BURKART AIMS TO FINISH STRONG BEFORE DONNING HIS TUX
POMONA, Calif. (November 6, 2006) -- Phil Burkart made his first competitive lap in a Nitro Funny Car in 1998. He won his first race in 1999. Though his career then foundered for more than a few seasons, his ceaseless determination led to his landing a choice gig, driving for the Worshams and their Checker, Schuck's, Kragen team in 2003, and at the end of the next season he found himself on the stage at the NHRA Awards Ceremony for the first time, having finished 10th in the POWERade points.
Now, with the 2006 NHRA season coming to a close after this weekend's Auto Club Finals in Pomona, Burkart knows he will be headed to the Westin Resort near Palm Springs once again, no matter the outcome at the final event of the season. Currently sitting in 8th place, Burkart is mathematically assured of a top ten finish, and will be dusting off his tuxedo to take his place among the elite on Monday evening, November 13th. He also knows the best way to prepare for his appearance on-stage would include a strong finish in Pomona, as he hopes to hold his current spot on the points sheet.
"It's a huge honor, and a great reward, to know we're going to the banquet again," Burkart said. "At this point, the goal is to be standing in the eighth spot when the lights come up and the Funny Car top ten is introduced. We know how many great teams, and great drivers, there are in this class, because we have to fight them tooth and nail every weekend, and to think we have the chance to end up eighth is really an accomplishment. It's not going to be easy, because Cruz Pedregon and my teammate Del Worsham are right behind us, and they'll be throwing everything they have at getting around us.
"The best thing for us to do, with our blue Checker, Schuck's, Kragen Monte Carlo, is to go for it. When somebody is chasing you, you don't slow down to keep from tripping. If you do, you're going to get caught. You run as fast as you can and force them to overtake you, and if they do that, at least you know you gave it everything you had. This weekend, we plan to make the blue CSK car run as fast as it can, and if Cruz or Del get around us, they'll have to run faster. If we run so fast we trip, so be it, but none of us want to play it conservatively."
As the season hits the final stop on its 23-race tour, Burkart can look back over the year and see a number of peaks and valleys. The fact he has even secured a spot in the top ten is an example of his team's persistence and will, as they spent the months of June, July, and August in 11th place, showing few signs of life and giving only rare indications they were preparing to make a move. And, when the "move" began, it started with a simple round win, at Indianapolis. A second-round finish there, accomplished by defeating Gary Scelzi in round one, moved Burkart back into 10th. Two races later, at the rescheduled event in Reading, Burkart whipped the field for his first win of 2006, and moved up another rung on the ladder.
"We were in 4th place leaving Bristol, back in late April, and then the wheels came off for a little while," Burkart said. "We've had that same scenario land on us before, where we get off to a strong start but have trouble through the summer. This time, we were in a free fall for a month or so, and then finally got a couple of round wins on the board in Chicago and Englishtown. After that, we went a few more races without a win, and it looked like we were going to be stuck in 11th, if we didn't land even further down the list.
"We've been frustrated, and angry, and a lot of things throughout this season, but we kept faith in our abilities. It all seemed to be coming to a head in Reading, and I thought we were either going to break loose and win some rounds, or just completely break apart, right then and there. We broke loose, finding our mojo again, and it was a great day. To say the Reading race made our season, or saved our season, is probably correct. Now, we want to finish strong, to go out on a positive note and set ourselves up for next year."
From the dark reaches of a long hard summer, when a top ten finish seemed a pipe dream and simply holding on to 11th looked challenging enough, Phil Burkart will soon be emerging into the bright lights of the Westin stage as a card carrying member of the NHRA Funny Car top ten. Which mark on the stage he needs to hit won't be known until Sunday, when he takes aim at the competition in an effort the finish strong, but the tuxedo will be ready no matter what.
