Jeff Burton
No. 31 Cingular Wireless Chevrolet
Event Preview Fact Sheet
Event/Date: Dodge/Save Mart 350 – June 25, 2006
Venue: Infineon Raceway – Sonoma, Calif.
NOTES:
This Week’s Race Car at Infineon Raceway … Jeff Burton will race chassis No. 143 from the Richard Childress Racing (RCR) stable, which Burton drove at both road course races in 2005.
Stat Facts … In 12 starts at Infineon Raceway, Burton has posted three top-10 finishes
Last Time Around … While running 10th in the Dodge/SaveMart 350 last season, Burton was spun out by another competitor with less than five laps remaining, ultimately saddling Team Cingular with a 30th-place finish.
Finish it Off ... Jeff Burton and Team Cingular have been running at the finish of every event in 2006. Burton’s RCR teammate Kevin Harvick has also finished each race.
Testing, Testing … Burton and Team Cingular tested Virginia International Raceway Monday, June 5 in preparation for the upcoming Dodge/Save Mart 350 at Infineon Raceway.
RCR at Infineon … Richard Childress is tied for third on the Infineon Raceway all-time car owner win list. Dale Earnhardt won the 1995 Save Mart Supermarkets 300 and Robby Gordon won the Dodge/Save Mart 350 in 2003. Additionally, RCR owns one pole, seven top-five and 13 top-10 finishes at the 12-turn stadium course.
Birthday Boy … Burton will celebrate his 39th birthday Thursday, June 29.
Up to Speed … The Dodge/Save Mart 350 at Infineon Raceway will be televised live Sunday, June 25 beginning at 3 p.m. Eastern Daylight Time (EDT) on FOX and be broadcast live on the Performance Racing Network (PRN) and XM Satellite Radio. Qualifying for the 16th of 36 NASCAR Cup Series events will air live on SPEED Friday, June 23 at 7 p.m. EDT and will also be broadcast live on PRN and XM Satellite Radio.
JEFF BURTON QUOTES:
How challenging is Infineon Raceway?
“The truth is Infineon Raceway is a lot of fun. I really enjoy racing at that track. We’ve run very well at Infineon without good finishes to show for it. The thing that Team Cingular really needs to focus on for this
race is coming out of there with a good finish. You have to be able to finish as well as you run. That is something we haven’t been able to do at Infineon. The speed has been there. We’ve been consistently a top-five car but just haven’t been able to finish it. It’s very clear to me, as tight as the points race is, that Infineon could be a very pivotal race in the Chase. Infineon, Daytona and Watkins Glen, we just can’t leave those places with finishes like we did last year. Although, if I had to do last season all over again I am not sure what I would do any differently. Last year at Infineon we ran well all weekend long and were contending for a top-five finish. Then some people could go longer on fuel mileage and got in front of us and we got run over. We were wrecked by someone who didn’t have respect for people who were racing for points. I don’t know what we would do different than what we did but at the end of the day the results still fall on our shoulders.”
Does road racing lend more to road rage?
“I don’t think so but I do think the sense of urgency seems higher. It seems like because it is different everyone seems to act differently. When you go to Richmond or Bristol or Martinsville patience is really important and passing someone at the right time is really important. But there is something about the road courses – and I don’t know what it is, maybe egos – we’ll tend to push the envelope a little harder. I’m not sure what that’s about but I don’t think I would call it road rage maybe just a higher sense of urgency.”
What is the difference between Infineon and Watkins Glen?
“Watkins Glen is the superspeedway of road courses and Infineon Raceway is the Martinsville of road courses. Watkins Glen has much faster corners and longer straightaways than Infineon. Infineon has many more turns, less heavy breaking areas much shorter straightaways than Watkins Glen. They are both road courses but the similarities stop there. The two tracks are very different in layout. Infineon has big, quick elevation changes where as Watkins Glen has much slower elevation changes and the corners are faster.”
