling for Clint, obviously. But I've been around long enough to know that I don't know what's going to happen.
GreenFlag: It seems like there has been more cheating this season. What are your thoughts on that?
Jeff Burton: I don't think there's been more cheating. I think there's been more enforcement. NASCAR has worked dilligently to keep us from cheating. But the only way to do that is to put rules in place to keep us from doing it. They have to keep us in check and they've done that. They've caught more folks cheating. More of that happened at the beginning of the season. Some things that we thought were OK because they weren't enforcing them, they are now enforcing those. That's what's happened.
On the Car of Tomorrow, they've said it's a new ballgame. They aren't allowing some of the same things. The "cheating" has been through the learning process on the COT.
Ward Burton: I think we are seeing more of the Nextel Cup drivers also driving in the Busch Series. What are your thoughts of doing that, pros and cons?
Jeff Burton: The pros are it's fun to do. Most people that race still appreciate the opportunity to race, especially at a real high level. The more you do it, the better you should be at it. The negative is there's more physical strain on you and the possibilty of getting hurt.
Dickies500: You made some good points about how winning isn't the only thing. However, these are the playoffs ... and technically Johnson or Gordon could win the title without winning a race. That just doesn't seem right.
Jeff Burton: I think it's OK. I think that if you finish fifth in every Chase race, you would probably win the championship. Some people say that's not right because another team won three races. But what did they do in the other races? If a guy wrecks in four races and wins three and another guy didn't wreck in any and gets top 5s, who should win in that comparison? That's a difficult question. In my eyes, part of what you should be rewarded for, though not as greatly as winning, is the ability to compete at a high level for so long. It's not a best-case scenario that a guy can win the Chase or get in the Chase without winning. But while he was finishing fifth, the guy with three wins was in the garages. If a quarterback throws four TDs but is interecepted twice, is he the best quarterback? That depends.
Checkered Past: Will you be making any appearances at the track this weekend?
Jeff Burton: I don't think I have any apperances this weekend. I think I'm doing the NASCAR Live show on Friday night on Speed Channel. I enjoy doing appearances. I'll admit that I don't always enjoy doing them. I'd rather be at the racetrack some. We have fans that come meet the drivers. I like it when we're in the public and talking to fans. I really enjoy that. I'm not a big autograph fan because I don't feel like you have a chance to interact with them. You have to get through everybody. I like it when people can talk to you and ask questions.
From e-mail: What race track, new or old, do you most like to run on the Cup schedule? Nick
Jeff Burton: The one that the history and heritage and meaning of the race is so large is Darlington. I'm a huge Darlington fan. It's what racing ought to be. It's the Fenway Park, Cameron Indoor Stadium, Soldier Field of racing. It's not glamorous, but it has a lot of history. The uniqueness of it is important to me. Because of the era it was built in has traits no one would dare build today. They'd be ridiculed. It's an opportunity to step back in time and that's what I like about it.
Junior8: What are your thoughts on Dale Earnhardt Jr. changing teams? And are your surprised he doesn't have a victory this season?
Jeff Burton: They deserved a victory. They've run well in races. Without some problems they've had with engines and other things, they are a team that could contend for a championship. At the end of the day, you've got to do what you're comfortable with. He thought Hendrick Motorsports would give him the chance to succeed and win championships and that's what he wanted to do. I think he made the right decision. It's like playing for the Red Sox or the Spurs, no offense to Mavericks fans. I think he made the right decision.
Dale Jr. is an extremely respectful person. He's very old school. He would be a very good teammate and I have a lot of respect for him. We're different personalities. I'm married with kids and he's maybe the most eligible bachelor in NASCAR. But he has the overall good of the team in his heart.
NASCAR07: What are your thoughts on the Car of Tomorrow?
Jeff Burton: Mixed. They are not very good to drive. They drive pretty badly. There's a tremendous amount of effort to get them to drive good. But the fact that it's harder isn't necessarily a bad thing. The safety aspect is a real thing. I think they've made the car safer.
At the end of the day, it's going to come down to how good the racing is. Do the fans see a good show? That will determine how good it is. It has the potential to put on good races, but time will tell. I'm still up the in air about it. They are so new, it's in its infancy. I don't think we'll really understand the COT and it's impact for a few years still. Anytime something's new, someone will do it better for a while. That's what we've seen. I hope that evens out.
Ward Burton: Are there any tracks you'd like to see Nextel Cup races held at that are currently not hosting top-level races?
