Jeff Burton 2010 Preview, Predictions & Odds

With the NASCAR season underway, we are providing season previews for the top 30 drivers to give you the betting edge. Follow the best NASCAR Handicappers as they analyze their drivers in this 2010 season preview. Use our comprehensive and insider info to bet successfully on NASCAR in our recommend sportsbooks. View the rest of our 2010 NASCAR Season Previews here.

Jeff Burton 2009 Stats

Jeff Burton 2009 Recap & Review

When Richard Childress Racing announced plans to expand from three to four cars in 2009, naysayers asserted that expansion during an economic downturn would stretch the organization’s resources too thin. If Jeff Burton’s ’09 season is any indication, those concerns were valid. In ’08, Burton earned two wins, qualified for the Chase and finished the year sixth in the standings. Fast forward to 2009, and the team went winless for the first time in four years while missing the Chase for the first time since 2005.

The team’s collapse was more sudden than the rest of the organization’s, but Burton remained the most consistent car through the first 14 races. After a ninth at Pocono in June, he was l0th in points with six top-10 finishes. But the advent of double-file restarts would ultimately become Burton’s downfall. As the series adjusted to the new rule, every restart wreck seemed to involve the No. 31 as he crashed three times in a six-race stretch, destroying his team’s fleet and mental focus. Between those wrecks and a rash of tire failures, Burton went 16 straight races without a top-15 finish – his longest such streak since 1995.

Team struggles across the board at RCR resulted in a company-wide shakeup last fall, including the replacement of Scott Miller, Burton’s crew chief since ’05, with Todd Berrier, who made a lateral move from the No. 07 team. The change seemed to suit Burton, who ended the season with four straight top-10 finishes, including consecutive second- place runs at Phoenix and Homestead to salvage a 17th-place points finish – his worst finish since Miller initially came on board.

Jeff Burton 2010 Preview & Prediction

While some of Jeff Burton’s 2010 Cup Series destiny is in his own hands, it’s safe to say it’s not so much the driver but the organization facing an uncertain future. On the heels of successful seasons in 2007 and ’08, when all three Richard Childress Racing teams made the Chase, 2009 proved to be a huge disappointment for Burton and the other RCR drivers.

Expanding to a four-car organization, none of the Childress teams made the Chase last season or even won a race, though Burton’s No. 31 team was the second-highest ranking of the four at 17th, behind Clint Bowyer. The lackluster performance led to rampant rumors about sponsorship struggles and impending changes at RCR, even as the organization celebrated its 40th anniversary. Kevin Harvick has indicated he’ll leave the team once his contract expires at the end of 2010, and with Casey Mears’ No. 07 unable to find a sponsor, the team was disbanded.

On the plus side, Childress did not wait until last year’s disappointing season ended to start making changes. The No. 31 team ran its final four races with new crew chief Todd Berrier, moving former head wrench Scott Miller into a Director of Competition role. The switch paid off immediately, with the Burton/Berrier combo clicking to the tune of four top-10 finishes in four races. That leaves them with as much momentum as anyone right now during the offseason. But considering the hole they dug out of, Burton’s not one to rest on his laurels.

So how does RCR maintain that success in 2010? While the jump in performance was promising, several long-term upgrades are needed (engineering, horsepower) for RCR to reassert itself among the sport’s elite. In the short-term, Burton is concerned by the fact that NASCAR still prohibits teams from testing during the offseason — a situation he says makes it difficult to catch up.

Despite that uncertainty, some positive aspects of Burton’s team are expected to remain constant this year. His primary sponsor, Caterpillar, a mainstay of corporate support in the sport, will be returning. In addition, most members of Burton’s 2009 over-the-wall crew, winners of the prestigious NASCAR Sprint Pit Crew Challenge last year with a record-setting time of 22.115 seconds, will be back in 2010. The driver’s contract is also secure (he’s supposedly signed through 2011).

At age 42, Burton, a 16-year Cup veteran, has never won a Cup Series championship. But the driver, known as “The Mayor” in the garage, has won respect for his diplomacy, straight talk and clean driving style. There’s a reason Childress once called him the “savior” of his organization shortly after his arrival in 2004, and if Burton keeps up the consistency found at the end of ’09, those leadership skills make him the best hope to not only make the Chase for RCR, but also restore some confidence within the whole organization.

Jeff Burton 2010 Predictions

We predict that Jeff Burton will finish 11th in the 2010 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series.

Jeff Burton Betting & Odds

Jeff Burton NASCAR Sprint Cup Championship Odds: +1200

Jeff Burton Betting Trends & Situations

• after finishing 2nd to 5th, average finish is 8.9
• when racing in February, average finish is 14.3

Will Jeff Burton go all the way to win the NASCAR Sprint Cup Championship? Or, will Jeff Burton fall short? Either way, you can still enjoy Jeff Burton betting at our feature sportsbooks. Jeff Burton & NASCAR Betting is serious business; where you can make a ton of money placing informed, smart bets on Jeff Burton. Check out our highly reliable and trustworthy Online Sportsbook Reviews.

Join BetUs.com Today and Bet on Jeff Burton and receive a 155% in Total Bonuses!