In NASCAR, winning often comes down to quick decisions that get a driver to the checkered flag, where all attention and praise go to the person behind the wheel. Yet, lurking in the pits is the crew chief, often matching or even outpacing the driver’s grasp of the track, car dynamics, and split-second scenarios. When a race slips away due to a controversial pit stop call, that unsung strategist can swiftly become the scapegoat in the eyes of fans and even the cockpit. With over 1,000 career NASCAR starts, 21 Cup wins, and 27 Xfinity Series wins under his belt, Jeff Burton knows this tension all too well.

Take the 2010 Darlington race, with a car capable of beating Denny Hamlin, where a miscommunication led Burton to run over his air hose during a late pit stop, drawing a penalty tha

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