Race 2 Win: Samsung/Radio Shack 500

Nextel Cup Series

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Samsung/Radio Shack 500 - Jeff Burton Notes

Jeff Burton
No. 31 Cingular Wireless Chevrolet
Event Preview Fact Sheet

Event/Date: Samsung/Radio Shack 500 – April 17, 2005
Venue: Texas Motor Speedway – Fort Worth, Texas

NOTES:

This Week’s Race Car Texas Motor Speedway … Jeff Burton will pilot chassis No. 115 at Texas Motor Speedway, which Dave Blaney drove to a 15th place finish at Michigan in June 2004. It now has a new body for the 2005 season.

Cingular Jacks … Taking a cue from college football, a round white decal with the Cingular Jack will be applied to the Team Cingular Pit Crew helmets for each pit stop under 12.99 seconds throughout the season. Heading to Texas the pit crew has already earned nine “Jacks.”

Inaugural Winner … Jeff Burton won the first race held at Texas Motor Speedway on April 6 1997, crossing the finish line four seconds ahead of Dale Jarrett.

Stat Facts … In seven starts at Texas Motor Speedway, Burton has posted one win, one top-five and two top-10 finishes.

Richard Childress, Texas Ranger … As part of a promotion for Cingular Wireless, team owner Richard Childress will throw out the first pitch at Ameriquest Field for the Texas Rangers game Thursday, April 14 vs. the Toronto Blue Jays. Additionally, the No. 31 Cingular Wireless Chevrolet will make a lap around the field prior to the game.

Testing, 1,2,3, Testing … Burton and Team Cingular tested Phoenix International Raceway April 12 – 13 in preparation for the Subway Fresh 500 April 23.

Up to Speed …The Samsung/Radio Shack 500 at Texas Motor Speedway will be televised live Sunday, April 17 beginning at 12:30 p.m. Eastern Daylight Time on FOX and be broadcast live on the Performance Racing Network and XM Satellite Radio. Qualifying for the sixth of 36 NASCAR NEXTEL Cup Series events will air live on Speed Friday, April 15 at 3 p.m. EDT and will also be broadcast live on PRN and XM Satellite Radio.

JEFF BURTON QUOTES:

To the race fan Texas, Charlotte and Atlanta Motor Speedway look the same, are they for the drivers?
“They are completely different. I know there is a lot of talk about the mile-and-a-half “cookie cutter” race tracks, but they are totally different. Texas probably has the most grip of the three, although Atlanta does have a lot of grip as well, but the way you drive the track and the setups for each track are completely different.”

Texas finally received its second race date this year, and it sits near the end of the Chase for the Championship. Is going to that track twice good for the Series?
“I think it’s good. My stance on that all along has been we need to be in as many markets as possible, but not run as many races, by not adding to the schedule. We need to keep the number of races down so the current races remain exciting and have the impact on points they currently do. The crowd that Texas brings in and the TV audience Texas draws definitely warrants a second date.”

Your teammate Dave Blaney had a great test session at Texas Motor Speedway. Did his team come back and share that information with the 31 and 29 teams?
“For sure, that is the great thing about what we are doing now at RCR. We are all running real similar stuff and we all kind of like the same things. So, his test will definitely be a help to our team. We are taking a car down there which is a new car for us this year. It was in our stable last year, but it has a new body. Dave’s test at Texas will be very beneficial to all of our RCR Cup teams.”

The 31 team has been running well, but your finishes don’t reflect it. What will it take for this team to turn the corner and post the results you are looking for?
“Honestly, we just need to keep doing what we’ve been doing. There are some areas we do need to improve for sure, but the main thing we need to do is to get some consistency going. We’ve run so much better than what we have finished. We had a mechanical issue at Daytona and certainly don’t need to have those, then we were wrecked at Bristol. There is nothing we can do about those two things, but we need to make sure they don’t happen again. In the other races, we just need to do a little better job of finishing the races off and being good at the right time. I think that is coming, I really do. I feel like we’ve been running a lot better and when you run good, your finishes will come.”

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