Dominant Chevys? There’s a reason, Burton says

DAVID POOLE, dpoole@charlotteobserver.com

Saturday, Aug. 18, 2007

BROOKLYN, Mich. -- Chevrolet has only one of the past 17 races at Michigan, but it has won 17 of the 22 races held this year and has nine of the 12 drivers currently in position to make this year’s Chase.

While some fans are raising a ruckus about that disparity, there hasn’t been a grand level of protest from within the sport itself. Jeff Burton, who drives the No. 31 Chevrolet, thinks he knows why.

“The teams don’t have a whole lot to complain about,” he said. “NASCAR has put us under tighter constraints than we’ve ever had.

“What matters now is the participation of the manufacturer from an engineering and technological standpoint. The teams can’t stand on firm ground saying they have better pieces and parts because NASCAR has taken a lot of that away.

“NASCAR also quit reacting to it. The reason we complained a lot is because it worked. Now they don’t react so it doesn’t do any good.”

Burton’s car, by the way, will have the AT&T logos on it in today’s race. AT&T filed a request late Friday for an appeals court to reconsider its decision to overturn the injunction allowing those logos on the No. 31. The court took no action on the request before the weekend.

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