FONTANA, Calif. -- Jeff Burton likes to point to Aug. 22, 2004, at Michigan. It's the date, he says, that saved his career.

Richard Childress likes that date, too. It's the date, he says, that helped save his team when he hired Burton away from Roush Racing. "I can't thank him enough for what he's done for RCR," Childress said Saturday at Auto Club Speedway.

Cup Victories

Since 1997

Year	Burton	RCR
1997	3	0
1998	2	1
1999	6	3
2000	4	2
2001	2	3
2002	0	1
2003	0	3
2004	0	0
2005	0	1
2006	1	6
2007	1	3
2008	1	2
Total	20	25

• Superstore: Jeff Burton

That's understandable, considering Burton was just three years removed from being labeled the next title contender for Roush Racing and also on the verge of being let go by the very same team due to sponsorship woes.

Burton won a career-high six races for Roush in 1999 and had four victories the next season while finishing third in points. He was labeled as a championship favorite heading into the 2001 season, only it didn't happen.

He had won 17 races while helping build the No. 99 team from the ground up for Roush. He had four consecutive seasons of finishing in the top 10 in points. And yet, after back-to-back winless campaigns, he was struggling again at Roush in 2004 after Citgo left as the primary sponsor.

Burton began that season with just three top-10 finishes compared to five DNFs in the first 22 races, many times driving a sponsorless car. It led him to Aug. 22.

Following the 2001 death of Dale Earnhardt in the Daytona 500, RCR promoted Kevin Harvick to the Cup Series at an accelerated pace, and used a platoon of drivers to fill the team's second car. Harvick won two races and finished ninth in the standings, while the other team floundered despite a New Hampshire win by Robby Gordon.

RCR expanded to three cars the next year with Harvick, Gordon and Jeff Green running the entire season. Green's 17th-place finish in points and Harvick's one victory were the season's highlights. Combined, RCR had 10 top-five finishes. The next year was better with Harvick finishing fifth in points and earning another victory; Gordon won two races.

Instability in the No. 30 car, however, was still problematic. And 2004 didn't change that.

In addition to Harvick and Gordon, six drivers made at least one start for RCR that season. One of them was Burton.

"When I was talking about hiring him, a couple people asked, 'Why would you want to hire him?'" Childress said of Burton, who was 37 at the time. "I watch all these different guys drive these racecars, and he drives every single lap -- if he's running 15th or 20th or wherever -- you can believe he's getting everything out of the car. That's the kind of driver he is, and that's the kind of driver I like."

It's also the kind of driver that's raised the standard at RCR since the team lost its flagship driver.

"I think what everybody will say is just how much we respect Jeff for how he's gone about his career," said 1999 Cup Series champion Dale Jarrett. "He's handled everything that's gone along with this crazy life the right way. I think he obviously had a big part in helping Richard turn this thing around, as did Kevin and Clint [Bowyer], in making this race team a championship-caliber team."

“

When I was talking about hiring him, a couple people asked, 'Why would you want to hire him?'

”

RICHARD CHILDRESS

The championships that became synonymous with RCR in the late 1980s and '90s have proven elusive since 2001, but the rebuilding process is evident since Burton's arrival.

In Burton's first full season with the three-car team, two of the drivers -- Harvick and Burton -- finished in the top 20 in points for the first time. And all three drivers (Dave Blaney drove the No. 07) drove the entire season.

Bowyer replaced Blaney in 2006 and improved the team by nine spots in points. Harvick and Burton finished in the top 10 -- Harvick fourth with five race wins, and Burton seventh after winning his first race in four years.

Then there was last year, when all three of RCR's cars made the Chase and all three drivers each won one race.

"Jeff has obviously been a big part of what we've done at RCR in turning it around," Harvick said. "When he first came in, none of us really knew Jeff and didn't know what to expect. Once he got here he immediately turned impressions that you hear from the outside. That's the first time I really learned the lesson in life that you don't really know the person unless you've been around them."

Bowyer agreed, only with a much lighter take.

"Everybody looks up to him. Like Kevin said, when he came on board we were all like, 'Man, is that a dead horse or what?'" Bowyer said with a laugh.

"I think that's the neatest thing about Jeff, the person he is and the character he has. He didn't give up. He believed in himself and he made things happen. He turned RCR around."

Again, all three RCR cars are currently in the top 12 in points heading into Sunday's Pepsi 500. Burton and Bowyer both have victories, and all three of RCR's drivers have more than 10 top-10 finishes apiece.

The measuring stick for success, however, isn't based on track performance, Burton said. And it shouldn't be pinned on him.

"What's really cool about this sport is the people," he said. "When I was at Roush, Matt [Kenseth], Mark [Martin] and I -- I thought that was as good as it could get with teammates. These two guys have surpassed that. It's unbelievable how much support these guys give me.

"Richard giving a guy a chance to try and get his career going again will always be one of the highlights of my life and in racing. For Richard Childress, a car owner whom you have so much respect for, to look you in the eye and say, 'Hey man, I still believe you can get it done' when really very few other people believe that -- every lap I take I'll always remember that. I wouldn't be driving any more without Richard's commitment. It's just that simple. Nobody else wanted to mess with me, but Richard still believed in me."

Video
• Watch the All-Star Roast to commemorate Burton's 500th Cup start