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Sunday, 16 March 2008 19:00 |
 By: Jay W. Pennell
Sprint Cup Correspondent
HardcoreRaceFans.com
Jeff Burton was in the right place at the right time Sunday, earning his first victory at Bristol Motor Speedway. Burton led the charge as Richard Childress Racing earned its first 1-2-3 finish with Kevin Harvick and Clint Bowyer. Although he led only two laps in the entire race, Burton put himself in position to lead the most important two laps of the Food City 500.
A quite contender, Burton was able to keep his No. 31 AT&T Chevrolet in the top-5 for much of the afternoon. Burton capitalized on the woes of Joe Gibbs Racing teammates Tony Stewart and Denny Hamlin.
With just two laps remaining, Hamlin was leading with Stewart in second. A hard charging Kevin Harvick drove into Turn 1 under Stewart, but was not able to hold his line. Harvick slid up the track and into the No. 20 Home Depot Camry, sending Stewart up the banking and into the outside wall.
The ensuing caution set up a Green-White-Checkered finish, with Hamlin in the lead with all three RCR cars behind him. As the field roared to the green flag, Hamlin’s No. 11 Fed-Ex Camry sputtered coming off Turn 2, allowing all three Childress cars to get by.
The victory was the first for the fourteen year veteran at the famed Bristol Motor Speedway. A four-time runner up at the half mile – including last year’s Food City 500 – Burton was able to keep his nose clean and be there when it mattered most. Honoring one of his fallen competitors, Burton turned his car and took a Polish Victory Lap – made famous by the late Alan Kulwicki.
\"We put ourselves in position, and that\'s how you win these races,\" Burton told reporters following the race. \"I\'m not going to stand here and say we had the fastest car all day. We had good pit stops. We had good strategy. We did all the little things well. When you do all the little things well, a lot of times the big things take care of themselves.\" ![](\"/images/stories/hcrflogo.jpg\")
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