Win propels Burton from 4th to 2nd in standings

From Sun news services

October 12, 2008

One by one the title contenders dropped out last night in Concord, N.C., giving Jimmie Johnson a clear shot at widening his lead in the Chase for the Sprint Cup.

Not so fast, thought Jeff Burton, who used three gas-only pit stops to pull off a victory that catapulted him into championship contention.

Burton culminated savvy pit strategy on a final stop, going into the pits with the lead and taking fuel only to make sure he was still out front on the restart with 34 laps to go at Lowe's Motor Speedway. Johnson staged a brief battle for the lead, but Burton held steady to end a 25-race winless streak.

The victory, his second of the season, pushed Burton from fourth to second in the standings with five races to go to decide the title. He trails Johnson by 69points.

"We're halfway. It's a long way and a lot of stuff is going to happen," Burton said. "Everybody wants to give somebody the trophy right now. It's way too early. It's our job to put ourselves in position to give ourselves a chance."

Kasey Kahne, who swept the May races at the track, finished second and was followed by Kurt Busch.

Kyle Busch, the regular-season points winner, was fourth for his best finish since the Chase began five weeks ago. Jamie McMurray was fifth, and Johnson faded over the final few laps to finish sixth.

Greg Biffle, Jeff Gordon, Mark Martin and David Ragan rounded out the top 10.

The night was a disaster for several Chase contenders, including Carl Edwards, who entered the race second in the standings. He lost power in his Ford early and finished 33rd to likely lose his shot at his first Sprint Cup title.

It ended a drama-filled week for Edwards, who caused a 12-car accident last Sunday in Talladega then scuffled with Kevin Harvick. He left fourth in the standings, 168 behind Johnson.

Edwards-Harvick: Photographs of the scuffle between Edwards and Harvick show a more physical confrontation than witnesses described, with Edwards at one point grabbing Harvick by the throat. The two NASCAR stars argued during Thursday's practice when Edwards confronted Harvick in his garage stall at Lowe's Motor Speedway. The photographs, obtained by the Associated Press, show the two drivers clutching each other as their conversation grew heated. Edwards and Harvick were called before top NASCAR officials before the start of last night's Bank of America 500 to discuss their feud.

Nationwide Series: Make it 20 wins this season for Kyle Busch, NASCAR's dominant workhorse. Overcoming his recent bad luck that has virtually ended his chances at a Sprint Cup championship, Busch returned to his familiar spot in NASCAR's No.2 series late Friday, cruising to a win in the soggy, wreck-filled Dollar General 300 at Lowe's Motor Speedway. The victory was the ninth for Busch, 23, in the Nationwide Series.

Formula One: McLaren's Lewis Hamilton tightened his grip on the series title, claiming the pole position for the Japanese Grand Prix in Omaya. The championship leader and winner in the event last year took his sixth pole of the season with a time of 1minute, 18.404seconds, and will start four grid positions ahead of his title rival, Felipe Massa of Ferrari.

E-mail

Reprint

Get home delivery of The Sun and save over 50% off the newsstand price

Win propels Burton from 4th to 2nd in standings

Online resources

Going deep

Going deep Sun sports special reports and in-depth coverage
	> 1983 O's > Football: The tie that binds > Orioles > Baltimore Colts > Going deep: Other sports

Win propels Burton from 4th to 2nd in standings

Related links

Harvick not letting spat with Edwards die

Related topic galleries: Speedway, Formula One, Bank of America Corp., Jimmie Johnson, Photography, Jeff Gordon, NASCAR

Popular stories: Sports

Online resources

Going deep