Jeff Burton's crew had to push his car behind the wall early at Michigan. Credit: Autostock

Burton, Busch trip in standings at Michigan

Drivers looking to Bristol as place to make or break points

BROOKLYN, Mich. -- Jeff Burton stated earlier in the week that being fourth in the points with four races to go was no guarantee of making the Chase for the Nextel Cup.

Of course, Burton didn't want to end up being Example No. 1 in support of that statement. And Kyle Busch certainly wasn't pleased to be Example No. 2.

Jeff Burton fell five positions to ninth in the standings. Credit: Autostock

GFS Marketplace 400 Results Pos. Driver Make 1. Matt Kenseth Ford 2. Jeff Gordon Chevy 3. Tony Stewart Chevy 4. Kasey Kahne Dodge 5. Mark Martin Ford 6. Dale Earnhardt Jr. Chevy 7. Greg Biffle Ford 8. Reed Sorenson Dodge 9. Denny Hamlin Chevy 10. Elliott Sadler Dodge • Complete results, click here • Driver standings, click here Out of controlKurt Busch's Chase hopes take a hit in Turn 4 at MIS Sign up for TrackPass now BUY THE NEXTEL i836

Burton's engine let go 17 laps into Sunday's GFS Marketplace 400 at Michigan International Speedway, leaving him 42nd and dropping him five places in the standings. Busch clobbered the wall on Lap 42 -- and spent the rest of the afternoon trying to drive a bent-up car. He wound up 39th and lost two places in the standings.

Burton came in to Sunday's race 362 points behind Jimmie Johnson. He left 449 off the lead -- and just 84 points ahead of 11th-place Kasey Kahne with three races before the Chase field is set.

"As I've said all along, I don't think we have a cushion," Burton said. "I don't think anybody has a cushion. We have to keep fighting and bring it to the racetrack every week.

"We can't afford to get into wrecks, we can't afford to break motors ... but when we do, we just have to fight and overcome it and we'll do that."

Burton huddled with his crew after parking the No. 31 Chevrolet in the garage -- the same car that won the pole for Sunday's race -- and gave them a pep talk.

"I just wanted to remind everybody that this is a good race team and this happens to everybody," Burton said. "[Sunday] was our turn and we're not going to get down about this. This is nobody's fault. We're all in this together.

"We break engines. We mess up from time to time. We'll just keep fighting and we'll come back and try to win some races."

Busch chalked it up to his typical Michigan luck. He's never finished better than ninth in four starts at the 2-mile oval.

"I must have had a right-front tire going soft or something like that, because it went off into Turn 3 and fenced itself the first time unexpectedly for no reason," Busch said. "Then a couple of laps later, it finally let go and blew out and killed the fence."

Busch dropped to seventh place, 443 points behind Johnson and 90 in front of Kahne.

"It's a tough break for all the guys," Busch said. "They worked their hearts out. To have this predicament this early in the race is pretty harmful but we'll just have to go on to Bristol and see what we can do there."

Busch's brother, Kurt, saw his slim Chase hopes dashed when the No. 2 Dodge whacked the fence on Lap 131, just a few laps after spinning and brushing the wall. That leaves him 14th in the standings, 279 points behind 10th-place Dale Earnhardt Jr. with three races remaining.

	Kyle Busch dropped two spots to seventh in the standings. Credit: Autostock
	Chasing itFour Chase hopefuls have problems in the early going at MIS Sign up for TrackPass now BUY THE NEXTEL i836

"I was just trying to drive too hard, I guess," Kurt said. "We actually led one lap. Then on that same set of tires, we went to wrecking loose.

"Next week is Bristol, and it's a good track for us, but we're running out of time."

Time is not on Carl Edwards' side, either, especially after the No. 99 Ford went backwards after the final set of pit stops and wound up 22nd. Edwards is 13th, 244 points behind Earnhardt.

"We'll just go on, keep our heads up," he said. "The worst thing we can do right now is get down, but it's just another one of those days."

Kahne figured to gain some ground with a fourth-place finish -- and he did, but not enough to advance in the standings. He's 49 points out of the Chase as the series heads for Bristol.

"It was nice to finish the race," Kahne said. "It'll be nice not to have to watch myself on TV screw up the last lap."

Kahne said even though Earnhardt is the driver directly ahead of him in the standings, the No. 8 won't be the team left standing when the music stops in three weeks.

"I'm not really worried about Junior," Kahne said. "These are some good tracks coming up for him. I really think Junior is going to get in.

"I'm just confident we're going to run well, and if we do that, we're going to pass somebody else. I don't think it's going to be Junior."