NASCAR WCUP: Burton returns to Sears Point in hopes of getting back to winning form

Posted By Terry Callahan
Motorsports Editor, The Auto Channel

June 19, 2001

"Road Courses are great races for the drivers, but what about the fans? There are a couple of areas that they can see, but for the most part they only see a small portion of the race. I donâ€™t know how you can make a road course so the fans can see the whole thing, but I do know that Sears Point isnâ€™t one of them.â€ - Ward Burton, driver of the Caterpillar Racing Dodge

BURTON ON SEARS POINTâ€¦

â€œSears Point is a very challenging road course. It is extremely hard to pass there. It is a small place for two go-karts to pass, let alone a 43-car field of Winston Cup cars. It is narrow and difficult to complete a pass without hitting the person you are trying to pass. The other challenge you face at that track is, if you get off course for some reason youâ€™re probably going to tear up the car so bad that your team canâ€™t fix it enough to return to competition. There are a lot of rocks and gullies just off the course and it is difficult to avoid them once you have gotten off the course.â€

BURTON ON LAST YEARâ€™S RACE AT SEARS POINTâ€¦

â€œWeâ€™ve had some decent runs there. I got on my roof last year during qualifying and we had to take a provisional, but we had a fast lap going until that happened. We unloaded our back-up car and that car was just as good as the one I wrecked. We had been driving to the front when we got out of sync on our pity stops midway through the race. We wound up 21st, but we had a much better run going than that finish shows.â€

TEAM NEWSâ€¦

The No. 22 CAT team tested at Virginia International Raceway located in Alton, Va., on Tuesday, June 5. The road course is in no way similar to Sears Point (CA) Raceway, but it was effective in shaking down the primary and back-up cars for the upcoming road course race. Other teams that tested there include: Rusty Wallace, Johnny Benson, Ken Schrader, John Andretti, Mike Wallace and Dave Blaney

SEARS POINT RACEWAY

Year Event ST FIN Earnings

2000 Save Mart/Kragen 350 37 21 55,715
1999 Save Mart/Kragen 350 26 35 36,480
1998 Save Mart/Kragen 350 25 40 31,705
1997 Save Mart Supermarkets 300 14 10 32,440
1996 Save Mart Supermarkets 300 15 10 36,740
1995 Save Mart Supermarkets 300 14 21 10,380
1994 Save Mart Supermarkets 300 27 36 7,195

Starts Wins Top Five Top 10 Poles Earnings
Total 7 0 0 2 0 210,655
2001 PERFORMANCE
DATE EVENT START FINISH LC/TL STATUS EARNINGS PTS. POS.

Feb. 18 Daytona 10 33 173/200 Accident 165,019 33
Feb. 25 Rockingham 11 16 392/393 Running 74,495 25
March 4 Las Vegas 13 21 266/267 Running 95,410 26
March 11 Atlanta 14 11 324/325 Running 74,425 21
March 18 Darlington 21 12 293/293 Running 70,930 17
March 25 Bristol 18 5 500/500 Running 100,580 11
April 1 Texas 28 21 331/334 Running 102,235 12
April 8 Martinsville 38 22 499/500 Running 69,485 11
April 22 Talladega 39 33 187/188 Running 77,125 16
April 29 California 18 42 223/250 Accident 78,835 19
May 5 Richmond 10 21 398/400 Running 72,185 19
May 27 Charlotte 9 9 400/400 Running 104,610 19
June 3 Dover 19 14 399/400 Running 83,970 17
June 10 Michigan 40 38 184/200 Radiator 68,040 19
June 17 Pocono 21 40 113/200 Accident 63,910 23
June 24 Sears Point
July 7 Daytona
July 15 Chicago
July 22 New Hampshire
July 29 Pocono
Aug. 5 Indianapolis
Aug. 12 Watkins Glen
Aug. 19 Michigan
Aug. 25 Bristol
Sept. 2 Darlington
Sept. 8 Richmond
Sept. 16 New Hampshire
Sept. 23 Dover
Sept. 30 Kansas
Oct. 7 Charlotte
Oct. 14 Martinsville
Oct. 21 Talladega
Oct. 28 Phoenix
Nov. 4 Rockingham
Nov. 11 Homestead
Nov. 18 Atlanta

Text provided by Heidi Stoddard

Editors Note: To view hundreds of hot photos and racing art, please visit The Racing Image Galleries and The Visions of Speed Art Gallery