One of the most inexplicable elements of this entire 2009 season has been the sudden, precipitous drop of Richard Childress Racing from near the summit of NASCAR to ... well, not the bottom ... maybe a low-level base camp? Yeah, that works.
Anyway, by now you know the deal. Three guys -- Kevin Harvick, Jeff Burton, Clint Bowyer -- in the Chase last year, exactly zip this year, with only Bowyer putting up anything resembling a fight. It's been a rough nine months for RCR ... but at last there's starting to be some light at the end of the tunnel, and not just because the season's almost over.
Chief among them: Jeff Burton has quietly been running some very good races. He recorded his third straight top-10 finish Sunday at Phoenix, and it was by far his most impressive run of the year, storming as he did from a 36th-place starting spot to a second-place finish. And since the winner was Jimmie Johnson, that basically counts as a victory for Burton anyway.
USA Today notes that Burton's turnaround coincides neatly with the late-October crew switcheroo that put Todd Berrier atop Burton's pit box and moved previous crew chief Scott Miller to an administrative role in RCR. Berrier had begun the season on Harvick's box, then moved to Mears, setting what has to be some kind of record for most different drivers chiefed (is that the right word?) in a season.
"We're building on something," Burton said after the race. "We're working hard on our equipment, working hard on our communication, working hard on paying attention to how I drive. Everybody's looking at themselves in the mirror, and the results are showing."
If 2010 sees the return of several RCR cars to the Chase, then 2009 will be forgotten in a hurry ... exactly as Burton and the rest would like it.
Burton, Childress team make strides after crew overhauls [USA Today]
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