http://www.thatsracin.com/mld/thatsracin/4010027.htm
Posted on Thu, Sep. 05, 2002
Jeff Burton says relationship with Stoddard was 'stale'
By JIM UTTER
ThatsRacin.com Writer
Winston Cup driver Jeff Burton said the hiring of Paul Andrews as his new crew chief was prompted because the relationship with former crew chief Frank Stoddard had "gone stale."
Andrews left his job as Steve Park's crew chief at Dale Earnhardt Inc. Wednesday to take the same position with Burton.
"He's a great crew chief," Burton said of Stoddard, who had worked with Burton since January 1999. "There's nothing wrong with Frank's crew chiefing ability, it's just that we've gone stale together. I guess that's the best way to put it, we've gone stale together."
Burton said the change was made quickly when Andrews became available, but the discussions about whether to make changes in the organization had been contemplated for some time.
"You don't go to California this year and run as bad as we ran and you don't go to Darlington in the first race and Texas without thinking, ‘Man, we've got to do something,' particularly when we didn't run well at those tracks the year before," Burton said.
"Initially, we thought about trying to figure out how to bring somebody else into the company that could help us, but there was nothing there for us. We didn't wake up yesterday and say, ‘We've got to make this change.' When it did happen, it happened very fast but it was a long process."