The Charlotte Observer from Charlotte, North Carolina • 33

THE CHARLOTTE OBSERVER I wwwcharlOttecom FRIDAY AUGUST II 2006 7C Isilhat)5 Doesn't aan ma27 tt GO FOR RACING NEWS 61 an( sor ON THE INTERNET carrySttawrnantacrur sidne'nnet WWWTHATSRACINCOM THIS WEEK'S QUESTION It's "turn-right-too" time again On a I-10 scale where do you rank NASCAR's road races? VOTE AT WWWTHATSRACINCOM 17 Tony is a It's "turn-right-too" time champion NASCAR's road races? vo and deserves some respect 1 LAST WEEK'S QUESTION Tony Stewart has likened his place in stock car racing to that of Dale Earnhardt What do you think? 6221 NUMBER OF RESPONSES It I Lit 1111111 --V- NV AA 1-1 AT RAG carry tarnnarars neimet Tony Stewart has likened his place in stock car racing to that of Dale Earnhardt What do you think? 6221 NUMBER OF RESPONSES Growth at Richard Childress Racing A10111 Iti the It'd Driver Rankings 1 DAVID POOLE Rank Driver (Car) Pry Comment 1 Jimmie Johnson (48) 2 Matt Kenseth (17) 3 Kyle Busch (5) 4 Jeff Burton (31) 5 Kevin Harvick (29) 6 Denny Hamlin (11) Doing what teammate Jeff Gordon used to I coming out of nowhere to win races Has four top-fives in the past five races at India2 napolis but still hasn't won there Nice call to stay out late at Indy picked up positions and points for this team This car from first half of Indy plus Johnson's in 3 second would have lapped the field Ran up front all day at Indianapolis He's never fin ished worse than 15th at the Glen Rookie has finished no worse than 17th since his 6 runner-up run at Richmond Va in May 41jaoi4 '4 I 6 11'! 't 'I 'il 'T 'If' 1 I ''''l '1 2 '4 11- LLt 1 es- ied 4-4" A- 4'A 44 44i600'''''''- 4 3 t11iii71 i 1 --74 Ni t- 1'''''''''' re: ---'-fr (: 1 lkz r'9U a 4--i' i --i-- 1--' lick 41k1 I 14 e-'01 41 44 I -1 111CP ''''1-' ''11 11114' 4-4-ts II 4L-Ilt1 1- f')IAt I 1 Ti: 4' i 1---' -4111 ifilltil a le i ii Trrir i' 4 '4 MN I 1 41') Itt A- -t I '-ArrL- I A 7 Mark Martin (6) 8 Jeff Gordon (24) 9 Tony Stewart (20) 10 Kasey Kahne (9) Martin has finished outside the top 10 at Watkins 9 Glen once in the past 17 years If he makes the Chase this year the points he sal8 vaged at Indy might be the difference A fourth victory in five years at Watkins Glen II would do this team a world of Chase good 5 Hangs on to the final spot in our top 10 because he has four victories this year Who's Hot Who's Not 1 JIM UTTER TOBY TALBOT ASSOCIATED PRESS PHOTO Jeff Burton is third in points for the Nextel Cup championship heading into Sunday's race at Watkins Glen NY HOT JIMMIE JOHNSON: Won the season's two biggest races (Daytona 500 and Allstate 400) Is his first championship next? MATT KENSETH: The only other team that seems capable of matching Johnson race-to-race DENNY HAMLIN: This kid is for real and shockingly he doesn't come with an open-wheel background NOT DALE EARNHARDT JR: Yeah he's back in the top 10 in points But it was the third consecutive race Earnhardt Jr has struggled KASEY KAHNE: How the mighty have fallen JEREMY MAYFIELD: Out of the top 35 now out of a ride this week Burton's quest to get back to ictorv Lane Without a win he's 3rd in Chase race and likes where team has gotten him Observation I JIM UTTER The 26-race cutoff for qualifying for the Chase is also likely to prove a turning point for those not in the title hunt With no shot at the championship look for several teams changing drivers to make the swap early to get a head start on 2007 This Weekend's Race AMD at the Glen well The drivers get along and communicate well as do the crew chiefs They are all on the same page "That is the thing we have to keep going to keep the success up" From team owner Richard Childress to the drivers of his Cup teams all of RCR seems to have enjoyed success For Burton there is satisfaction in a return to the contender status he enjoyed several years ago "Honestly it feels good but at the same time I am always looking at the next race I really don't look at what we did three weeks ago As a matter of fact if you asked me where we raced four weeks ago I would have to go look at a calendar" he said "I have been here before I don't feel pressure I don't feel like 'Oh my gosh we are in this championship hunt we can't make a mistake' "I don't feel any of that I just feel like we are racing" WHAT: 90 laps or 225 miles WHERE: Watkins Glen International ann-turn 25-mile road course in Watkins Glen NY WHEN: L35 pm Sunday Qualifying