Remember that time when Jeff Burton was the pitter-patter of every fan's heart?He had just won at Texas and was sitting a nice second in Nextel Cup points. Average finish? Fifth.
The Jeff Burton from the late 90's was back, and back in style. Second in Nextel Cup points and looking ready to take the top spot from Jeff Gordon.
So what exactly happened then?
Apparently Phoenix, Talladega, Richmond, Darlington, Charlotte, Dover, Pocono, and Michigan happened. Or maybe, NASCAR is screwing with Burton's car because of the AT&T flap.
Since that Texas win, Burton's best finish in eight races is a 10th-place showing at Darlington. At Michigan Sunday afternoon? An unremarkable 24th after starting the 400-miler in 9th.
The problem hasn't been in finishing, either. Burton hasn't been near the front. In the season's first seven races? He led four of them.
Since then, Burton has led just once -- at Talladega.
Today, Burton sits 421 points behind point leader Jeff Gordon and 179 behind second-place Denny Hamlin. That's quite a difference from after his win at Texas when Burton found himself just 8 points off of Gordon's decklid for the point lead.
That stretch, remember, also includes Gordon's 41st-place crash-induced finish at Charlotte.
Burton could be experiencing the opposite of the so-called Tony Stewart Effect. TSE, as is otherwise known, is the way Tony Stewart always turns up the wick when tracks get slick in the summer months and starts to shine.
Luckily for Burton, the Chase for the Nextel Cup will bring him back to picture -- if he stays in the top 12.
