Race 2 Win: Circuit City 250 - Jeff Burton Notes

NASCAR Busch Series

Circuit City 250 - Jeff Burton Notes

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

Event/Date: Circuit City 250 – May 5, 2006
Venue: Richmond (Va.) International Raceway

NOTES:

This Week’s Race Car Richmond International Raceway (RIR) … Jeff Burton will pilot chassis No. 049 from the Richard Childress Racing (RCR) stable which was built new for the 2006 season and tested last month at Richmond International Raceway.

Stat Facts … In 18 Busch Series starts at RIR, Burton boasts two poles, two wins, seven top-five and 10 top-10 finishes.

Debuting the New Colors … The Circuit City 250 will mark the debut of the No. 29 Holiday Inn Chevrolet in the NASCAR Busch Series. RIR is the first of a 10-race Busch Series schedule with Burton at the wheel of the green and white Chevrolet.

Career Milestones … Burton will make his 250th NASCAR Busch Series career start in the Circuit City 250 at RIR. The South Boston, Va., native is currently tied for sixth on the series’ all-time wins list with legends Harry Gant and Dale Earnhardt with 21 victories.

Double Duty … In addition to his driving duties with the No. 29 Holiday Inn Chevrolet at RIR, Burton, a 17-time race winner in the NASCAR Cup Series, will drive the No. 31 Cingular Chevrolet in the Crown Royal 400 Saturday, May 6. The race will air live on FX beginning at 7 p.m. Eastern Standard Time (EST). Burton currently sits 12th in the 2006 NASCAR Cup Series point championship.

Media Alert … Richard Childress Racing has scheduled a press conference Friday, May 5 at 2:45 p.m. EST in the media center at Richmond International Raceway.

Meet the Driver … Burton will sign autographs at the Cingular souvenir trailer at RIR on Saturday, May 6 from 2 – 2:45 p.m. A limited number of tickets are available and can be obtained at the souvenir trailer. Holiday Inn Racing t-shirts are available for purchase at the same souvenir trailer.

Live on stage … Burton will return to the desk of NASCAR Live! again this week as a host of the popular race program on SPEED. The driver of the Holiday Inn Chevy will take to the stage Saturday, May 6 at 12 p.m. EST for the show, which can seen live on SPEED.

Testing One, Two, Three, Testing … Burton and the No. 29 Holiday Inn Racing team tested at Richmond International Raceway April 4-5 in preparation for the Circuit City 250. In addition, Burton and crew tested at Lowe’s Motor Speedway May 7-8 in preparation for the upcoming Carquest Auto Parts 300 on May 27.

Up to Speed … The Circuit City 250 at RIR will be televised live Friday, May 5 beginning at 8 p.m. Eastern Standard Time (EST) on FX and broadcast live on the Motor Racing Network (MRN) and XM Satellite Radio. Qualifying for the 10th of 36 NASCAR Busch Series events will take the green flag at 4 p.m. EST Friday, May 5 and will be telecast live on SPEED.

JEFF BURTON QUOTES:
Richmond will mark your first start with Holiday Inn, along with your 250th career start in the NASCAR Busch Series. What does that mean to you?
“Having Holiday Inn as my sponsor is a great honor. The Holiday Inn brand is iconic and such a big part of our country. When people see the Holiday Inn name and logo, they recognize it and know what it stands for. It’s really cool to be associated with Holiday Inn. As far as my 250th career start in the Busch Series, I had no idea I had started that many races. That is a pretty special accomplishment for me. I have a tremendous amount of respect for the Busch Series. I really enjoy running the series and to say I’ve run 250 races there means a lot to me.”

Right now you are tied with Harry Gant and Dale Earnhardt at sixth on the all-time win list in the NASCAR Busch Series. What would it mean to you to win at Richmond to pass those legendary drivers?
“I have a tremendous amount of respect for both Harry Gant and Dale Earnhardt. I had an opportunity to race against them in the Busch Series. To even be tied with them on the all-time win list is a heck of an honor but to surpass them would be even better. Again, the Busch Series means so much to me. I care about it and think it’s a great series. To even be mentioned in the same breath with the drivers who ran it before I did is pretty cool and a great honor.

How much does running a limited schedule give you an opportunity to approach the races differently?
“We approach the races trying to win. We will be willing to gamble more, take some chances and do some things the guys racing for points aren’t willing to do. On the other hand, we don’t have any points to fall back on so we need to make sure we have good qualifying efforts to get ourselves in the show. So there’s a little bit of pressure. You always want to race the best you can. In no way will we throw away a good finish just for the fact that we are not racing for points. But at the same time we will, from time to time, gamble in an effort to win versus just trying to finish fifth. So the limited schedule does change our approach a little bit.”