Burton: Junior was right to fill in for Busch

DAVID GRIFFIN / NASCAR SCENE

AVONDALE, Ariz. - Dale Earnhardt Jr. was right to step in for Kyle Busch last week at Texas Motor Speedway as far as Jeff Burton is concerned.

The only thing Burton sees as worthy of regret about the whole incident is that Earnhardt Jr. has taken heat from fans and media for his decision to drive the final nine laps of the race in Busch's Hendrick Motorsports' car. The situation unfolded when Busch left the track, unaware that his team planned to return to the race, and Earnhardt Jr., who was also out after a crash caused by Busch, took his seat.

After the race, a furor erupted over both the switch and the fact that Earnhardt Jr. passed Jimmie Johnson in the finishing order, gaining three points for Busch in the standings under NASCAR's rule that awards all points to a driver who starts a car.

Burton sees it as a stir over nothing.

"Historically, old school racing, when someone needs some help, you help them," Burton said. "I've had drivers help me before, I've helped other drivers before when they were injured or sick. I've had drivers, typically teammates, always teammates as I remember, drive my car to give me their opinion on what my car is doing to help me. I've done the same to people. Last week has brought up a lot of discussions whether Junior should have driven that car, based on the points. I believe he did the right thing. I believe that when a team asks you if you can help them, that it would be completely out of the box to say no. For Junior to say, 'No I can't do that,' would have been way more unusual than him saying yes."

Burton says he does recognize the issue created when Earnhardt Jr. gained three points in the race. But in the end, he doesn't think that was the point.

This was about respect and courtesy between two competitors. Burton doesn't think that should be lost in the debate over whether or not Earnhardt Jr. made the right decision.

"There is such as thing as professional respect, and I think Junior extended professional respect to [team owner] Rick Hendrick and to the Hendrick organization, and I would have done the exact same thing had I been asked to do that," he said. "... This is a cut-throat business from time to time, but it's also a very compassionate garage area, and I don't think Junior did anything different from what everybody would have done, to be quite honest with you. There are some conflicts you can get in - I've had some Busch drivers at times at tests ask me to drive in their cars and I couldn't because of some contractual things - but short of something like that, if you can help somebody, I think you should."

Burton says he feels that way regardless of issues such as filling in for competitors driving for other manufacturers.

The bottom line is, Earnhardt Jr. showed respect for other teams and to his sport when he made his decision, and that's what Burton sees as the crux of the issue.

"You look at it more from the team standpoint, and that team needed some help, and I think Junior did the right thing," Burton said. "I feel bad that he's getting criticism for trying to do the right thing."