I think Burton seems like a good guy but he has too much to say sometimes.  Seems to be the other guys fault every time something doesn't go his way.


Headline - Jeff Burton calls racing at Sonoma ‘horrendous,’ says Sprint Cup Series is turning into a demolition derby - scenedaily.com

http://www.scenedaily.com/news/articles/sprintcupseries/Jeff_Burton...


LOUDON, N.H. – Veteran driver Jeff Burton lashed out at his Sprint Cup Series peers Friday over their performance during the final laps last week at Infineon Raceway, saying the driving and late-race contact
was “horrendous” and “ridiculous.”

Burton was one of the victims when Marcos Ambrose spun him while trying to get back to the front after Ambrose lost the lead with seven laps remaining when he accidentally stalled his car on the
track. Ambrose tried to call Burton this week to apologize. Burton said
he understood Ambrose’s motive and frustration at the end of the race
but doesn’t understand why the racing overall was so rough late in the
event.

For Burton, it was NASCAR’s “boys have at it” mantra taken to an extreme.

“The last 10 laps of that race, it didn’t look like we were the best drivers in this country,” Burton said Friday prior to practice at New Hampshire Motor Speedway. “It looked like we were some
of the worst drivers in this country.

“It’s just ridiculous. … That race has just turned into a demolition derby. It had nothing to do with road-course and experience. It has to do with respect. Everybody in this garage knows how to use
the brake pedal and use the throttle and use the steering wheel and
chose not to do it correctly because it was in their best interest to
run over the guy in front of them, or they were trying really hard not
to get run over from behind.”

Not all drivers agreed with Burton.

“It was just good racing, honestly,” said his Richard Childress Racing teammate Kevin Harvick, who stayed out of trouble at Infineon three weeks after making contact with Joey Logano at Pocono.
“It was probably one of the most exciting road-course races that I’ve
watched. … I went back and watched the race and it looked like the
majority of them had the No. 24 [of Jeff Gordon] involved, and I saw the
No. 20 [of Logano] get dumped again for running into the side of
somebody, so that one hasn’t changed.”

At one point late in the race, Burton got into Mark Martin during a three-wide battle. Martin brushed it off as just the nature of racing in 2010.

“It wasn’t just last week,” Martin said. “It happens all the time. [Respect] is getting worse mostly because the nature of our racing and the growth of the sport. You wouldn’t be able to keep a job
if you raced 20 years ago and you wrecked as many cars as you wreck
today.”

Burton said he likes aggressive racing but not disrespect.

“The respect shown last week from driver to driver was completely unacceptable,” he said. “If our sport’s going to become that, then we need to change that from racing to demolition cars. … It takes
skill to race and not wreck somebody. It takes zero skill to run over
the top of anybody.”

Two-time Cup champion Tony Stewart agreed with Burton: “It was absurd. … I don’t know if there was something in the air last week. It was absolutely out of control.”

It was not a surprise which drivers were involved in the rough driving, Burton said, with the pressure to get into the 12-driver Chase For The Sprint Cup mounting. There are now 10 races left before
that field is set.

“It’s not a coincidence that a lot of the people that are racing to get in the Chase were involved in the situations,” Burton said. “It’s an extremely competitive sport and there’s a lot at stake.”

Martin said that, at times, he’s in a bind because everyone around him is racing so hard and a driver can’t let up. It’s obviously different than when he started in the 1980s.

“The racing 20 or 25 years ago was about the sport,” Martin said. “It wasn’t really about the thrill. It was about being part of something that you loved. It was a lot smaller, less entertainment
oriented. If you weren’t one of the top teams, you had to survive. You
couldn’t afford to go out there and wreck these things every week.”

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I think that there are a couple of ways at looking at Jeff's comments...

1) I would agree that the respect for fellow drivers has continually been in a downward spiral for some time now. Some of the rubbing, bumping, punting, etc is out of hand. Yes rubbing is racing but come on there comes a point that it's a bit overboard. The kid in the #12 seems to have no respect for anyone and shows it practically every race he is in. It's to the point that teammates are punting each other (I still can't get over the time Montoya - another chronic whiner - punted Scott Pruett at Mexico City in the Busch/Nationwide series) which is totally stupid.

2) On the other hand, I do find Jeff Burton to whine a little more then most drivers. He of course is far from being alone. Notable chronic whiners include the #31, 24, 48, 29, whatever number POS drives, 11, 18 (a lot of talent but sheesh) and I'm sure I could go on for awhile. Point is it's racing and only 1 car can win each race which means 42 don't. Some handle it better then others, while some make me and the wife try to find the mute button on the remote (of course when FOX is broadcasting, that is every time Jaws runs his mouth.

3) As for Jeff's older brother, I actually like Ward. He's fun to listen to and the one time I met him was a super nice guy. I never listened to his scanner when at the track, so I'm not sure about his whining.

4) Was last weeks race too much? In some cases yes, but overall no. With exception of the 48 winning, it was a pretty exciting race start to finish...something NASCAR needs.

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