Michigan Burton post-race notes

Burton gets boost from top-10 Shawn A. Akers

BROOKLYN, Mich. (June 14, 1998) No, it wasn't the most spectacular weekend Ward Burton and the No. 22 MBNA Pontiac team will ever have. But considering what's transpired for them over the course of the 1997 season, Sunday's eighth-place finish in the Miller Lite 400 at Michigan Speedway was certainly a welcome sight.

In 13 previous races this season, Burton had only one other top-10 finish, an eighth-place effort at Talladega. On Sunday, he recorded another top-10 run after winning his first Bud Pole Award of the season on Friday afternoon.

"We had about a sixth-place car today," Burton said. "The last guys got by us because we were just way too tight on two tires. I hated a couple of those cars got by me. That's the way it goes.

"It was nice not having fuel mileage hurt us. We were worried about that coming in. We started with scuffs (tires) and we were real loose. The next two stops we got tightened up and each time it got better. The last time we got a little bit too tight on the exit and then we put on the two tires and we just plowed after that."

Bill Davis, owner of the No. 22 Pontiac, was encouraged by what he saw on the race track from his team on Sunday.

"It was a good run for us," said Davis, whose team hasn't won since October of 1995 at North Carolina Speedway in Rockingham. "We sat on the pole and got a top-10. I'll take that anytime.

"We were just a tick from the top-five. We learned from that. We haven't had a good record here. We've had some fast cars, but we don't have a good record here, so this was a big step for us. We've got to feel like we're going to do real well at Pocono. We think we've got everything in place."

Sunday was a good step in the right direction for Burton and the team, who sit 13th in the standings after Sunday's race. He hopes to be able to continue that momentum next Sunday in the Pocono 500 at Pocono Raceway.

"It's hard to tell how good we'll be at Pocono," Burton said. "We tested there and the car felt pretty good, just like this Pontiac was today. This Grand Prix and the one I'm running at Pocono are my two favorites. They turn real good for me. We'll go there and try to get another top-10, but we really need to get back in the winner's circle. That's what we need to do."

Source: NASCAR Online