Burton lined up for possible home-state score at M'ville

MARTINSVILLE, Va. -- There are few things in racing that would make Jeff Burton happier than a home-state Sprint Cup victory; and with the way his car practiced Saturday at Martinsville Speedway, it's a distinct possibility in Sunday's Goody's Fast Pain Relief 500.

"To win in Virginia really is special," Burton said after Saturday afternoon's Happy Hour. "I've won at Richmond and I've won here -- I used to sit right up there [in Turn 1] and watch races as a kid. It meant something then and I think it means even more now, considering I grew up an hour away from here.

"You don't prepare any differently for this race than you do for any other race, but when it's over and you've won, I think it means a little more."

Burton's No. 31 Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet turned the most laps in the first morning practice, 60; and along with Mark Martin in the No. 5 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet topped the 43-car time sheet.

Burton and Martin's best lap was the day's best, in 19.723 seconds, an average speed of 96.010 mph around the relatively flat, half-mile oval. Brian Vickers, Juan Montoya and Jeff Gordon, three guys with decent histories at Martinsville -- Gordon has the most Cup victories of anyone, seven -- rounded out the top five.

Burton ran the most laps in Happy Hour, 99, and was second to session-leader Jamie McMurray, whose No. 1 Earnhardt Ganassi Racing Chevrolet was three-thousandths of a second quicker than Burton.

Even with that, Burton told SPEED TV's Bob Dillner: "It's scary when your competition says you're the best," because a few minutes earlier, Burton told a visitor to his hauler he wasn't the only decent car in the garage.

According to NASCAR.COM's Live Leaderboard application, Dale Earnhardt Jr. and Martin had the best average lap time in Happy Hour: 20.05 seconds, with Martin running 82 laps and Earnhardt, 67. Burton had only the 17th-best average lap in the final practice.

"There are a lot of cars that are good, and we're one of them," Burton said. "The key's going to be keeping up with the track and making sure that when the track rubbers-up we can do the things we need to do.

"There are a lot of good teams and a lot of good cars and it'll get harder [Sunday] than it is [Saturday]." (Continued)