Silly season is in full swing

Jeff Burton started 2004 in the No. 99 car, then left for the No. 30, which he is driving in preparation to drive the No. 31 in 2005.

Confused? It's Silly Season, the time of year when car owners are looking for drivers for next year--and vice versa. It'll be winter before every available seat is filled, but the situation is starting to clear up as the last race of the season approaches.

Burton will stay with Richard Childress Racing next season. The team will stay intact, but the car and the sponsor will be different.

As the 2004 season comes to a close, Burton is focusing on finishing strong and preparing for next season. He already has spent considerable time testing the new, shorter spoiler that will be used next season. If he were in the championship hunt, he wouldn't have time to do that.

"We're trying to use our lack of being in the top 10 as an advantage," he says.

Other old faces who will be in new places:

Robby Gordon. He's leaving the No. 31 car Burton will drive next season and will be an owner-driver in 2005. He faces a difficult task; the recent performances of owner-drivers in NASCAR is not good. An owner has too many other responsibilities--hiring and firing employees, finding and appeasing sponsors--to focus adequately on driving.

Jason Leffler. From Busch to Cup to trucks to Busch to Cup. He will drive Joe Gibbs Racing's third Nextel Cup car, the No. 11. Leffler's first shot at Cup was a mostly unsuccessful stint driving for Chip Ganassi in 2001.

Dave Blaney. A journeyman driver, Blaney will take over from Burton in the No. 30 Chevy. This is Blaney's big chance. He never has had a full-time ride with an organization the caliber of PCR.

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