Jeff Burton had a nice career.

He filled his resume with a bunch of wins (17), had four straight Top-5 finishes in the points standings from 1997-2000 and was an all-around well-liked guy.

He didn’t retire, per se. But he was an afterthought.

Coming into this season, Burton hadn’t won in more than four years and finished out of the Top 10 in points every year since 2002.

He also had switched from high-profile Roush Racing to the struggling Richard Childress Racing at the end of 2004.

So, yes, he was an afterthought.

No one picked him to finish in the Top 10 this season. If they tell you they did, they’re lying.

But here Burton is, sitting in fourth place and looking very much like a Nextel Cup Championship contender.

“We take it one race at a time and that’s what we’ll continue to do,” Burton, 39, said. “That’s one of the reasons we’re better. Our company is stronger. Our support systems back at the shop from an aerodynamic standpoint, from an engine standpoint, from an engineering standpoint, from a preparation standpoint, we’ve stepped it up in every category. We have reorganized, rebuilt, and restructured everything. And most of those things are working better than they were.”

But still, Burton has yet to find himself in Victory Lane. He’s come close. He finished second behind Jeff Gordon last week at Chicagoland, has four Top 5s and 11 Top 10s this season. But zero wins.

“We are not in the business of trying to Top 15 our way into this championship,” Burton said. “We don’t have a goal of where we want to finish when we go into every race, with the exception of winning. We’re having a good year, but we’re not where we want to be. If we want to be good, that’s where we are, but we’re striving for excellence. We’re striving for greatness.”

Now Burton and Childress teammate Kevin Harvick – who sits in ninth place – aren’t so out of sight, out of mind.

And today, Burton will run a track at which he’s won four times – New Hampshire International Speedway. New Hampshire is a relatively short and flat track that has become a vital part of the Nextel Cup circuit. For some, today’s race will be an opportunity to improve their Chase hopes. For others, this is practice for a much bigger race. New Hampshire will be the first race of the 10-race Chase for the Nextel Cup.

“If you’re [Matt Kenseth, second in the points] or [Jimmie Johnson, first], you want to experiment and they are going to be in a position to do that,” Burton said of today’s race. “The rest of us are fighting real hard to make sure we get into the Chase.”

Three to take the checkered: Tony Stewart (won here last year); Jimmie Johnson (just plain due); Ryan Newman (struggles could end at track he’s conquered).