mynameiscarol
11-11-2006, 03:49 PM
Burton won't advocate separate Chase point system
AVONDALE, Ariz. - Count Jeff Burton among those who do not wish to see a separate point system in place for contenders in the Chase For The Nextel Cup. Widely acknowledged as one of the most cerebral competitors in the Cup garage, Burton drew on other sporting analogies to explain his position on points.
"You should not be judged on just the other guys you are racing against for the championship; you should be judged against the whole field," he said. "... I understand the theory behind it, but the way you get home-field advantage is by beating teams that didn't make the playoffs, if that makes sense.
"If you are playing a 4-11 team , you still have to beat them. If you don't, that still goes in the loss record, so that is the way this deal should work, too. When you are racing a team that is 35th in points, but they beat you on that particular day, then they beat you and I think your points should be received accordingly."
Burton, who finished 38th at Texas and fell from fifth to seventh in points with two races left in the season, is 184 markers in arrears of leader Jimmie Johnson heading into tomorrow's Checker Auto Parts 500. He has spent some time atop the points perch during the Chase, taking the lead after his win at Dover and holding it through a four-week span that ended Oct. 14 at Charlotte. While the spotlight shines primarily on drivers in the Chase, Burton insists all competitors should be governed by the same point system in NASCAR's postseason.
"You can't lose the championship and say, 'Well maybe if the points were different.' It doesn't work like that," Burton said. "If they give me a mulligan every time I had a bad shot [in golf], I might could shoot a 72. But, they don't do that, so for me, I just don't believe that if Tony Stewart is [not] in the Chase and is beating me by six positions, that he shouldn't be rewarded for beating me by those six positions.
"I just don't think that is fair to the team that is doing a good job. It penalizes the team that is doing a good job."
[I]credit: SceneDaily
AVONDALE, Ariz. - Count Jeff Burton among those who do not wish to see a separate point system in place for contenders in the Chase For The Nextel Cup. Widely acknowledged as one of the most cerebral competitors in the Cup garage, Burton drew on other sporting analogies to explain his position on points.
"You should not be judged on just the other guys you are racing against for the championship; you should be judged against the whole field," he said. "... I understand the theory behind it, but the way you get home-field advantage is by beating teams that didn't make the playoffs, if that makes sense.
"If you are playing a 4-11 team , you still have to beat them. If you don't, that still goes in the loss record, so that is the way this deal should work, too. When you are racing a team that is 35th in points, but they beat you on that particular day, then they beat you and I think your points should be received accordingly."
Burton, who finished 38th at Texas and fell from fifth to seventh in points with two races left in the season, is 184 markers in arrears of leader Jimmie Johnson heading into tomorrow's Checker Auto Parts 500. He has spent some time atop the points perch during the Chase, taking the lead after his win at Dover and holding it through a four-week span that ended Oct. 14 at Charlotte. While the spotlight shines primarily on drivers in the Chase, Burton insists all competitors should be governed by the same point system in NASCAR's postseason.
"You can't lose the championship and say, 'Well maybe if the points were different.' It doesn't work like that," Burton said. "If they give me a mulligan every time I had a bad shot [in golf], I might could shoot a 72. But, they don't do that, so for me, I just don't believe that if Tony Stewart is [not] in the Chase and is beating me by six positions, that he shouldn't be rewarded for beating me by those six positions.
"I just don't think that is fair to the team that is doing a good job. It penalizes the team that is doing a good job."
[I]credit: SceneDaily