Last week's polesitter will roll off sixth in Sunday's Auto Club 500. Credit: Autostock

Burton says RCR getting a handle on things

FONTANA, Calif. -- Ask Jeff Burton whether winning the Bud Pole at Daytona was bad luck, and he grins.

"Hell no, I don't think so," said Burton, who finished 32nd last week.

Auto Club 500 Top 10 qualifiers Pos. Driver Speed 1. Kurt Busch 187.086 2. Greg Biffle 186.186 3. Jimmie Johnson 185.735 4. J.J. Yeley 185.180 5. Denny Hamlin 184.919 6. Jeff Burton 184.871 7. Kyle Busch 184.800 8. Joe Nemechek 184.758 9. Jeff Gordon 184.720 10. Mark Martin 184.450

It is increasingly apparent that Richard Childress Racing's motors improved considerably over the offseason, but Jeff Burton says his surprising lap on Friday was due to one thing:

Better handling.

Burton started from the pole last week, but his car's handling went away in the second half of the race, and he admitted that tried to do too much with a balky car.

The car was anything but ornery on Friday. Burton qualified sixth for Sunday's Auto Club 500 at California Speedway, marking the first time in nearly three years that he's posted back-to-back top-10 starts.

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Burton briefly held the top spot on Friday and benefited greatly from going out 34th out of 48 cars, and track conditions were considerably cooler when Burton made his run.

"That was a good draw, but it is not going to be as good as it could be because it is taking forever," Burton said. "Going late is definitely an advantage."

It was a stark contrast to 2005, when new NASCAR rules -- mainly shorter spoilers and softer tires -- threw Burton for a loop. He qualified 32nd for this event last year and was, in his words, "Terrible."

RCR arrived at Fontana with better-handling cars, and Burton said it made all the difference.

"You can put 1,000 horsepower in a bad-handling car and it will still qualify bad," Burton said. "You can 500 horsepower in a good-handling car and get it done.

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"For me, the engine program is definitely improved but it is going to take more for us to compete at a high level then better engines, it is going to take everything."

Burton's cars were not consistently fast on the 500-mile races in 2005, and California marks the first time Nextel Cup teams will get the full report on how their cars will perform on the downforce races.

Despite the fact that Fontana is 500 miles of extra-wide track, it is still imperative for teams to get a good qualifying spot for the Auto Club 500.

"Where we make speed is corner speed, and engines are important, but it is more important to go through the corner good. It has always been like that and it will always be like that," Burton said.