Jeff Burton
No. 31 Cingular Wireless Chevrolet
Event Preview Fact Sheet
Event/Date: Chevy Rock & Roll 400 – September 9, 2006
Venue: Richmond (Va.) International Raceway
NOTES:
This Week’s Race Car Richmond International Raceway (RIR) … Jeff Burton will pilot chassis No. 175 from the Richard Childress Racing stable. Built new for 2006, Burton recently drove the car to a seventh-place finish at New Hampshire International Speedway.
Stat Facts … In 24 Cup starts at RIR, Burton boasts one pole, one win, seven top-five and 11 top-10 finishes.
Lap Leader … Team Cingular driver Jeff Burton, who is 10th in points leads active drivers with 874 laps led at RIR
Chasin’ Em Down … Heading into the Chevy Rock & Roll 400 at RIR, Burton is 10th in points with 3,179. In order to assure a spot in the Chase for the Championship regardless of how other competitors finish, the South Boston, Va., native must post a finish of fourth or better.
RCR at RIR … Richard Childress is tied for fifth with Roger Penske for car owner victories at Richmond with five wins – all of them coming with Dale Earnhardt. Additionally, RCR boasts 27 top-five and 41 top-10 finishes at the three-quarter mile Virginia oval with eight different drivers including Earnhardt, Ricky Rudd, Mike Skinner, Kevin Harvick, Robby Gordon, Jeff Green and Clint Bowyer. Childress, former driver on NASCAR’s senior circuit, contributed three of those top 10s from 1976-1978.
Double Duty … In addition to his driving duties with the No. 31 Cingular Chevrolet at RIR, Burton, a 22-time race winner in the NASCAR Busch Series, will make his seventh start this season in RCR’s No. 29 Holiday Inn Chevrolet in the Emerson Radio 250 Friday, Sept. 8. The race will air live on TNT beginning at 8 p.m. Eastern Daylight Time (EDT).
Question This … Burton will participate in a question and answer session hosted by Riki Rachtman on the Chevy stage at Richmond International Speedway Saturday, Sept. 9 at 3:45 p.m.
Up to Speed … The Chevy Rock & Roll 400 at RIR will be televised live Saturday, Sept. 9 beginning at 7 p.m. EDT on TNT and broadcast live on the Motor Racing Network (MRN) and XM Satellite Radio. Qualifying for the 26th of 36 NASCAR Cup Series events will take the green flag at 6 p.m. EST Friday, Sept. 8 and will be telecast live on SPEED.
JEFF BURTON QUOTES:
Richmond seems like the perfect place to hold the final race to the Chase. Why is it so popular?
"As far as racing goes, I think Richmond is tops. It's side-by-side race action and still small enough to be good short-track racing action but big enough to have the speeds and the stuff that creates a whole hell of a lot of excitement for the fans. I just don't know if you can get a whole lot better than Richmond. I think it's the best all-around racetrack we come to. To have the Chase start there; to have all that action and all that drama unfold at Richmond - a track that has a tremendous amount of that anyway - I think it's pretty cool."
Will the pressure of fighting for the last spots in the Chase affect the racing at Richmond?
"I think it is going to be like it has been all along. There is a tremendous amount of respect in this garage from team to team and driver to driver. Everybody is racing hard; everybody is trying to get what they can get. I think the respect level is really high and I don't think people are going to be driving over their head. There are some people who are in desperation mode. But there are far more people that are in their do their thing mode. You can't get in that panic mode because you can't be effective when you are in a panic. You never know what is going to happen, but I don't see the racing being any different. Trying too hard might bring on some mistakes. I think when people have pressure, what tends to be the mistake is trying to hard. You see it in every sport. You can see it in the best athletes in the world. Watching Brett Favre last season; you watch the best coaches in the world and again, desperation puts you in position of trying to hard. That is how mistakes are made, getting off your game. If you get off your game and get off of what you know, then that is when you make mistakes. If you try to change who you are, that is when you make mistakes, at least that is when I make mistakes. I think this is fun. This is what it is all about. Again, if you don't want it like this, then don't be in this deal. This is what racing is about. This is what racing for championships is about. You know what, it will start all over in two weeks. It is how it is and how it should be. I relish the opportunity. I think it is a heck of a lot of fun to be part of it.”
Do you think luck is a factor in making or not making the Chase?
"Luck is a factor in anything you do. Sometimes you put yourself in a position to have either bad luck or good luck. I don't lose any sleep over bad luck or good luck. When you start worrying about luck, you are just missing opportunity. Luck is a factor in anything you do, there is no question about it. But you can't wish for it or wish against it. It is just out there. I am much more concerned about the things that I can control and this team can control. That is where our focus is."
