JEFF BURTON QUOTES:
What makes a driver and a team good at Martinsville? “”It’s all about handling at Martinsville. Corner speed is so important. You have to be able to get through the corners fast. You have to have a good braking system, good acceleration off the corner and the driver needs to be aggressively patient. There can not be a weak link in your handling package if you want to win Martinsville. “

Is burning up the brakes at Martinsville as big of a concern as it has been in past years at Martinsville? “Every year I have been in this sport, it has become less and less of an issue. The current braking systems are so much more advanced from where they used to be. The drivers that win races at Martinsville do not have any braking issues at all. There still will be braking issues at Martinsville because some people won’t have it exactly right, but the level of not having brakes versus five years ago is such a big difference. Technology has come into play and made it so much better now. If you have brake problems at Martinsville, you’re done because most people won’t.”

Even though it isn’t one of the new, glamorous tracks, Martinsville is part of the history of our sport. Is it important to leave Martinsville on the NASCAR Cup schedule? “I think short track racing has a place in our sport, it’s the heritage of our sport and I think we need to keep Martinsville on our schedule. There are a lot of drivers that don’t like Martinsville because it is tough, it is difficult and it is frustrating. I think Martinsville is a true test of a team and a driver and it definitely deserves to be in the sport. I hope we never lose races there.”