Race 2 Win: Kroger 200 - Jeff Burton Notes

NASCAR Busch Series

Kroger 200 - Jeff Burton Notes

Jeff Burton
No. 29 Holiday Inn Chevrolet
Event Preview Fact Sheet

Event/Date: Kroger 200 – August 5, 2006
Venue: O’Reilly Raceway Park at Indianapolis – Clermont, Ind.

NOTES:

This Week’s Race Car at O’Reilly Raceway Park at Indianapolis … Jeff Burton will pilot chassis No. 051, a brand new Holiday Inn Chevrolet, from the Richard Childress Racing (RCR) stable.

Stat Facts … Despite competing in just nine of the 18 Busch Series events to date in the 2006 season, Burton sits 29th in the driver points. Seven of his nine races have resulted in a top-10 finish to go along with his two wins and five top fives

Remember When … Holiday Inn driver Jeff Burton will return to race at ORP at Indianapolis for the first time since 1993. His most recent race at the track resulted in an eighth-place finish and paid $4,800. In comparison, last year’s eighth-place finisher earned $23,875. Since that time Burton has gone on to score 22 Busch Series and 17 NASCAR Cup Series wins.

Design Jeff Burton’s Car … Holiday Inn is giving one lucky race fan the opportunity to design the paint scheme on Jeff Burton’s No. 29 Holiday Inn Chevrolet. The winning design will take the track for the Busch Series event in Texas on November 4. Paint schemes can be designed at www.holidayinnracing.com via a ‘Design Jeff Burton’s Car’ page. The contest will run through August 31 with the winning design to be chosen by Jeff Burton. The winner’s package also includes a trip for two to the November race weekend in Texas including a VIP package to the Busch race complete with Jeff Burton/Holiday Inn Racing gear, tickets to the Cup race November 5, along with airfare and three nights’ accommodations at Holiday Inn. For additional information and rules for the contest please visit www.holidayinnracing.com.

Double Duty … In addition to his driving duties with the No. 29 Holiday Inn Chevrolet in the Kroger 200, Burton, a 17-time race winner in the NASCAR Cup Series, will race RCR’s No. 31 Cingular Wireless Chevrolet in the Allstate 400 at the Brickyard Sunday, August 6. Burton currently sits third in the NASCAR Cup Series point standings. The race will air live on NBC beginning at 2 p.m. Eastern Daylight Time (EDT).

Helping Hand … Due to the tight schedules at Indianapolis Motor Speedway and ORP at Indy on Saturday, August 5, NASCAR veteran driver Mike Bliss will be on hand to practice the No. 29 Holiday Inn Chevrolet for Burton if needed. Burton will helicopter back and forth between the two tracks for practice and qualifying but will have Bliss available to practice the Busch car if Cup Series qualifying runs long at the Brickyard. Bliss, the 2002 NASCAR Truck Series champion currently sits 11th in theTruck Series points.

Up to Speed … The Kroger 200 at O’Reilly Raceway Park at Indianapolis can be seen live Saturday, August 5 beginning at 9 p.m. EDT on TNT and heard live on the Motor Racing Network (MRN) and XM Satellite Radio. Qualifying for the 23rd of 35 NASCAR Busch Series events is scheduled for Saturday, August 5 at 6:05 p.m. EDT.

JEFF BURTON QUOTES:
You haven’t raced at O’Reilly Raceway Park at Indianapolis since 1993, are you concerned about it?
“Not really. Richard Childress Racing has a really strong Busch Series program and a lot of good people who work on the Holiday Inn team so I think we’ll be fine. Every time we bring our Holiday Inn car we seem to have strong runs. Our Busch program works really well together so we can feed off of the 21 and the 2 if we need it.”

Why is ORP so popular with the teams?
“It’s at throw back to good ol’ Saturday night race under the lights like all of us grew up racing. There is always a good amount of beating and banging in this race so there’s sparks flying and tempers flaring all night long. The Cup guys always come over to IRP to watch this one. It’s always a great race for the fans.”