| | Associated Press
DARLINGTON, S.C. -- Almost no one has driven Darlington Raceway better the past two years than Jeff Burton -- except maybe for his brother, Ward.
They have won the last three Darlington races and have already tied the win total of four generations of Pettys at "The Track Too Tough To Tame."
|  | | Ward Burton ended his victory drought earlier this season at Darlington Raceway. |
The Burton boys get another crack to extend the family legacy
here with Sunday's Southern 500.
"I don't know what it is that makes us do so well there," said Jeff Burton, who swept both Darlington races, including the Southern 500, in 1999.
Ward, second to Jeff here a year ago, outran his younger brother at the Mall.com 400 in March for his first Winston Cup victory in five years. "That was several months ago," Ward said by phone. "Hopefully, we can find our way to the front again and figure out what had been going wrong for us."
Darlington, the sport's first superspeedway, was created more than a half-century ago and has befuddled some of the world's best drivers. King Richard Petty won only three of his record 200 victories at the 1.366-mile oval. His son, Kyle, has suggested several times turning it back to farm and fishing pond it had been.
It takes a gambler's knack and a tactician's feel to get through the narrow, oddball chutes unscratched and in front.
You've got to be aggressive, Ward says, "but you can't get too fast or it'll catch up with you."
Jeff, who says he and his brother haven't spoken much about their shared Darlington success, says the track is demanding, "but it's fun."
What surprises him some, though, is how good he and his brother have been here "because Ward and I have such different driving techniques."
Ward is more of a hard charger, which can get you in trouble since Turns 1 and 2 at Darlington aren't even close to Turns 3 and 4, Jeff said.
Jeff got little bit of rain help for his two Darlington victories, both shortened by storms. But his car was among the strongest on the track each time.
Ward also was dominant in March, surpassing Matt Kenseth with 36
laps left to cruise to the win.
"We seem to like this place," Jeff said.
The two used to listen to Darlington races on the radio. They attended races here as children and dreamt of one day, chopping through the tricky oval. When Jeff finished ahead of his second-place brother last September, Ward was diplomatic when asked how he felt: "You got a younger brother? You know how it feels."
So when Ward took the checkered flag, he got a relieved hug from Jeff and was on the phone to his parents in South Boston, Va., immediately.
Victory Lane isn't all the two share at Darlington.
Ward had an electrying run at the 1996 TranSouth to set the track's qualifying record of 173.797 mph. Jeff was involved in one of the most fascinating and exciting last-lap duels with Jeff Gordon in 1997. The two Jeffs bumped down the stretch until Gordon threw a final block that edged Burton.
The two are sharing top 10 Winston Cup seasons as well. Jeff has won the July race at Daytona and is fourth in the points after Saturday night's goracing.com 500 at Bristol. Ward, who held the Bristol lead with 40 laps left but faded to 11th, is ninth in the points race.
Jeff was sixth Saturday night.
While that's nice, both say Darlington gives them a surge of confidence that comes from returning to a favorite track.
"You don't expect to come here and win," Jeff said. "But we expect to come to Darlington and run well." | |
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