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 So Burton kept low on the last restart, hoping to hold off Kyle Busch's charging Toyota. Instead, Busch went lower to slide by Burton while several cars, led by Busch's teammate, Tony Stewart, blew past the Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet in the high groove. Burton was left in the middle, without drafting help, and his chance at NASCAR's biggest race was all but done.
A short time later, Burton crossed the finish line 13th behind winner Ryan Newman.
"I tried to do something on the last restart that didn't work very well," Burton said Wednesday at Darlington Raceway. "But I had to do something unorthodox. If I had done a straight-up, old-fashioned restart, we weren't going to win the race."
Burton admits that if he had maintained his line and simply hit the gas, he'd likely have gained a spot in the top 10.
"But I wanted to win the race," he said. "If I had to do it again, I still would've tried something other than the normal restart."
Burton saw racers pair up behind him and knew the onslaught was ready. He didn't have a teammate nearby. And even if he did, it would've been that driver's job to win the Daytona 500 as well, Burton said.
What if the track had stayed green and the restart wasn't necessary?
"All I know is t I got the lead with about six to go and that gave us a chance to win the Daytona 500," he said. "With no cautions, we might've won."
Burton came to Darlington Raceway, site of May's Dodge Challenger 500, to help pave the "Lady in Black." Burton spoke with structural engineers about the superspeedway's paving project and even took a turn on a machine that shaves the track.
The repaving, Darlington's first since 1995, was expected to be finished about six weeks ago. However, complications with constructing a massive infield access tunnel between turns three and four pushed the project back. Track president Chris Browning said with good weather, the paving should be done by the end of the month.
When Browning toured Daytona last week, he talked with several drivers who wanted to know if the paving would change Darlington's enormous challenge and appeal.
Not to worry, Browning said. Engineers took four million reference points to guarantee Darlington's characteristics. The aggregate used for paving was brought from the same quarry as the 1995 project.
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"I tried very hard to let everybody know ... the pains and efforts we've taken to model the track," he said. "So we that can put it back exactly the way it was."
That's good news for Burton, a NASCAR historian who cherishes each Darlington race. He won the 50th Southern 500 in 1999. The trophy sits in a case he has reserved for a Sprint Cup championship.
"Just to be here and roll through that gate and around this racetrack was unbelievable," he said. "I can't describe it."
All race teams will know more after Goodyear's tire test at the revamped track in mid-March.
Darlington had been on NASCAR's endangered list a few years ago and lost its signature event, the Southern 500 on Labor Day weekend, to California Speedway. However, officials have sold out the past three years since shifting its lone race day to the Saturday night on Mother's Day weekend. Browning anticipates a fourth straight sellout this spring.
Burton and the fans might see some tighter, faster racing. The repaving should make the cars about a half-second quicker. The smoother surface also will allow more side-by-side-by-side action than the rutty, cracked old track had previously seen.
Burton remembers what happened after the last repaving. His brother, Ward, set a track record of 173.797 mph in qualifying for the TranSouth 400 in 1996, the first race with a new surface.
"I think what'll happen is that we'll all feel like Superman because there's new asphalt," Jeff Burton said.
If that's the case, get ready for a few more unconventional moves this spring.
[Associated Press; By PETE IACOBELLI]
Copyright 2008 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This
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