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January 20
After experiencing a season of change in 2004, NASCAR Nextel Cup Series veterans Jeff Burton and Bobby Labonte are ready for a season of fine-turning.
Both drivers experienced team changes in 2004 – Burton departed Roush Racing to join Richard Childress Racing, and Labonte adjusted to a new crew chief at midseason.
Both drivers finished below where they’re accustomed in the NASCAR Nextel Cup Series point standings – Burton in 18th place and Labonte in 12th place.
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Jeff Burton was happy to talk about his new team Wednesday at Daytona International Speedway
(Daytona Beach News Journal/Jim Tiller)
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So for 2005, regaining NASCAR Top 10 status is a primary goal.
“I feel good about where my team's headed,” said Burton, who joined RCR last August. “I think our pit crew will be as good as anybody on pit road. (Crew chief) Kevin (Hamlin) and I are getting along extremely well. We have very progressive engineering and shock programs. I feel good about it. But I've gone into most years feeling good about those years, too. All in all I'm confident. We do have a lot of questions that need to be answered.”
Perhaps Labonte’s primary question has been answered: He begins 2005 with a new crew chief, Steve Addington. Last year’s crew chief switch in midseason was a change that resonated with the No. 18 team for some time and stability remains a priority.
“That was the biggest thing that happened to us,” said Labonte, the 2000 NASCAR NEXTEL Cup Series champion. “If we don’t do that again, we’ll be better off and that’s what we plan on not doing. We also have to know we have to be more competitive. We have to finish races better than we have been and than we did last year to be in the top 10 in points.”
Burton and Labonte discussed their situations during Wednesday’s lunch break for NASCAR Preseason Thunder, the annual preseason test sessions. Drivers who finished in even number positions in the final 2004 car owner points are testing Jan. 18-20 at Daytona International Speedway, while divers who finished in odd number positions in the final 2004 car owner point tested last week at Daytona.
Both are optimistic as they prepare for the season-opening Daytona 500; both also plan to coax more speed from what they’ve seen thus far in testing. As drivers with plenty of Daytona experience, Burton and Labonte know careful, gradual preparations usually yield reliable results.
“Hopefully we can improve throughout the week and go home and pull out the rest of the stops that we have left that we didn’t bring here,” Labonte said, “and then come back and be faster that we are here today.”
Bobby Labonte turns laps during Daytona testing
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“We knew coming down here that we weren’t going to be blistering fast in qualifying trim,” Burton said. “We feel really good about how our cars are going to draft and the way they’re going to race. And we feel good about qualifying, too. We have a lot of things going on between now and when we come back. Our goal was to be 18th, 19th-fastest this week. I know that sounds stupid, but we think we can do that when we come back and be in great shape.”
For Burton, it’s been a busy off-season. Last week he participated in a road-course test at Mexico City’s Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez; the test was in advance of the Mexico 200 on March 6, the first NASCAR Busch Series points event to be held outside the United States.
"Mexico is really cool, and that facility is a really neat racetrack, and it will be quite exciting," Burton said yesterday during a break in Daytona 500 testing with car owner Richard Childress.
"The backside of the track is a series of esses, about five corners, one right after the other. As you go through those esses you continue to build speed, and there is a good passing zone at the end of the esses going into the last corner.
"The last two corners are about the radius of a Milwaukee (a one-mile track), except there is a wall on both sides and a stadium in the middle, so you can't see around the corner at all. It's a real challenge because you can't see where you're going.
"We designed an inner loop (chicane) on the frontstretch, to pull some speed out of the cars. But it is a fast loop, very fast, not like what we have at Watkins Glen, so we won't get bottled up getting in."
Burton said that future NASCAR tracks should be built with the Mexico City track in mind.
"The concept of the track is something that probably should take hold here, when we're asking for tax dollars to help build race tracks," Burton said. " The facility is a public facility, so when there's not an event there, there are people bicycling and running and wheelchair guys out there and soccer fields and baseball fields, thousands of people. That's a really cool concept, because it's right in downtown Mexico City.
"So if you could build a track near Manhattan and include it as a park, that's a great idea."
Mexico City's crime rate is notorious, and there are reports of track security wearing bulletproof vests.
"I didn't see a bulletproof vest; I'm not saying they weren't there, I just didn't notice any," Burton said.
"As far as security going down there, they're shuttling people back and forth, so there won't be any issues. That is a little bit of an overreaction, but it is the safe thing to do, the right thing to do, more so for logistics. If we all had to rent cars, it would be a major mess, because you are in downtown Mexico City, the world's largest city. And when the event is done, getting back to the hotel is quite an event, because of rush-hour traffic.
"We had zero issues with security, zero issues with anything."
Burton left Roush — where he had raced since 1996, winning 17 times and finishing among the top five in points four times — before the Aug. 22 race at Michigan International Speedway last year.
He led laps and finished fourth in his second race with RCR, at Bristol (Tenn.) Motor Speedway, and ended the season by finishing 13th or better in five of the final six races.
He’s also jumped headlong into a leadership role at RCR, hoping to buoy teammates Kevin Harvick , who’s beginning his fifth season at RCR and new addition Dave Blaney. The mandate? Return RCR to perennial NASCAR Top 10 competition.
"In my fitness room, there's a picture of Earnhardt and Childress in Victory Lane together, and it's been there for several years," the 37-year-old driver said. "Those two together did a lot of great things. That's the relationship I've been looking for -- you need me and I need you and let's go do it together."
In fact, Earnhardt had once approached Burton about the possibility of eventually replacing the legend in the famed No. 3 Chevy.
