Jeff Burton, driver of the #31 Cingular Wireless Chevrolet, talks about the
Daytona 500, California Speedway, drivers from the Sunshine State, the arrival of the Impala SS Car of Tomorrow, and more...
Q:
Looking back, what are your thoughts on the finish at Daytona?
Jeff Burton:
That was a great finish, there is no question about it. That is what is so cool about our sport. We have those great finishes and all of that drama. That is what it is all about. The controversy, is it, it seems like no matter what happens, there is controversy swirling around something. At some point somebody needs to be worrying about trying to make the rules and just report and talk about what actually happened. It seems like everybody wants to question everything now and that is ok. The scrutiny comes from the exposure of the sport. At the end of the day, I thought NASCAR did the right thing. The reason you throw a caution is because of safety. It is to make it safer for everybody who isn't in the wreck. Throwing a caution would not have had any impact on that whatsoever last week. I am really hard on them when it comes to safety issues and I support their decision 100 per cent.
Everybody was either in the wreck or in front of the wreck. When you have one big pack, and they throw the caution, it doesn't do you any good. It doesn't matter if the caution out or not, all you are doing is trying to get through the wreck. If they had thrown the caution and the competition is all spread out, you do slow down, you have to slow down, and you are locked in your position.
But in that situation, there was nobody behind the wreck that would have benefited from the yellow flag being thrown. Throwing the caution is about rolling the rescue personnel, it is about a lot of things, but in that situation, it wouldn't have impacted it in a positive way whatsoever.
Q:
So, will it be less exciting here at California Speedway - the track has a reputation for being boring?
JB:
I don't know. I am here to race my Cingular Chevrolet and try to win the race. I don't get caught up in if it is four-wide, three-wide. I don't get caught up in all that. I just get caught up in what we have got to do to win the race. Every race track we go to has the tendency to put on good races or be boring. If somebody gets hooked up, then off they go. It isn't boring for me, I can assure you that. I don't pay a lot of attention to the conversations of whether it is boring or not.
Q:
What about engines at Fontana?
JB:
We saw here in the spring last year, toward the end of the race, three or four people had trouble. They made it almost all the way and then had trouble late in the race. Any time you run 500 miles somewhere, especially a two-mile race track, it is a lot of miles, a lot of wear and tear on your engine so reliability is a major issue."
Q:
What do you make of David Ragan, especially after Daytona?
JB:
He needs to try to keep his nose clean, try to be competitive and get everything out of his car that he can. But he also needs to understand he has a lot of growing to do - I do too by the way - and be respectful. Nobody needs to pull over because you have been here for ten years, nobody expects you to do anything but race hard. This goes for anybody, but you have to race smart and you have to understand this isn't the last race you are going to run. You have to understand the race you are at is the most important race you are ever going to run. But, it is not the last one you are ever going to be in. If you forget you have to look everybody in the eye the next week and race against everybody the next week, they can make it really hard on you. Guys in this garage demand respect and demand to be driven against in manner that is appropriate, and then they have a way of making you wish you had.
It was different when I came in. I was told if we finish 20th in points, we are going to be really happy. No-one expected us to win a race, no-one even had a conversation about that. It was just hey; let's make the races and try to be around at the end of the races on Sunday. It wasn't let's go out and get a top-five or top-ten, it was let's just try and finish the race. There is a different level of expectations now. I was afforded the opportunity to be able to take my time and learn, not cause a lot of stuff. The first Cup race I was ever in, I caused a wreck on like the third lap because I made a mistake. Not because I was being overly aggressive, but I listened to my spotter rather than me driving my car. I learned from that and that has never happened again. He just has to understand if he wants a long career, you can't be successful in this sport if the people in this sport don't want you to be successful. You have to be respectful.
![Jeff Burton. [Pic Credit IMS Media/Chris Jones]](http://pix.crash.net/thumbs/252491.jpg)
