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BUSCH: Darlington II: Race summary
Jeff Burton completes sweep, wins Gatorade 200 at Darlington. DARLINGTON, S.C. (Aug. 31, 2002) -- Jeff Burton delivered a dominating performance in the No. 9 Gain Ford as he went on to win the rain-shortened Gatorade 200 NASCAR Busch Series ...
Edited: Apr 16, 2008, 12:40 AM
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Jeff Burton completes sweep, wins Gatorade 200 at Darlington.
DARLINGTON, S.C. (Aug. 31, 2002) -- Jeff Burton delivered a dominating performance in the No. 9 Gain Ford as he went on to win the rain-shortened Gatorade 200 NASCAR Busch Series race.
Burton completes a sweep of this year's NASCAR Busch Series races at Darlington (S.C.) Raceway and now has won three straight NASCAR Busch Series races at the tricky 1.366-mile egg-shaped oval.
Mark Martin, Burton's Roush Racing teammate, is the only other driver to win three straight NASCAR Busch Series victories at Darlington Raceway. Martin did that feat twice, winning the summer Busch Series in 1994 followed by a sweep in 1995 and won the 1999 summer race followed by a sweep in 2000.
Burton, who now has four career NASCAR Busch Series victories at Darlington, started in the 33rd position, worked his way through the field and finally seized the lead for the final time on Lap 44.
"I just had an incredibly fast race car," Burton said. "It was ridiculous that we were that fast. When we took the lead, I was actually laughing in the car."
While under caution, rain showers blanketed the track bringing out the red flag. The field was stopped just short of the start/finish line on Lap 73, one lap shy of the halfway mark.
After track drying efforts failed, the field, led by Burton, crossed the start/finish line and to complete 74 laps, which made the event official and sent Burton to Victory Lane.
"I like racing and I applaud NASCAR for trying to get the thing in with racing, not under caution," Burton said of the track drying efforts.
Rounding out the top five were Jason Keller, Greg Biffle, Jeff Green and Jack Sprague. The top Raybestos Rookie of the Year finisher was Scott Riggs, who came home 10th.
Keller's second-place finish was a career-best for the native of Greenville, S.C., who calls Darlington Raceway his home track.
On Sunday, Ward Burton, driver of the No. 22 Caterpillar Dodge for Bill Davis Racing and Jeff's older brother, will attempt to defend his title in the 53rd running of the one and only Mountain Dew Southern 500. Tickets and more information are available by calling the Raceway ticket hotline at (843) 395-8499.
-dr-
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