Jeff Burton: Good question. There are good tracks in Kentucky and Nashville, but I think it's important for our sport to be in more places in the country. It's good that it's in Texas twice a year and Arizona twice a year.I don't think any more races (than 36) is a good idea. Where we are is the max. Our races need to mean as much as possible. There's a danger in running to few, but there's a bigger danger in running too many.You have to be a diehard NBA fan to worry about you miss a game. Same in Major League Baseball. 162 games? Think about that. What's important about Game 93. They've got to mean something. I think the NFL has got it figured out. It's a long season for the players. For the fans, that number of games (I'm a PSL holder for the games in Charlotte) is limited. You want to go because you don't have many chances.
From e-mail: Do you like the green-white-checkered rule?
Jeff Burton: I do. The thing I don't like it is the component of fuel mileage. If it's a 400-mile race, now it's 408 or 410. It's difficult to factor that in. But I do think fans deserve to try to see a race finish under green. And to try it one timie is a good compromise. Last week, we could have had several of them. I don't think adding more laps on top of more laps is fair. I think one attempt at green-white-checkered is a good rule.
24Gordon: Is there one driver on the circuit you are particularly close with? And is there someone you've clashed with (on and/or off the track)?
Jeff Burton: I've had for the most part really good relationships with the drivers. I've clashed with many drivers. I don't want to say names. But I've had disagreements with incidents on the racetrack. But for the most part, those are more emotional than perhaps built in fact. It's important to get over those quickly. It's difficult to harbor resentment and perform your job. You're much better off moving on.
Mark Martin is a good friend. Matt Kenseth is a guy I spent time with. Clint and Kevin have been really good teammates. We live in different areas, so we don't do much socially, but there's a lot of respect there.
peggysue: Do you like Talladega?
Jeff Burton: Yes and no answer to that one. Not yes or no. Yes and no. It's fun to do. It's completely different than what we do on a weekly basis. You can make a move to get a good finish and someone lands on top of you. A lot of your control is gone. That I don't like. It's fun to do, I enjoy doing it. It's not hard in the same way that other racing is hard. I'm telling you that if you take anyone off the street, they could qualify it as fast as I could. If they trusted the car was fine and they'd have to have some bravado to go that fast, but they could do it. Anyone with enough nerve and change gears could qualify my car as well as I could in one attempt. So that part of it, I don't like. Once you start drafting, business picks up and you start racing. That's not easy. You're not racing the racetrack, there's no driving challenge. It's more like playing chess. It's much more a strategic event. That's completely different. That doesn't make it wrong, just different.
Ward Burton: Jeff, how will the Duke Blue Devils fare in basketball this season?
Jeff Burton: They should be good. They've got a good crop of guys that are there. They are a legitimate top-15 team. I think they've got a chance. My family has had season tickets for as long as I can remember and that's why I'm Duke fan. But my middle brother Brian and I share tickets. I'll go to some games.
mdbaker: I'd like to start off by saying you were one of the few Ford drivers I cheered for back when you were with Roush, and I was really excited as a Dale Earnhardt fan to see you get on with Childress. With the big discussion about Dale Jr. and the use of the No. 8 a while back, does it bother you to see Carl Edwards winning races in the 99 or do the numbers on the car even make that much of a difference to the drivers?
Jeff Burton: The numbers matter. But it's clear and NASCAR's protocol has always been that the number is the car owner's. That 99 belongs to Jack Roush. It never belonged to me and doesn't belong to Carl Edwards.I hold the 99 with high regard. I think about the things we did well and the things we didn't do well. But I never felt the 99 was my number. I understand why some of the fans are upset Junior didn't take the No. 8 with him. But that number belongs to that team. That's the rules and the way it's always been. There are times the car owner allows the driver to take it, but by far it belongs to the team. I think DEI did the right thing in saying, "Hey, the 8 is ours." That was Dale Earnhardt's intention for that to be DEI's number. Just like it was his intention for the No. 3 to stay with Richard Childress. I know that because I talked to him.It means something to us like having a star on the helmet if you're a Dallas Cowboy. That star means something.
LittleDale: What's Dale Earnhardt Jr. like? Does it bother any of the drivers that he seems to be the "face" of NASCAR despite the fact he hasn't been a big winner?
Jeff Burton: I think some drivers are bothered by that. Drivers have that conversation. I've heard it discussed. If you compare Junior's record to other drivers who have better stats but aren't talked about as much ... It's like the Red Sox before they were winning. They had a great following and they weren't the best. Dale Jr. is a respected driver. You may run better and he makes the news and that can grind on people. But it's nothing Junior's done. Everybody understands why he receives it and most people are good with it.
Ward Burton: Jeff, do you miss racing for the Roush team?
Jeff Burton: I respect a great deal with Jack does and what the employees do. But I enjoy where I am now. There are aspects I enjoyed and aspects I didn't. I wouldn't say I miss it, but I respect it.
Jeff Burton: Thanks for all of your questions. I hope to see you in Texas.
