Burton: Sears was 'demolition derby'

Burton found himself on the receiving end in the closing laps at Sears Point, getting knocked out of the way by Australian Marcos Ambrose, following the final restart and while running in the top 10.

The veteran was surprised with the increased level of aggressiveness he found on the track, which he claimed was unacceptable. There were plenty of incidents in the 110-lap event, many involving some of the most experienced drivers in the field, including four-time Sprint Cup champion Jeff Gordon.

"I thought last week was horrendous," said Burton. "I thought the behaviour shown last week from driver to driver was completely unacceptable. If our sport is going to become that, then we need to change it from racing to demolition cars because that wasn't racing last week.

"The last ten laps of that race didn't look like we were the best drivers in this country - it looked like we were some of the worst drivers in this country. Again, it's just ridiculous...

"I think Jeff [Gordon] will readily admit that he hit way too many people last week; but I know exactly why he did it. The reason why he did it was if he slowed down as much as he really needed to slow down, he was terrified that the guy behind him was going to run over him because history says that's what is going to happen.

"That race has just turned into a demolition derby."

The Richard Childress Racing driver believes the uniqueness of the year's road course events allow for more aggressive racing than usual, which led to some drivers taking more chances than they normally do on ovals, specially those hoping to get well inside the top 12 in the drivers' standings, 10 races away from the cut for the series 'play-off'.

"If you look at the people that got into incidents and then start looking at where everybody is in points, it's not a coincidence." said Burton. "A lot of the people that are racing to get in the Chase were involved in those incidents. It's not a coincidence. It's an extremely competitive sport; there is a lot at stake.

"There is opportunity presented at a road course when you're running 60mph and the guy in front of you is running 30mpg because there's a corner that he's got to make. There is an opportunity to make a move there.

"I don't think that it was just a genuine 'I don't care about the guy in front of me.' I think it was more 'I'm willing to stick my nose in here even though I'm not real sure what the outcome is going to be.' I think it boils down to the fact that this is a self-serving sport and everybody is trying to go get what they can get."

Despite several incidents and some feuds arising from on-track contact, no penalties were issued by officials.

This year NASCAR has promoted a more flexible ruling on racing clashes, letting drivers police themselves on the track.