Jeff Burton 2011 Fantasy NASCAR Preview
2010 Stats: Points Finish 12th, 0 Wins, 6 Top Fives, 15 Top Tens, Average Running Position 12.1, Average Finish 15.1, Laps Led 539, Driver Rating 96.2
Jeff Burton’s season in 2010 was good, bad, and ugly. He was competitive at many tracks and very well could’ve won three races. His 96.2 driver rating is tied tied for 4th best with Denny Hamlin. Burton’s 12.1 average running position is also the 4th best in the series.
What was bad for Jeff Burton in 2010 is what happened to him in races that he could’ve won. Do you remember who had the best car in the first Martinsville race? It wasn’t Denny Hamlin. Jeff Burton passed him for the lead late in the race and then had a flat tire shortly after. Do you remember how Texas played out? Jeff Burton damaged his car by hitting the wall late (Yahoo race chart comparing Burton and Hamlin at Texas). Burton was also extremely competitive at Darlington but under the last caution he ran over his air hose!
What was really ugly for Jeff Burton in 2010 is how he finished the season. He finished 12th in the points which is horrible considering Clint Bowyer had a massive 150 point penalty. His average finish over the last ten races was 21.4.
Strengths- Jeff Burton is strong on short tracks, intermediate tracks and flat tracks.
Weaknesses- Road courses have been a weakness of Jeff Burton’s as of late. Another weakness of Jeff Burton’s is his intangible for not being able to close out races.
Intermediate Track Grade- B+, Late in the season I think Jeff Burton took a step back on these tracks. His average finish at high speed intermediate tracks in the Chase was 25.6. This is the reason why he finished 12th in points. At the high speed intermediate tracks in the Chase he never even finished better than 18th. Also you can’t forget that at Texas he taught Jeff Gordon a lesson under caution (video).
In the regular season he was very strong on this track type. If the last ten races didn’t happen I would give him a A- . This team very well could’ve been testing new things at the end of the season so it might not be the best thing to assume his intermediate track program has gone down the gutter.
(When talking about Chase high speed intermediate tracks I’m excluding Dover because it’s not similar to any of the other tracks).
Flat Track Grade- A-, Jeff Burton was solid on flat tracks last season. His average finish for the year was 14th. Last season he finished in the top fifteen in every flat track race except both Phoenix races. Even though his Phoenix finishes were poor he is really good there. I could consider it an anomaly. His best flat track showing was at New Hampshire when he finished 15th, Tony Stewart wasn’t the only driver who ran out of gas that day.
Restrictor Plate Track Grade- B-, At Daytona in 2010 Jeff Burton finished in the top 11 twice and at Talladega he finished 32nd or worse twice. With the track repaving at Daytona I expect that race to be run more like Talladega than previous Daytona races we’ve seen.
Short Track Grade- A-, Jeff Burton finished in the top ten at each of the short tracks last season. I really like him at Martinsville. He was a contender in both of those races. His average finish at the short tracks for 2010 was 12th.
Road Course Track Grade- C+, In three out of the last four road course races Jeff Burton’s finished outside the top twenty-five. Road courses are not wild card races so there’s no reason to use him at either Infineon or Watkins Glen.
How to use Jeff Burton from a Fantasy NASCAR Perspective in 2011? Jeff Burton is a quick starter almost every year. At the start of the season he might look like Jimmie Johnson but at the end he turns into Jimmy Spencer. If you’re in an allocation league take note of this.
