Jeff Burton (Pictured) had harsh words for Kyle Busch after the Coca-Cola 600. (Photo: LAT Photographic)

If Burton does bounce back in 2010, he believes the reorganization will have been a catalyst for that positive development.

“I know the things that we’re doing now are a lot different from the things we were doing last year,” he said. “So that makes me feel good. We have heads of departments and we have departments that we never had before. We just have a much more solid plan.

“We’re acting on that plan and it feels better. If every department is pulling its weight, we will be highly successful.”

Burton is one of the most cerebral drivers in the garage, and known also for his honesty and accountability. No surprise then that he fully acknowledges his own role in getting the No. 31 Chevrolet back to where it needs to be.

“I have to do some things better,” he said. “That’s one of the reasons that I’m excited about working with Todd. He is the kind of guy who is going to tell me where I need to improve.

“We have to ask every segment of our race team to operate at the highest level. I know that we’re operating at a much higher level right now than we were …. I think that’s going to lead us into a much better 2010.”

THE BURTON FILE

•Best career finish: 1st (21 times, most recently at Charlotte, 2008)
•Career Cup top-10s: 222
•Laps led: 5,842
•Best track: Las Vegas (9.8 avg. fin.)
•Worst track: Watkins Glen (22.1 avg. fin.)
•Did You Know: Burton was named NASCAR Illustrated’s Person of the Year in 2007.

SceneDaily.com • NASCAR stars shut out of top spots in 24-hour race