Race 2 Win: Busch Series Race Notes

NASCAR Busch Series

Zippo 200 - Jeff Burton Notes

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

Event/Date: Zippo 200 at the Glen – August 11, 2007
Venue: Watkins Glen (N.Y.) International

NOTES:

This Week’s Race Car at Watkins Glen International … Jeff Burton will pilot Chassis No. 045 from the Richard Childress Racing (RCR) stable, a car that Clint Bowyer competed with at both the Mexico City (finished 16th) and Watkins Glen (finished 16th) road course races last year. Earlier this season, Scott Wimmer raced this Holiday Inn Chevy to a 30th-place finish in Mexico after battling engine and tire troubles.

Gaining Ground … Burton’s 10th-place finish at Circuit Gilles Villeneuve advanced the Holiday Inn Racing team 65 points in the NASCAR Busch Series owners’ championship point standings. The team is now just 140 markers behind Jack Roush’s No. 60 machine.

Stat Facts … In four NASCAR Busch Series (NBS) starts at Watkins Glen, Burton has earned one top-five and three top-10 finishes. The South Boston, Va., native has a 15.3 starting average and a 13.0 finishing average. He has led 17 laps and collected over $35,000 in prize money.

RCR Road Course Stats … In 13 previous NASCAR Busch Series road course starts, RCR has posted one win, five top-five and nine top-10 finishes. Kevin Harvick claimed RCR’s first NBS road course victory last weekend in Montreal, Quebec.

Pretty Strong for a Part-Timer … Despite competing in just 11 of the 23 NBS events to date in 2007, Burton sits 21st in the drivers’ point standings. All but one of the races have resulted in top-10s, including two wins (Las Vegas and Atlanta) and seven top-five finishes.

Double Duty … In addition to racing the No. 29 Holiday Inn Chevrolet in Saturday’s NBS race, Burton will drive RCR’s No. 31 AT&T Chevrolet in the Centurion Boats at the Glen NASCAR Cup Series race on Sunday, August 12. The 19-time Cup Series winner has posted two top-five and three top-10 finishes in 13 starts at the track.

RCR Busch Brigade … In 23 Busch Series races this season, RCR has claimed eight victories - the most recent coming last week at Circuit Gilles Villeneuve with Harvick (Burton – 2, Clint Bowyer- 2 and Harvick –4). Additionally, the three RCR Busch teams (No. 2, No. 21 and No. 29) have a total of 27 top-five and 39 top-10 finishes while leading 1,057 laps.

Leading the Way in Owner Wins … Richard Childress Racing leads the 2007 NASCAR Busch Series in owner wins with eight.

Catch the Action … The Zippo 200 at the Glen will be televised live on ESPN2 Saturday, August 11 beginning at 3 p.m. Eastern Daylight Time (EDT) and broadcast live on the Motor Racing Network (MRN) and Sirius Satellite Radio. Qualifying for the 24th race on the 2007 NASCAR Busch Series schedule will be televised live on ESPN2 the same day beginning at 11:30 a.m. EDT.

JEFF BURTON QUOTES:
You raced a road course last week in Montreal. Does that help going into this weekend at Watkins Glen?
“I definitely enjoyed racing at Montreal last weekend and it gave me the opportunity to improve my road course racing. My road course skills aren’t where I would like them to be so any chance I get to work on them will help me as a driver.”

How much do you race the track versus racing the competitors at Watkins Glen?
“The race at Watkins Glen gets really crowded. Turn one is really difficult. Restarts are tough, everybody gets in there and is trying to pass by going three wide. But, there’s not room for three wide so there are a lot of wrecks going into turn one. Restarts and the start of the race are the hardest, most stressful part of the race because of that. The rest of the race, you can race the track. It’s very important to pay attention to the race track and hit your marks and have your car in the right place at the right time. On restarts, you have to do all that in addition to having all the other cars out there. Restarts are stressful but the rest of the time you pretty much worry about what you are doing with your team and not everybody else.”

Heading to Watkins Glen, the second and final road course of the season, how important is a good qualifying run there?
“Qualifying is really important at Watkins Glen since track position is so vital. Driving hard at The Glen produces speed. There are some race tracks that if you overdrive, you actually go slower, but Watkins Glen isn’t one of them. You have to get on the edge and go.”