"He came up to me right here (near the DIS garage area)," Burton said. "He said he and Richard had talked about it, and they wanted to make sure the 3 car continued to run well after he retired, and he wanted me to drive it."
"I know Dale liked Jeff a lot," said Danny Lawrence, a long-time engine builder and department supervisor at RCR. "Jeff is probably not as much of a country boy as (his brother) Ward, but he was somebody Dale could relate to."
“The timing is good because we've got Dave Blaney who wants to prove a point,” Burton said. “A lot of people ask why he (Childress) hired Blaney. I think you're going to find out why Richard Childress hired Dave Blaney. You've got me, who is used to running in the front and who hasn't for the last few years. I want to prove a point. Harvick did not have the year he wanted to have last year. He wants to prove a point. Richard has a lot to prove too. I think that's going to prove really good for everybody.”
Tension between teammates has also been a lingering problem at RCR for the past few years.
But swapping out the talented but impulsive Robby Gordon for a cerebral, level-headed driver such as Burton could provide stability.
"When I accepted the position to drive this car, I did it knowing that Richard wanted me to come in and be a leader and more than just a guy who shows up on Friday afternoon to sit in the car," Burton says.
"I relish that opportunity."
Burton and Childress aren't the only members of RCR looking to rebuild their reputations.
Kevin Harvick had a disappointing 2004, and Dave Blaney, who will drive RCR's No. 30 car, has done little to distinguish himself since leaving sprint cars to race in NASCAR.
"I think you've got a lot of people coming together at the same time to prove a point," Burton said.
On the track,Joe Nemechek topped the morning session, posting a high speed of 185.605 mph. Nemechek’s MB2/MBV Motorsports teammate Scott Riggs was fastest in the afternoon at 186.097.
Riggs speed was the second fastest for the entire test session.
Bill Elliott to Pilot No. 39 Coors Dodge in Shootout at Daytona
January 20
Bill Elliott will take a trip down memory lane in this years Bud Shootout.
Wednesday night Elliott unveiled a number 39 Coors Dodge owned by Chip Ganassi
Elliott unveils a number 39 Coors Dodge at Daytona Wednesday night
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Elliott will make a one-race appearance behind the wheel of the retro Coors Dodge.
Chip Ganassi Racing with Felix Sabates will field a second entry in the Shootout for Elliott who was partnered with the team’s current sponsor Coors Brewing Company from 1984-1991.
Elliott’s Dodge will sport the paint scheme that he earned the coveted Winston Million during the 1985 NASCAR Winston Cup season.
“I am really looking forward to partnering back up with Coors Light,” Elliott said.
“I think that this is a great opportunity and I really like running that race. I think it is also going to be fun to work with my brother Ernie. Ernie worked on my motors when I was just starting out. Now I get a chance to have him build my engines again and it is something I will thoroughly enjoy.”
Elliott first partnered with Coors in 1984 when the beer company entered the world of NASCAR racing. The 1985 season and paint scheme Coors is honoring was a banner year for Elliott. He earned the Winston Million by winning three of the four major races of the season, the Daytona 500 (Daytona, Fla.), the Winston 500 (Talladega, Ala.) and the Southern 500 (Darlington, S.C.). He also captured a record-breaking 11 superspeedway victories that year.
Elliott will be teamed with Tony Glover
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Over the course of eight seasons, Elliott piloted the Coors car to the 1988 Winston Cup Championship, 33 wins, 94 top-five and 142 top-10 finishes.
“I think this is a great way to honor Coors Brewing Company’s history in racing,” team owner Chip Ganassi said. “Coors had a long and successful affiliation with Bill and has been a sponsor with Felix and I since 1995. This is a great way to partner the company’s past and present for one night under the lights at Daytona. We look forward to having Bill in one of our cars and giving Coors this opportunity to celebrate the start of its 21st year in NASCAR.”
Coors first came to team owner Felix Sabates and Team SABCO in 1995. After three seasons and two drivers the door was left open for current driver Sterling Marlin to take over the reigns of the No. 40 Coors Light Dodge. Team owner Chip Ganassi partnered up with Sabates in 2000 and Coors Light continued its success with Chip Ganassi Racing with Felix Sabates.
“We here at Coors Brewing Company are very excited about having Bill in the car and partnered up with us again for this one race,” said Steve Saunders, Director of Event Marketing for Coors Brewing Company. “He had an impressive eight seasons with Coors and won a championship while he was sponsored by us. We are thrilled to have the opportunity to run our two brands of beer Coors and Coors Light at Daytona International Speedway. First we have Elliott in the Coors car and Marlin in the Coors Light Dodge.”
Elliott talks about the Shootout ride with the media
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Elliott backed away from full-time competition in 2004, after three solid years with Ray Evernham. He ran four races in Evernham cars in 2004 and remains on the Evernham payroll in various roles, including test driver, consultant, driver coach, and racing guru.
Elliott did not compete at Daytona last year.
Evernham had no objection to the Ganassi opportunity, which is for this event only. Elliott will run a No. 39 car in livery suggesting the Coors sponsorship of Bill's glory days in the 1980s. Coors Light is sponsor of Ganassi's full-time No. 40 car, so the pieces fit.
Elliott says he plans to run up to a dozen races in Evernham cars this season. "I hope to run about 10 or 12 not counting the Bud Shootout," he said. "I think right now we're up to about seven, and I think we'll end up with 10 or 12. I think we'll start at California. We plan on running Atlanta, Texas, Charlotte 600, one of the Michigan races . . . it's about one a month."
Ganassi racing manager Tony Glover, who goes about as far back as Elliott does, will supervise the Shootout effort.
The Shootout is scheduled for Saturday, February 12th at Daytona International Speedway.
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