Jeff Burton's crew loaded up the No. 31 Chevy earlier than expected on Sunday. Credit: CIA Stock Photo

Burton loses points lead, not optimism after DNF

Harvick rallies for top-10 finish despite multiple altercations

MARTINSVILLE, Va. -- Richard Childress looked frustrated and disgusted as he stood atop one of his haulers while Jeff Burton's crew desperately tried to restart their car in the garage.

Kevin Harvick turned a rough day into a top-10 finish. Credit: Autostock

Subway 500 Official Results Pos. Driver Make 1. Jimmie Johnson Chevy 2. Denny Hamlin Chevy 3. Bobby Labonte Dodge 4. Tony Stewart Chevy 5. Jeff Gordon Chevy 6. Casey Mears Dodge 7. Kasey Kahne Dodge 8. Jeff Green Chevy 9. Kevin Harvick Chevy 10. Kyle Petty Dodge • Complete results, click here • Official standings, click here Tough dayJeff Burton retires to garage with motor problems PileupKevin Harvick damages car during a multi-car pileup Sign up for TrackPass now BUY THE NEXTEL i836

Then it got worse.

As the crew pushed the No. 31 Chevrolet back into its stall, Kevin Harvick was involved in a five-car accident in Turn 3.

Childress dropped his head.

A day that began with high hopes with Burton leading the Chase for the Nextel Cup and Harvick third had gone bad almost as quickly as the gray sky over Martinsville Speedway turned blue.

Fortunately for Richard Childress Racing, it didn't remain that way. Harvick rallied twice from down in the field to finish ninth and move up a spot to second in points, 36 behind new leader Matt Kenseth.

Burton got a break in that he's only 48 points out of the lead even though he dropped to fifth in the standings with his 42nd-place finish.

"Everybody's had an issue in this Chase," said Burton, who spent the previous two days explaining how fortunate he'd been thus far. "While we had ours [Sunday], this thing is not over for us by any means."

To make sure his team was on the same page Burton led them into the back of his hauler like a general leading his team into battle for a few words of encouragement.

"We're a team," Burton said. "We fight together. We die together. We do everything together. That's what it's all about.

"It's a bad day for us. We won't quit, I guarantee that. This team is really tough, really resilient. We still feel like that going to Atlanta [next week] we have as good of a chance as anybody. I guarantee this team will not lie down."

Burton began experiencing trouble shortly after a Lap 210 restart when he was running 24th, about where he'd been since a minor accident on the third lap.

The team spent several laps debating whether to leave the car on the track to get in as many laps as possible or bring it in for a look.

	Jeff Burton lost the points lead, but he's still within striking distance. Credit: Autostock
	Chase for the Nextel Cup After Martinsville (6th of 10 races) Pos. +/- Driver Behind 1. +1 Matt Kenseth Leader 2. +1 Kevin Harvick -36 3. +4 Jimmie Johnson -41 4. +2 Denny Hamlin -47 5. -4 Jeff Burton -48 6. -1 D. Earnhardt Jr. -94 7. -3 Mark Martin -96 8. -- Kasey Kahne -99 9. +1 Jeff Gordon -141 10. -1 Kyle Busch -171 • Complete standings, click here SUPERSTORE •   2006 Chase driver hats!

"Basically, we decided to pit but we blew it up before we decided to pit," Burton said. "I should have come on down a lap earlier. You don't know what's going to happen. It's just a gamble of whether you come in or not."

The team, with Childress overseeing, spent several minutes under the hood before pushing the car out of the garage with hopes of returning to the race.

But after several attempts at a jump-start, with Childress back atop Harvick's hauler watching, the car was pushed back into the stall.

The crew gave up about the time Harvick ran into trouble for the first time.

"We got in a lot of stuff [Sunday]," Harvick said. "I probably wasn't that good. We had great pit stops and that's what kept us in there. We got track position in the end, and once the new tires got off those other guys' cars we were able to make up some ground on restarts."

That he's second in points with four races remaining is like a bonus after finishing 15th or worse in three of the four previous races.

"It is after the last four or five weeks that we've had," Harvick said with a smile. "To come here and get in a little accident and do what we did is what we have to do."

Burton also managed a smile before disappearing into his hauler.

"We will barrel down [Monday] morning and focus on being better and going to Atlanta to win the race," he said. "By no means do I think we're out of this thing.

"We have as good of a shot as anybody. We've run well enough to win a championship. We've just got to put these next four races together."