NASCAR Winston Cup CMT 300 Report: #99, Jeff Burton
16 September 1997
#99 Jeff Burton, Exide Batteries Ford Thunderbird NASCAR Winston Cup Series CMT 300 Race Report New Hampshire International Speedway September 14, 1997 JEFF BURTON RACE RECAP: CMT 300 LOUDON, NH - For a team that in the past several weeks has been disgusted with their back-to-back second place finishes at both Darlington, and Richmond, a 14th-place finish in the CMT 300 at New Hampshire International Speedway may to those who were not there, sound like a disaster. To observers on pit lane who saw the Exide Batteries Racing Team clapping their hands and jumping up and down when the checkered flag flew, it may have seemed, however, that they had just won the race. The team showed up in Loudon, NH, knowing that a challenge awaited them. Their driver, Jeff Burton, was having problems with his inner ear that was causing him balance and orientation problems. Crew Chief Buddy Parrott asked Todd Bodine, a regular in the Busch Grand National Series, to fly to the speedway with the crew to practice and qualify the car for Burton. They brought the same car with them that not only had given them a strong second place finish in Richmond the week before, but also had won at Loudon in July. Track conditions must have changed because Bodine and the crew were unable to get a handle on the set-up, and wound up taking a provisional to make the field for the race. They were set to start in the 39th position. Burton was obligated to take laps in the car during Happy Hour on Saturday so he could start the race on Sunday and pick up any driver points that the team earned. NASCAR let Burton take several laps by himself, and then cleared him to take several more with the rest of the field on the track. The original plan was for him to make one lap on Sunday and then come into the pits and let Bodine get in the car, but Jeff felt comfortable enough after practice that he decided that he would try to make it to the first caution, which in previous races have come out not long after the race began. Due to the driver change, Burton fell to the back of the field which put him in 43rd spot when the green flag flew on Sunday afternoon. The car was tight, but Burton made it to the 31st position before the first caution flag flew on lap 68, and he came down pit road to let Bodine take the wheel. Luckily, the team was able to quickly make that change and did not lose a lap during the exchange. Bodine drove a great race, despite the car alternating between a tight and loose condition, and avoided several wrecks that took place in front of him. He brought the car home in the 14th spot. The team remained in fourth place in the Winston Cup points standings, thanks in part to an incident that involved fifth place Terry Labonte. They are 332 points behind leader Jeff Gordon and 123 in front of Labonte. The race next weekend is at Dover Downs International Speedway in Dover, DE. Burton will undergo extensive testing this week to try to pinpoint the exact nature of his inner-ear problem. He and the team are hoping that he will be back in the Exide Ford Thunderbird full time next weekend. By Roush Racing Public Relations