Burton pleased with new crew chief Andrews

CHARLOTTE, N.C. -- The voice on the radio is brand new. So are some of the ideas, tactics and procedures. It's been six weeks since crew chief Paul Andrews and Jeff Burton hooked up, and although they're still doing the getting-to-know-you thing, they think they've struck common ground.

	Paul Andrews joined Jeff Burton's No. 99 team in September. Credit: Autostock

"I'm really happy with the way things have gone," Burton said. "I see a lot of potential. Our guys are doing things for him, taking time out of their time off, and nobody's complaining about it."

"There really hasn't been any downs," Andrews said. "It's been a lot of ups."

The Andrews-Burton pairing was a hasty one, made two days after the Labor Day weekend Southern 500. Burton exchanged his crew chief of the past four-and-a-half years, Frank Stoddard, for Andrews, who'd already told Dale Earnhardt Inc., that he wouldn't return next season as Steve Park's crew chief.

While marriage-making isn't easy any time, it would appear to be impossible on the caboose end of a 36-event schedule.

"You gotta jump in the fire, that's for sure," Andrews said. "A lot to take in, you know? I'm working extremely hard in trying to absorb as much as I possibly can. I don't want to go put a bunch of different types of setups and combinations on. I'm trying to ease into everything that we're doing."

His immediate mandate is acclimation -- getting know Burton, the No. 99 team and the rest of Roush Racing. The long-term mandate is helping lift Burton -- considered title material this year and last year -- out of his points slump. Entering Sunday's UAW-GM Quality 500 at Lowe's Motor Speedway, Burton sits 14th in the standings. He finished 10th last season after a career-high third in 2000.

Mechanical gremlins, doldrums and poor luck all have dogged him in 2002, but the prolonged slump was what keyed Stoddard's departure. Andrews, a Winston Cup crew chief since 1988, brings a new perspective, and sometimes, a different approach.

"It's somebody with a slightly different take on the problem and with some routines for potentially different solutions," team owner Jack Roush said. "It's been fun to watch. There's been no hysteria, there's been no mania. There's been no noise. It's been very quiet. It's been very smooth. It's been seamless."

It's been busy.

JEFF BURTON  •  Driver Page  •  Video Highlights  •  Photo Gallery    PAUL ANDREWS  •  Crew Chief Page

Andrews, 45, began his Roush tenure at Richmond, just days after leaving DEI. His first track exposure came as an eavesdropper on Burton and his Busch Series crew chief, Brad Parrott, as they worked their weekend schedule.

"I don't think I hardly said anything the whole time I was there," Andrews said. "Just listened to every word that him and Brad talked about. Just tried to soak up as much as I could."

On the Cup side, Burton hasn't executed a 180-degree turnaround, but he sees progress. Historically a poor qualifier, he's improved -- qualifying 15th at Richmond, 22nd at New Hampshire, 30th at Dover, 15th at Kansas City and 14th at Talladega.

His night ended early at Richmond -- "I wrecked the damn car," Burton said -- and engine problems terminated what might have been a sparkling finish at Kansas. He was running in the top five when an engine problem surfaced.

"Jeff told me he'd struggled at that type of track, and we were really happy with the way we ran there," Andrews said.

Burton had gotten a preview the week before at Dover.

"We were competitive all day," he said. "We didn't just run good in the second half. We didn't just run good in the first half. We ran well the whole day, and that was good."

According to Burton, the steps have been small -- helping Andrews learn the Roush organization, pulling back from things he was involved with on the team to provide Andrews with more feedback. The two tested together for the first time this week during a two-day session in Atlanta.

Both admit that some things have worked, and some things haven't. Burton says the other Roush crew chiefs have been magnanimous.

"There's been a hot path between our building and the other buildings, other crew chiefs coming over and Paul going over," Burton said.

But with six races remaining, much of the modus operandi continues to be seat-of-the-pants.

"We're doing everything at the race track, under fire, an hour and a half of practice," Burton said. "He has things he wants to try, and some of those things work and some of those don't work. Obviously they're not all going to work, and when something doesn't work, then you gotta back up, and now you've lost practice time."

Andrews, whose former drivers include the late Alan Kulwicki, Geoffrey Bodine, Jeremy Mayfield and Park (the past three seasons), already has begun some 2003 preparations. All that as he's still marshalling engineers, learning names and spending lots of time in and under cars at the shop.

"We're digging hard," Andrews said. "I'm in every aspect I can possibly get in and as much as I can get in. Probably overloading myself."

It's necessary, for both driver and crew chief. Burton sees both roles changing in the sport, due in part to the increasing influence of engineering and technology, and the tighter premium on performance.

"It's heading quickly to being about the crew chief being able to pull everything to the car -- all the support services, all the engineering support, the engineering department, the gear and transmissions," Burton said. "It's turning into a sport of specialization."

"I just think with the experience of being here many years and understanding the sport, I think being able to progress with the sport is what helps," said Andrews, who has a special affinity for engineering. "You gotta be able to progress and keep an open mind, and I've strived extremely hard to always stay open-minded."

Burton is doing the same. Not only has he switched crew chiefs, he's switched personalities. Stoddard is a high-energy guy; Andrews is much lower key. Plus, Burton's rebuilding his comfort level. He and Stoddard won 14 races together, while he and Andrews are just beginning their journey.

"My role on the race team is different that what it used to be," said Burton, who says he's pulled back on his non-cockpit duties to give Andrews breathing room. "So I'm at an adjustment, too. I knew when Frank was having a bad day. I knew when I needed to step in and help him through a situation. He knew when he needed to step in and help me through a situation. There are a lot of those things that we don't know yet and we've got to figure out."

Although Andrews regrets leaving Park, more than sentimentality factored in his decision to join the No. 99. He's never won a Cup title, and after nearly 15 years, he knows the opportunity is shrinking.

"We want to be a contender for the championship next year," Andrews said. "That's a heck of a goal. We want to be in there and be a contender and be in the top five every single week. We do that, everything else is going to come."