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His name isn't "Mr. Toad," and his "wild ride" is certainly not for children, but Phil Burkart ended his Denver weekend with what would have passed for an "E Ticket" excursion, getting his blue Checker, Schuck's, Kragen completely sideways before bowing out to Eric Medlen in round one. It was an inglorious conclusion after another strong build-up.
Burkart paced Team CSK during qualifying, putting four solid laps on the board when many elite teams were happy to get from end-to-end just once or twice. His Friday night run, a strong 4.952, earned him a solid place in the top half of the field, landing him 6th. On a weekend where 140-degree track temperatures were common, and a blazing sun made spectating a survival sport, Burkart and his team were the picture of consistency on Friday and Saturday. They entered eliminations with high hopes, but even those concepts were tempered by a variety of equalizers.
"When it's this hot, at any track, wild stuff is going to happen," Burkart said. "Add in the fact we're a mile high, and then factor in the way the ladder lined up, with top-ranked cars scattered all through the 16-car field, and all the match-ups looked like toss-ups to me. We knew we could run well, but we knew the whole first round was going to be a total adventure."
An illustration of Burkart's analysis could be found in Team Force, and elsewhere. John Force managed no better than the 10th spot here, while his teammate Eric Medlen landed 11th. Cruz Pedregon brought up the bottom of the sheet in the No. 16 position, while Gary Densham surprised the field when he grabbed the No. 1 spot. With Burkart qualifying 6th, a first-round date with Medlen was scheduled.
After having watched a full round of Top Fuel excitement, where tire smoke was prevalent and pedestrian times could claim wins, Burkart and the blue CSK group then watched the first six pairs of Funny Cars replicate the unpredictable excitement of their Top Fuel brethren. Traction was in short supply, quick ETs were impossible, and the simple feat of moving a race car from the starting line to the finish stripe, 1,320-feet away, seemed to be a Herculean task.
Once to the line, Burkart was still excited.
"We had a bit of long morning, chasing a leak in the fuel system, and didn't finally get it all sorted out until about 15 minutes before the first pair of Top Fuelers," he said. "When you go through that sort of thrash, you hope it's one of those indicators that everything is going to go your way. I was pretty pumped up. I just wanted to get out there and win the round."
Burkart is rightfully known as one of the best "leavers" in the game, and he maintained his position at the flash of amber on Sunday. His .083 light gave him a big jump on Medlen, and the two took off for the far end as the heat waves shimmered above the broiling track. Burkart led at the first timer, but the cars were basically dead even by 330-feet. At that point, Burkart's machine made a wild "sashay" of a move on the slick surface, and he quickly corrected to straighten the car out. Doing that, the rear end attempted to swap locations with the nose of the car, as the blue CSK Monte Carlo violently fishtailed. Burkart was able to calm the car down, bring it back straight, and continue down the track without crossing the centerline or hitting the wall, but his day was over.
"It got out there pretty far, but the guys told me we dropped a cylinder at the hit," Burkart said. "Dropping holes here is nothing new, especially on a dangerously hot day like this, but for some reason the car got very loose out there. You don't have time to think, you just react. It got loose, I brought it back, and the rear end swung out wide. It was pretty sideways for a while, but I got it back again. That part was all instinct, and I'm glad we didn't hit anything, but as soon as I was going straight again I saw Eric heading off into the distance and knew we'd lost.
"We are so snake-bitten right now it's wearing on us. The guys continue to work hard, and I know we have what it takes, but it beats you down to have bad things happen like this. You put so much work into this, your blood and your sweat, and in the end you wind up with the tears. Being able to handle the pressure, the disappointment, and the anxiety is something you just have to do. We're not going to throw our hands up and agree with anyone who thinks we can't win. They're wrong, anyway. We can win, and it's going to feel pretty good when we do.
"I'm sorry it didn't happen here, and trust me we're all sorry and we all want it so badly we'd do anything to break the jinx we're in right now, but we're going to stay focused and listen to ourselves. It's believing in ourselves that will get us there, and no wild ride is going to stop us from believing."
From the mountains in Denver, to the pine forests of Seattle, Burkart and his team will quickly relocate and get right back at it in a matter of days. There's no time to waste and no time to worry. There's just that belief. And a wild ride to remember.
