JEFF BURTON QUOTES:
Growing up in Virginia, Richmond has become your home track. What is it like to see and race in front of friends and family in Richmond?
“My family understands that when I am in Richmond, I am there to race and to do my job. I like going to Richmond. I enjoy the race track, I think it’s one of the best tracks on the circuit. I take a lot of pride in being from Virginia. There are a lot of people that come to that race who watched my brother Ward and I grow up. Not only as race car drivers, but as people, so it’s pretty cool.”

Team Cingular contended for the win at Bristol, the last short track where the Series raced. Does that give the team a morale boost heading into Richmond?
“Well, Team Cingular had a great run at Richmond earlier this season. We had a part break late in the race. A piece of rubber actually came up off the track and locked up the power steering pump. That was a bad break because we had a good car. I usually run well there and like that track. I’ve been saying I think that this team will be better the last third of the season and I still believe it. I think Richmond is a track that we feel really good about. We had built a brand new car that we looked forward to running there, but we crashed it in a test last week at Milwaukee. So, we are taking the same car back to Richmond that we ran in the spring and it’s a really good car.”

Team Cingular is out of contention for ‘The Chase’. At Richmond, does that mean you are extra cautious or pull over for those who are already in the Chase and those who are fighting for those final spots?
“I will say this, I wouldn’t want to be the one that was in a wreck with a guy that kept him from being in The Chase. But, I’m there to win, too. I’m there to get the best finish I can get and if that means I need to race a guy real hard who is in The Chase, I’m going to do it. If I were in the Chase hunt, I would expect respect from other people, but I wouldn’t expect anyone to pull over for me. I’m not going to pull over for anybody; I’m just not going to. That’s not what I’m made of or what I get paid to do. I get paid to compete at a high level. I don’t want to be in a wreck with one of the guys in or trying to get into The Chase or cause any harm to them, but I’m there to win, too.”