Friday, March 28, 2003 | 9:12 a.m.
Brian Hilderbrand covers motor sports for the Las Vegas Sun. His motor sports notebook appears Friday. He can be reached at [email protected] or (702) 259-4089.
Jeff Burton isn't resentful of the success his Roush Racing teammates Matt Kenseth and Kurt Busch are enjoying this year, but he admitted to being frustrated about his inability to duplicate their performance.
Through six races this season, Kenseth is leading the NASCAR Winston Cup points standings and Busch is second; both drivers have won a race. Burton stands 18th in points and has only one top-10 finish -- a sixth-place effort at Las Vegas Motor Speedway earlier this month -- heading into Sunday's Samsung/Radio Shack 500 at Texas Motor Speedway.
"I am used to being the best team -- or one of the best teams -- at Roush," Burton said. "Up until last year, I've never been a team that was behind every other team. I'm in uncharted territory and I'm in territory that I don't want to be in.
"It is frustrating. The great thing is that I don't feel animosity about it. I don't feel like I'm being shorted in anything so therefore I get to say, 'Hey, what do we need to do to be like them?' That's the approach that you take when you're not doing as well as your teammates."
From 1997 to 2000, Burton won 15 races and never finished lower than fifth in the points. In 2001, he won two races and finished 10th in the championship but did not win a race last season and was 12th in the final points standings.
"I'm in a point in my career where I'm a little frustrated because I'm used to winning -- and, by the way, it wasn't 10 years ago that I was winning," Burton said. "In 2001, we did win two races which were the only two races won at Roush.
"If I listen real hard, what I hear is 'Boy, Jeff Burton is really struggling.' I've come off of one year of not performing as well as or better than my teammates. I haven't forgotten how to drive these race cars; I can assure you I have not forgotten how to drive them.
"We will find our way back to where I'm used to being -- we will do that. I didn't win five Busch races last year (by) not knowing how to drive these race cars and I didn't win two (Cup races) the year before (by) not knowing how to drive these race cars. I've just got to figure out how to get myself back to that and that's what our focus is on."
Burton said that being a part of a multi-car operation such as Roush's would make it easier to become competitive again because the teams work so well together.
"When you're a team that is not having success at a multi-car team, that is frustrating in a way but it's also promising in a way because you can look at people and say, 'They're having success, let's go figure out what they're doing,' " Burton said.
"One of the problems that a lot of people have in Winston Cup is that they don't want to use help from other people and I don't suffer from that; I want help."
Cowin, 23, was upgraded from critical to serious condition Thursday afternoon, according to team publicist Kay King. Cowin's condition improved after doctors drilled a hole in his skull to relieve pressure on his brain and King said he was able to move his extremities and respond to verbal commands from doctors.
According to King, Cowin had climbed onto a crane in the parking lot of his hotel to take some pictures and fell, apparently landing on his head. His girlfriend, Jenny Rhodes, was with him at the time of the accident.
Cowin, who drives for Tennessee-based Carrier Boyz Racing, was to compete in this weekend's International Hot Rod Association event in Rockingham, N.C., and next week's NHRA SummitRacing.com Nationals at The Strip at Las Vegas Motor Speedway.
King said the team would decide early next week whether it will compete in Las Vegas with a substitute driver. Cowin drove Darrell Gwynn's New York Yankees-sponsored dragster last season before hooking up with Carrier Boyz Racing earlier this year. Cowin tested the dragster at The Strip before the season opener in Pomona, Calif., in February.
"We have a zero-tolerance policy regarding rules compliance and accordingly agree that NASCAR's penalty to John Monsam is fair under the circumstances," team owner Jack Roush said. "We do not expect John ever to repeat that type of decision again. He is a good man and crew chief and I hope that everyone on the team can learn from this mistake so we can move ahead and focus on winning races."
Monsam will miss two races -- the April 12 event at Martinsville Speedway and the May 16 race at Lowe's Motor Speedway -- as a result of the suspension.
Gordon, who leads the NCTS Rookie of the Year standings, will drive the No. 22 Sticks 'n' Stuff Chevrolet for Bost Motorsports.
"I am glad to be able to have the opportunity to gain more experience and valuable seat time on a superspeedway," Gordon said. "It is great to be able to race in a series like the NASCAR Busch Series at Talladega, especially with it being my home track."
Hindhaugh is working for Globecast, one of the world's largest satellite uplink broadcast companies, and expects to spend about a month in Kuwait City. Hindhaugh said he would be coordinating with journalists to uplink video and live reports from Kuwait City.
"This is a fantastic opportunity for me and I am delighted that Globecast and Reuters have shown so much confidence in approaching me for this important role," Hindhaugh said. "I've been revising my knowledge of military vehicles so I should be able to do a decent commentary on the race to Baghdad."
Also at The Strip tonight is an E.T. Bracket test and tune from 5:30 to 9:30 p.m. and "Midnight Mayhem" for street-legal cars from 10 p.m. to 2 a.m.
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