BURKART'S "WILD RIDE" ENDS HIS DAY IN ROUND ONE
His name isn't "Mr. Toad," and his "wild ride" is certainly not for children, but Phil Burkart ended his Denver weekend with what would have passed for an "E Ticket" excursion, getting his blue Checker, Schuck's, Kragen completely sideways before bowing out to Eric Medlen in round one. It was an inglorious conclusion after another strong build-up.
Burkart paced Team CSK during qualifying, putting four solid laps on the board when many elite teams were happy to get from end-to-end just once or twice. His Friday night run, a strong 4.952, earned him a solid place in the top half of the field, landing him 6th. On a weekend where 140-degree track temperatures were common, and a blazing sun made spectating a survival sport, Burkart and his team were the picture of consistency on Friday and Saturday. They entered eliminations with high hopes, but even those concepts were tempered by a variety of equalizers.
"When it's this hot, at any track, wild stuff is going to happen," Burkart said. "Add in the fact we're a mile high, and then factor in the way the ladder lined up, with top-ranked cars scattered all through the 16-car field, and all the match-ups looked like toss-ups to me. We knew we could run well, but we knew the whole first round was going to be a total adventure."
An illustration of Burkart's analysis could be found in Team Force, and elsewhere. John Force managed no better than the 10th spot here, while his teammate Eric Medlen landed 11th. Cruz Pedregon brought up the bottom of the sheet in the No. 16 position, while Gary Densham surprised the field when he grabbed the No. 1 spot. With Burkart qualifying 6th, a first-round date with Medlen was scheduled.
After having watched a full round of Top Fuel excitement, where tire smoke was prevalent and pedestrian times could claim wins, Burkart and the blue CSK group then watched the first six pairs of Funny Cars replicate the unpredictable excitement of their Top Fuel brethren. Traction was in short supply, quick ETs were impossible, and the simple feat of moving a race car from the starting line to the finish stripe, 1,320-feet away, seemed to be a Herculean task.
Once to the line, Burkart was still excited.
"We had a bit of long morning, chasing a leak in the fuel system, and didn't finally get it all sorted out until about 15 minutes before the first pair of Top Fuelers," he said. "When you go through that sort of thrash, you hope it's one of those indicators that everything is going to go your way. I was pretty pumped up. I just wanted to get out there and win the round."
Burkart is rightfully known as one of the best "leavers" in the game, and he maintained his position at the flash of amber on Sunday. His .083 light gave him a big jump on Medlen, and the two took off for the far end as the heat waves shimmered above the broiling track. Burkart led at the first timer, but the cars were basically dead even by 330-feet. At that point, Burkart's machine made a wild "sashay" of a move on the slick surface, and he quickly corrected to straighten the car out. Doing that, the rear end attempted to swap locations with the nose of the car, as the blue CSK Monte Carlo violently fishtailed. Burkart was able to calm the car down, bring it back straight, and continue down the track without crossing the centerline or hitting the wall, but his day was over.
"It got out there pretty far, but the guys told me we dropped a cylinder at the hit," Burkart said. "Dropping holes here is nothing new, especially on a dangerously hot day like this, but for some reason the car got very loose out there. You don't have time to think, you just react. It got loose, I brought it back, and the rear end swung out wide. It was pretty sideways for a while, but I got it back again. That part was all instinct, and I'm glad we didn't hit anything, but as soon as I was going straight again I saw Eric heading off into the distance and knew we'd lost.
"We are so snake-bitten right now it's wearing on us. The guys continue to work hard, and I know we have what it takes, but it beats you down to have bad things happen like this. You put so much work into this, your blood and your sweat, and in the end you wind up with the tears. Being able to handle the pressure, the disappointment, and the anxiety is something you just have to do. We're not going to throw our hands up and agree with anyone who thinks we can't win. They're wrong, anyway. We can win, and it's going to feel pretty good when we do.
"I'm sorry it didn't happen here, and trust me we're all sorry and we all want it so badly we'd do anything to break the jinx we're in right now, but we're going to stay focused and listen to ourselves. It's believing in ourselves that will get us there, and no wild ride is going to stop us from believing."
From the mountains in Denver, to the pine forests of Seattle, Burkart and his team will quickly relocate and get right back at it in a matter of days. There's no time to waste and no time to worry. There's just that belief. And a wild ride to remember.
