Then, after four dazzling seasons, it all went away.

First, he stopped winning races. Then he lost his sponsor and his feel-good feeling with his team, switching to Richard Childress Racing for the 2005 season.

But when the Nextel Cup series begins its Chase for the championship Sunday in New Hampshire, the South Boston native will be a part of it, his career resurrected by his move to a resurgent team, and his confidence rebounding with his performance.

It's been a road filled with doubt for Burton, who earned 15 of his 17 victories in a four-year span when he was a fixture in the top five of the driver standings, but who then found himself wondering what had changed to send him spiraling downward.

The struggles have made the bounce back so much sweeter.

``It feels good to have myself back in the position to be able to do the things I used to be able to do,'' Burton said at Richmond International Raceway, where he earned a spot in the 10-race playoff for the first time in its three years.

``I never really lost confidence in myself, but at the same time, when you aren't getting it done, you have to look at yourself and say, `Hey, I'm doing something wrong.' It feels good to confirm to myself that, hey, I can still do this,'' he said.

No longer does he find himself averting his gaze when he walks through the garage, uncomfortable with the idea that people were looking and wondering what happened.

``It's been embarrassing, to be quite honest,'' he said. ``I care a great deal what my peers think about me from a competition standpoint and from a personal standpoint. It's kind of hard to walk through the garage when you're running 20th and look Jeff Gordon in the eye and expect him to respect you for what you can do on the race track.''

Respect, though, has never been hard for Burton to come by. Viewed as one of the cleanest racers in NASCAR, his resurgence is celebrated by Gordon and others.

``I think it's a bold move on his part to make the move to RCR and obviously that's paid off,'' Gordon said. ``I never had a lack of respect for Jeff because I've battled too hard with him over the years, so I know what kind of a competitor he is.''

Gordon called it ``refreshing'' to see Burton again contending for the championship, and Burton was relieved, too, after finishing eighth in the pre-Chase standings.

Burton was 10th starting the final race before the Chase, just 30 points ahead of Kasey Kahne, and made it in spite of Kahne's third-place run into the top 10 because defending and two-time champion Tony Stewart faltered and fell out of the top 10.

But Burton had no idea how it would shake out while circling Richmond.

``The last two weeks have been pretty long,'' he said.

The tension also made Burton rethink some earlier comments about the Chase.

``What I said was the more pressure-filled and the more excitement and more tense it is, the better it is for the fans,'' he said. ``But damn, I'm not sure I want that.''

In the end, the last six drivers to make the playoff were separated by just 29 points, with Burton one ahead of No. 9 Gordon, three ahead of Kahne and 19 ahead of Stewart.

He'll start this weekend's race in New Hampshire 35 points behind leader Matt Kenseth, in the hunt for a title for the first time since the 2002 season.

``I feel good,'' he said. ``We're in. We've done a nice job.''