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JEFF BURTON, NO. 31 PRILOSEC OTC MONTE CARLO SS, RICHARD CHILDRESS RACING, FINISHED FIRST:
“We had a really good car on long runs. We struggled on short runs. We were way too tight to start. That was the game we had to play. We worked really hard on trying to make that better.
“Typically that s what happens when you win a race. We needed long green flag runs - that s what we needed and that s what we got. We played the card that was dealt to us and for me it was a matter of patience. I really had to work hard not to push too hard to start - when I did it just didn t work for us.
“Scott Miller has done just an incredible job to prepare race cars and prepare people to go out and do this and it s an honor to go out and do this. I m just humbled by the effort they put in and every day they work so hard. This group doesn t take any time off and I m so proud just to be part of it. “
ON WINNING AGAIN AT TEXAS AFTER TEN YEARS:
Jeff Burton: “I ll be honest - I feel like a guy who s come back. I don t know how to describe it. When we came here that year and were able to win that race we were a fairly young race team. We ran well and I found a way to get it done.
“We were fast and that was a day that we were able to get it done. We then were contending for championships and then things got to the point when we couldn t contend at all. We were 12th in points, 12th in points and then 18th. Everyone wrote that off as disgusting but if you look at the whole scheme of things it wasn t that bad.
“What Richard has given me an opportunity to do here and all the effort that Scott has put in I feel like I m new at it again. My enthusiasm is as high as it s ever been, my excitement is as high as it s ever been and I hope that people look at me and say I can do it again. I firmly believe that - I don t believe that I forgot how to drive. Some people forgot that I can drive - Richard Childress didn t. Scott Miller and my whole team - from day one they ve taken what I ve said as gospel. If I ve said it s tight, it s tight. There s never an argument about - well you have to drive different, you need to do this. For that I ll be ever grateful. “
WHAT TOOK YOU SO LONG TO GET PAST MATT (KENSETH)?
Jeff Burton: “Matt s really good. I bet if you look at Matt Kenseth s lap times they got faster. He did a great job of putting his car in a position where he could get the most speed out of it and it wasn t where I wanted to be but it prevented me from being where I wanted to be on the exit of the corner. So Matt did a phenomenal job and, by the way, that s why he s a champion and has won so many races. That s because he s really good. The reason it took so long to get by him is because he s really good. He found a way to be faster when he needed to be and he found a way to prevent me from being as fast as I wanted to be. That s what you do when you re in the lead with 15 laps to go. After Bristol everybody acts as if I gave Kyle Busch the race. Kyle Busch won (that) race. Matt Kenseth put himself in a position to win this race. Fortunately we found a way to get by him. But Matt Kenseth deserves the credit for making it take so long. “
Jeff Burton: “The thing about Scott and the reason that people are having to take notice of us is because it s never good enough. I don t have to call Scott on a Monday morning and say, hey we have to think about doing a different body, we need to think about spending more time on doing this or that - he s doing it. If we run this race car here in the Fall and we don t run better than we did today we won t win the race. We ve got to be better every week. He knows that. He doesn t rest on his laurels. We ve got to get on Richard every now and then coz he likes to sit back. He likes to work hard but when things are working he doesn t like to change anything (laughter). Scott is up on it - that s what you see from Chad Knaus. That s what you see from Robbie Rieser. That s what you see from those teams that compete to win. It s never enough and they are always trying to make it better. That s what Scott Miller s got. It s an awesome experience to be part of it. “
