Jeff Burton and the AT&T Racing team demonstrated teamwork and patience as the team battled back from a brush with the wall nearly halfway through the 500-mile event to earn a 12th-place finish in the Auto Club 500 at Auto Club Speedway of Southern California.

Burton’s second top-15 finish in the first two events of the 2008 season propelled the South Boston, Va., two positions, to 10th, in the championship point standings. He currently sits 74 markers behind leader Kyle Busch.

Rain settled across the southern state of California beginning Friday afternoon and would barely let up all weekend, forcing NASCAR to cancel Friday’s qualifying session and postponing two-thirds of the 250-lap event until Monday morning. The starting grid was set based on the 2007 NASCAR owners’ point standings, lining the No. 31 AT&T Chevrolet on the outside of row four.

Sunday’s rain showers continued during the morning hours but soon let up by the time the event was scheduled to start. NASCAR spent the next three hours drying the track and at 3:30 p.m. Pacific Time (PT) the 43-car field was shown the green-flag.

Burton spent the first 55 laps running in the top 10 although grappling with a loose-handling race car. During those laps, the 19-time Cup Series winner hit pit road twice during two caution periods for much needed adjustments on his bright orange machine.

When the third of 11 caution flags was displayed on lap 56 for debris, Burton informed crew chief Scott Miller that he was still loose entering and exiting the corners and required his car to turn better through the turns. He gave up his track position of sixth and headed down pit road on lap 57. However, Miller took a gamble by replacing only the right-side tires on the AT&T Chevy in hopes of getting his driver out front in clean air. His strategy worked as Burton was scored the leader when the field was shown the green-flag once again on lap 58.

Burton lead would not last long as other competitors began to pass him due to four fresh tires versus Burton’s two, free-falling to seventh when the fifth caution flag waived on lap 70. Still wrestling with a loose-handling machine, Miller summoned the veteran driver to pit road for four fresh tires, including air pressure and chassis adjustments, and fuel. Since most teams opted to take two tires during their stop, Burton restarted 14th on lap 73.

The adjustments received on the last stop proved to be Burton’s dose of remedy as his AT&T Chevy set sailed towards the front. He was 12th on lap 79 and 10th on lap 83 when the caution flag was displayed once again for rain.

Showers continued through the evening hours, forcing NASCAR to postpone the remaining 163-lap event to Monday morning.

Engines re-fired at 10 a.m. PT the next day and Burton picked up where he left off. He was ninth on lap 95, seventh on lap 108 and sixth on lap 113.

While Burton was clawing his way through the field, he was tight through the middle of the corners and loose exiting them. He hit pit road on lap 123 for four fresh tires, including air pressure adjustments to the right-side’s, and fuel.

While riding in the sixth position on lap 134, the AT&T driver scraped the outside retaining wall in turn three, bringing out the day’s eighth caution flag. Because Burton would have to start at the tail end of the longest line, Miller summoned him to pit road twice for fresh tires and to allow the over-the-wall crew to pull the fenders away from the tires. He restarted 24th when the field returned to racing on lap 137.

The mishap didn’t stop Burton’s drive and determination to head towards the front. He was 22nd on lap 140, 19th on lap 142 and 16th on lap 148.

Two cautions slowed the field twice over the next 20 laps, allowing Burton and Company to take advantage of curing, what is now, a now tight-handling machine. More air pressure adjustments to four fresh Goodyear tires granted the 2007 Samsung 500 winner the opportunity to gain valuable track position. As the field returned to green-flag racing on lap 171, Burton, now 17th, proceeded to advance his position and cracked the top 10 on lap 206.

The 11th and final caution flag of the day waved on lap 219 and Burton brought his AT&T Chevy down pit road one final time. Requiring his tight-handling machine to turn better through the corners, Miller called for a slight air pressure adjustment to the right-rear tire. Although the AT&T crew made a blistering fast stop, Burton returned to the track surface 15th as some teams decided to take two tires instead of four.

Burton netted three positions over the closing stages of the race and crossed the finish line 12th.

Carl Edwards captured the victory followed by Hendrick drivers Jimmie Johnson and Jeff Gordon. Kyle Busch and Matt Kenseth rounded out the top-five finishers.

Burton’s Richard Childress Racing teammates Kevin Harvick and Clint Bowyer finished eighth and 19th, respectively.

Jeff Burton and the AT&T Racing team head toward the City of Lights next weekend for the running of the UAW-Dodge 400 at Las Vegas Motor Speedway. Live coverage of the event will be televised on FOX Sunday, March 2 beginning at 3:30 p.m. Eastern Standard Time (EST). The race will also be covered live on the Performance Racing Network (MRN) and Sirius Satellite Radio. Qualifying for the third of 36 races on the NASCAR Cup Series tour will be televised live on SPEED Friday, February 29 beginning at 6:30 p.m. EST.

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