TALLADEGA, Ala. -- Clint Bowyer sat patiently inside his car Saturday morning, waiting his turn to take on the sometimes-unforgiving Talladega Superspeedway during Sprint Cup qualifying.

Patience, says Bowyer, has been a key to his success.

The Kansas-born driver credits South Boston native and Richard Childress Racing teammate Jeff Burton with keeping him grounded and calm, attributes that enabled him to overcome a sluggish start to his third Cup season.

"I've learned a lot just watching how Jeff responds when things aren't clicking," said Bowyer, who finished ninth in last week's Aaron's 499 after a disappointing 25th-place finish in the Nationwide Series event.

"[Burton] is determined beyond belief. He's very focused. That man seriously wants it."

Bowyer wants it, too.

And he enters this weekend's Dan Lowry 400 at Richmond International Raceway riding a streak of six straight top-10 finishes. This after compiling no better than a 19th-place finish (Fontana) in the first three races -- including 24th in the Daytona 500, where he led with 17 laps to go before crashing.

"Daytona was just bad luck," said Bowyer, who extended his lead in the Nationwide points standings to 24 points over defending champion Carl Edwards. "That's all there is to it. We just got run over."

Bowyer and crew chief Gil Martin are back on firm footing after hours of testing following a third-place finish in Phoenix two weeks ago. But they began to turn things around in Atlanta.

"Gil made some aero changes and worked hard getting the car to handle," Bowyer said. "When we got to Atlanta, things just took off."

Bowyer, seventh in the Cup points standings, was sixth in Atlanta and third at Bristol. And he fashioned back-to-back 10th-place finishes at Martinsville and Texas before reigning Cup champion Jimmie Johnson outfoxed the field in a battle of fuel gambling at Phoenix.

"We just didn't sit on the couch and get better," said Bowyer, who earned his first career win in last year's first Chase race at New Hampshire International Speedway. "We tested and worked hard so we could compete at every racetrack.

"There's not enough short tracks [such as Richmond] to overcome the big tracks. So you've got to be good everywhere, but these big tracks [such as Talladega] are what wins championships."

Points leader Burton continues to remind Bowyer that patience is important, particularly at RIR, where mistakes in the corners and on pit road could be damaging.

"Clint has been a fast learner, especially on some of these short tracks," Burton said, "and I think that shows in his results."

Bowyer was patient, too, at Talladega's 2.66-mile oval. He avoided several accidents to contend for the checkered flag before Kyle Busch won under caution after a 12-car crash on the final lap.

"We hung around all day like we needed to and went racing at the end," said Bowyer, who finished ninth in last year's spring race at RIR. "After I crashed in the Nationwide race on Saturday, I'm excited to get out of here in one piece."