EA Sports 500 * Talladega SuperSpeedway * Sunday, September 28, 2003
Jeff Burton
Team: No.99 CITGO Racing Ford Taurus
Sponsors: CITGO
Owner: Jack Roush
Driver: Jeff Burton
Crew Chief: Paul Andrews
Chassis Number: #47
Jeff Burton on racing at Talladega:
"We didn't have a very good outing earlier this year at Talladega.
We qualified in the back of the field but the CITGO Ford was pretty good
to start. We were all drafting and I think it was Ryan Newman who got
upside down and I had nowhere to go but directly into him. We had a lot
of damage but the CITGO team worked hard to repair the car and we went
back out and finished 35th. That's restrictor plate racing though and
there's not much you can do in that situation. Hopefully this time
we'll have some better luck and finish up front."
Crew Chief Paul Andrews on racing at Talladega:
"We wrecked pretty big in the spring. The CITGO team worked hard to
fix the car and we were able to go back out and at least finish the race
running. At that point that's all you can do. Hopefully we'll have
a little more luck this weekend."
ROUSH RACING FAST FACTS:
Mark Martin's pace in the 1997 Winston 500 at Talladega set an
all-time NASCAR WC record for the fastest race ever run, as Martin won
the caution-free race with an average speed of 188.354 mph. He covered
the 500-mile distance in two hours, 38 minutes and 18 seconds.
Martin's two victories at Talladega ties him with several
other drivers as the second most by an active driver.
Despite a recent rash of bad luck at Talladega, Martin has
scored top 10 finishes in four of his last seven races at Talladega.
Martin's 31 top-10 finishes in restrictor-plate races are the
second most ever.
Martin's 22 superspeedway poles are the seventh most ever and
the third most of any active driver.
Martin's 22 wins at superspeedways is the 11th most ever and
the fifth most of any active driver.
Matt Kenseth now has 22 top-10 finishes in 28 starts, a
league-leading statistic. He also has ten top-five finishes; only Ryan
Newman has more, with 11.
Kenseth's 2003 Winston Cup point lead is now 436 points over
second place Kevin Harvick with just eight races to go.
If Kenseth wins the Aaron's 500 event, his Winston-leader
bonus payout would be a record $290,000.
Kenseth has completed all but two laps of competition in the
2003 season.
Kurt Busch's No. 97 will feature a special paint scheme
honoring Irwin Industrial Tools.
Busch's crew chief Jimmy Fennig is tied for winningest active
crew chief in the Winston Cup Series with 24 wins.
The No. 99 CITGO Ford was involved in a 27 car pile up on lap
five that caused severe damage to the right side and front of the car.
The CITGO team repaired the damages and returned to the track to finish
35th, running.
Since 1996, Jeff Burton's average starting position at
Talladega is 20.8 while his average finishing position is 15.0.
Jeff Burton is one of 16 active Winston Cup drivers to have won
at least one restrictor plate race (July 2000 at Daytona).
Jon Wood and Carl Edwards will compete in Saturday's Craftsman
Truck Series race at Las Vegas Motor Speedway. Combined the two drivers
have four wins, two poles, 18 top-five and 26 top-10 finishes.