is 3:10 pm today TV: NBC (WCNC Ch 36) RADIO: Motor Racing Network PURSE: $4705975 LAST YEAR'S WINNER: Tony Stewart ALSO THIS WEEK: Zippo 200 Busch Series Watkins Glen International 2 pm Saturday NBC Toyota Tundra 200 Truck Series Nashville (Tenn) Superspeedway 5 pm Saturday Speed WORTH MENTIONING: The deepest in the field a race winner has started at Watkins Glen was 18th by Steve Park in 2000 Fifteen of the 23 races have been won from a top-five starting position Greg Billie has finished 30th or worse in his three races at the Glen Robby Gordon has five top-five finishes in his seven races at the Glen and has led in his past six races there BY JIM UTTER juttercharlotteobservercom Jeff Burton finds himself this season in perhaps one of the best situations of his career to compete for a Nextel Cup Series championship With five races remaining to qualify for the Chase for the Nextel Cup Burton is third in points entering Sunday's AMD at the Glen at Watkins Glen International in New York Burton's 174-point cushion over Ilth place the top 10 are ensured a spot in the Chase field virtually assures him a spot in NASCAR's post-season absent a complete meltdown by his Richard Childress Racing team An opportunity to run for the cham- pionship would continue RCR's de' velopment the team hasn't had a driver qualify for Childress the Chase in its first two seasons It could also mark a career turning point for Burton The 39-year-old native of South Boston Va has 17 Cup wins in his career but hasn't visited Victory Lane since 2001 Having failed to finish better than 12th in points the past four seasons Burton has enjoyed this season's resurrection The only thing missing in his turnaround this season is a win Even that isn't all that important A victory isn't required to qualify for the Chase or even to win the championship "You don't have to win to get in but obviously the goal of every team at every race track is to win That is why I say we aren't as good as we need to be" Burton said "When we are good someone is always a little better We have to find a way to step it up so when we are at our best no one else is better We haven't done that yet "In my eyes we need to improve we need to continue to improve and we need to use these races to do that And the only way to do that is to go out there and run hard and try to beat everybody" Burton does not appear overly concerned about the lack of a victory He is more impressed with his team's ability to put him in position to win on a weekly basis "That's how you win races in this sport is you continually knock on the top five You continually knock on the top laYou do those things and you catch a day when it's right" Burton said "Rarely in this sport do you see people that run you know 15th 20th win a race It's about continuing to put yourself in position (If) we just continue to do that our days will come" Burton's RCR teammate Kevin Harvick is also deeply immersed in the championship race yet he owns a victory earlier this season at Phoenix Harvicic however doesn't think the victory amounts to much difference between the teams "Jeff has been really consistent week in and week out to make things happen Those guys have been solid we have been solid It is just a matter of continuing to make those things happen" Harvick said "That is going to be the hard part But I think both teams are solid and all three teams are communicating Points Standings Decade of Ups Downs In the past 10 seasons Jeff Burton has enjoyed trips to Victory Lane contending for championships but also struggled through a career-long 169-race winless streak: Year Wins Top 55 Top 10s Pts Pos NEXTEL CUP BUSCH SERIES 1 Kevin Harvick 3627 1 Jimmie Johnson 22 Elliott Sadier-----2069 2 Carl Edwards 3253 2 Maft Kenseth--3017 23 Reed Sorenson 2055 3 Denny Hamlin 3 Jeff Burton---2749 24 Dale Jarrett -----1980 4 Clint Bowyer 3093 4 Kevin Harvick 2733 25 Bobby labonte 1965 5 JJ Yeley 2991 5 Kyle Busch -2733 26 ii Yeley 1927 6 Paul Menard 2701 6 Mark Martin 1712 27 Robby Gordon 1891 7 Greg Billie 2670 7 Denny Hamlin----2648 28 Jett Green 1845 8 Kyle Busch 2656 8 Jeff Gordon 2627 29 Joe Nemechek 1822 9 Johnny Sauter 2521 9 Tony Stewart 2619 30 Dave Blaney 10 Kenny Wallace 105 10 Dale Earnhardt Jr2612 31 Ken Schrader 1750 32 Sterling Marlin 1699 1 RIIrk cfkIFc TRUCK SERIES 4th 5th 5th 3rd lOth i2th 12th 18th 18th 3rd 1997 3 13 18 1998 2 18 23 1999 6 18 23 