Track Smack: Will Burton keep the heat on Johnson?

1. Does his win at Charlotte make Jeff Burton a serious contender for the Sprint Cup crown?

Bill Kimm: Absolutely. A sixty-point deficit is nothing. If Burton can keep his nose clean, then he can take this thing all the way to the final race at Homestead with a shot.

Joe Menzer: Anyone who is second in the points standings with five races to go, back by as little as he is, has to be considered a serious contender. Plus he's won twice this season, shedding that belief that he's only "solid" as a points racer and can't win when he has to.

David Caraviello: You know, Jeff Burton is a savvy, gutsy, smart driver, and he did indeed close the gap on Jimmie Johnson. But I'm not quite ready to label him a title threat after one win where he stayed out on a fuel-only stop. I need to see a little more.

Joe Menzer: Well, he'll have to show a little more here in the last five races. But they all will, or they won't catch Jimmie. That's the beauty of the Chase. Jeff Burton has no choice. He has to be aggressive.

Bill Kimm: David, what more do you need to see? In the five Chase races his worst finish is ninth, with three top-fives. It seems to me he's right there with J.J.

David Caraviello: Hey, I'm not knocking the guy. He hasn't finished worse than ninth since Richmond. That's strong. But to beat Johnson, you have to be able to win multiple races in the Chase. Can he do that? We'll see.

Joe Menzer: I will admit, I have had my doubts about Burton. Sometimes I think his penchant for "racing clean" without exception precludes him from being able to pull off a championship. You need a bit of nasty streak, I think. And Burton will not change. He has said that again and again. But once in a while, a champion has to be willing to knock somebody out of the way to go get that trophy.

Bill Kimm: I agree with both of you. But Burton sounded like he realizes he needs to win if he wants that title, and taking a fuel-only stop is the risk needed to win. That No. 31 team keeps that mindset up, and he will a player.

Joe Menzer: Agreeing with both of us will get you nowhere in the Track Smack hierarchy. You've got to have a nasty streak to earn your stripes here, too.

David Caraviello: Well, I don't think you can survive on the short tracks of south Virginia without a nasty streak. Kind of like the pickup basketball courts of metro Charlotte, as Joe and I can attest.

Joe Menzer: Wish we could say the same about you, Kimm.

Burton or Biffle?

Jimmie Johnson is up front with only Jeff Burton and Greg Biffle within 100 points. Bill Kimm and Raygan Swan debate in this week's Head2Head who can catch the No. 48.

• Complete story, click here
• Cross: Johnson won't lose
• Burton with no expectations

Bill Kimm: I can't believe we're comparing these drivers to a couple of old wanna-be athletes who think they are going to die after an hour on a basketball court.

David Caraviello: Hey, no question the guy has put himself in position to be there -- I'm talking about Burton again, not Bill Kimm -- and anyone could have taken the chance he did Saturday. But in my mind he needs to be right back in the mix Sunday at Martinsville before I stamp him as Johnson's chief rival. Because you know that's where Jimmie will be.

Bill Kimm: But no one else took that chance Saturday, and no on else won because of it. I get so tired of people using strategy as a crutch to say he didn't "deserve" to win or he didn't have the "best car". That is such garbage!

Joe Menzer: Tell him, Bill! Now you're starting to bring it! Caraviello used to say he liked fuel-mileage races and the strategy it brings into play. Plus, he already admitted anyone could have done the same thing and been right there with him.

David Caraviello: Bill, my young and naive friend, you sound like so many of the e-mails I get. I didn't say he didn't deserve to win. I didn't say his victory wasn't legit. It's just when we're talking championship strength there's a difference in winning on a fuel run and just outrunning everyone else, as Johnson did at Kansas.

Bill Kimm: Talking championship strength -- Jeff Burton has 799 points in the Chase races this year compared to Jimmie's 838. He's right there at the halfway point. Sounds like a championship contender to me.

Joe Menzer: Well, I think this season as a whole has suggested that the Childress cars, while solid, are just a tick or three behind Hendrick and Gibbs on the whole. So they have to rely more on savvy and guile. We all better hope that Burton and Greg Biffle keep running strong -- and I should have mentioned Roush Fenway in the earlier group with Hendrick and JGR -- because if Burton and the Biff fall off in the next two races, this is going to get ugly.

David Caraviello: Joe is right. The RCR cars have struggled to win races, which this time of year is what you have to do. Hey, if Burton runs away from the field at Martinsville on Sunday, then I'm a believer. Right now, I'm on the fence.

Bill Kimm: Well if we can agree on one thing, it's that J.J. has been unbeatable at Martinsville lately, while Burton has been up and down at best.

Joe Menzer: I'm on the fence as to whether we should have let Bill Kimm join us today. (Continued)