2000 4 15 22 2001 2 8 16 2002 0 5 14 2003 0 3 11 2004 0 2 6 2005 0 3 6 2006 0 4 13 1 Todd Bodine 2107 2 Johnny Benson 2125 3 Rick Crawford 320 4 David Reutimann 110 2 Johnny Benson 3 Rick Crawford 4 David Reutimann 33 Kyle Petty 1690 34 Jeremy Mayfield 1647 35 David Stremme 36 Travis Kvapil 37 Michael Waltrip 1409 38 Tony Raines 39 Scott Wimmer 40 Terry Line is current cutoff for Chase for Cup 11 Kasey Kahne 2575 12 Greg Riffle 2497 13 Kurt Busch 2438 14 Carl Edwards 15 Casey 16 Brian Vickers 2251 17 Clint Bowyer --2224 18 Ryan Newman -2204 19 Jamie McMurray 2173 20 Martin Truex 21 Scott Riggs---2102 NASCAR STATISTICAL SERVICES 5 Ron Hornaday 2070 6 Ted Musgrave 2055 7 David Starr 8 Terry Cook 9 Dennis Setzer 10 Mike Bliss ----ON tw- NBA NOTEBOOK -C: 0 eco 3 Bobcats Hermann Patterson traded to Bucks i Bobcats from IC BOBCATS ON WMYT Nov 1: Indiana 4 Cleveland 15 at San Antonio 25 Miami Dec13: at Cleveland 28 at Dallas 29 LA takers Jan 10: at Detroit 26 at LA takers Feb5: at Miami 21 at Minnesota March 7: at Phoenix 20 Cleveland at Miami 18 New York DAVID SCOTT Smith to Nuggets in deal designed to improve benches MIDECIVIIXTRA xxx Mid IV Ds Novelthmr BEST SELECTION WE TiPRICES 20 Off All Videos A Mir A up I 80 Off All Other Items 1 Mkt lam Pwcilue 0 Would limo Mos41110-11 Sat 114 704-5911141773 4 SSA Or EIN1111145 0 Not Is Audi when he averaged 187 points and 85 rebounds for Golden State Smith adds depth to a Nuggets front court that includes Carmelo Anthony Nene and Marcus Camby along with Kenyon Martin who feuded last season with coach George Karl during the playoffs Bucks general manager Larry Harris said Smith didn't demand to be traded 14 I A staff believes he has the versatility to play either forward Ely who can play power forward or center could play for the qualifying offer next season to become an unrestricted free agent He could also sign an offer sheet with another team (Charlotte could match) or work out a sign-and-trade deal between the Bobcats and another teain A Bobcats' over-air station is WMYT i A eatk 4 k0 t(' (a wit 1 All You Can Eat Succulent Crab Legs Grilled Shrimp Salmon Grilled Chicken Port Chops Pot Roast A Variety of Fresh Vegetables Desserts PLUS 150 GORGEOUS ENTERTAINERS Roster Preview Around the league Nuggets forward Carmelo Anthony took part in a two-hour practice in Hong Kong two days after hyperextending his knee while playing for the US national team in China Knicks coach Isiah Thomas has filed court papers denying he sexually harassed a former team executive the New York Daily News reported In the document Thomas said he once touched Anucha Browne Sanders' shoulder and might have tried to kiss her on the cheek But he said he did nothing wrong Michael Curry has been chosen NBA vice president of basketball operations He retired from the league in 2005 OBSERVER NEWS SERVICES BY COLIN FLY Associated Press MILWAUKEE The Milwaukee Bucks acquired guard-forward Ruben Patterson on Thursday from Denver in exchange for veteran forward Joe Smith in a move to bolster each team's bench Patterson played in 26 games with the Nuggets after being acquired in a deadline deal with Portland on Feb 23 He averaged 121 points and 34 rebounds last season Smith is joining his sixth team and the former No 1 overall pick in the 1995 NBA Draft averaged 86 points and 52 rebounds in 44 games for the Bucks last season His best season was 1996-97 A rtfirrrsri 1 Cit'''V I I -1-7 ert 'o toin us for our loin usft: An early look at the Bobcats' possible 2006-07 depth chart: POINT GUARD: Raymond Felton Brevin Knight Kevin Burleson SHOOTING GUARD: Adam Morrison or Alan Anderson Matt Carroll or Bernard Robinson SMALL FORWARD: Gerald Wallace Walter Hermann Robinson POWER FORWARD: Emeka Okafor Sean May Othella Harrington Hermann CENTER: Primoz Brezec Jake Voskuhl Ryan Hollins WILD CARO: Melvin Ely is a restricted tree agent who plays power forward and center Charlotte Bobcats' games televised over-the-air will move to a new station WMYT (Channel 12) this season The Bobcats will play 15 games on WMYT switching from W1ZY (Channel 46) last season's over-the-air channel News Channel 14 will continue to be the team's home on Time Warner Cable with 50 games scheduled '-IJ FO '4 OTBAtt 1 Coors open at-LIARTY1 (--- PM 4 i eisA 1 WIN 1 fel PARTY' Doors open at 4pm (---' 1 iy 1 11' (7 XI 1 1 ii -I-FOOTBALL I -1 t' 1-2" 'ti 1 V-'N- A 1 4:::" '1- VW 4 psup izj.