Jeff Burton
No. 31 Cingular Wireless Chevrolet
Event Preview Fact Sheet
Event/Date: AMD at The Glen – August 12, 2006
Venue: Watkins Glen International – Watkins Glen, N.Y.
NOTES:
This Week’s Race Car at Watkins Glen International … Jeff Burton will race chassis No. 143 from the Richard Childress Racing (RCR) stable. Burton raced this car earlier this season at Infineon Raceway where he finished seventh.
Stat Facts … In 12 NASCAR Cup starts at The Glen, Burton has posted two top-five and three top-10 finishes.
Streakin’ … Burton’s 15th-place finish at the Brickyard marked his 15th consecutive race with a top-15 finish. That span includes two poles, three top-five and 11 top-10 finishes and a move from 21st to third in the NASCAR Cup Series point standings.
Lap leader … Team Cingular driver Jeff Burton has led a lap in each of the last four races. He has led 19 times in nine races for a total of 297 laps this season. The South Boston, Va., native led 87 laps at Indianapolis, the most of any driver. It marked the first time since Phoenix in 2001 he has accomplished that feat.
Last visit to upstate NY … Burton was listed in the seventh position on lap 30 at the 2.45-mile road course when his Cingular Chevrolet spun in turn one and ended his day. He finished the race in 43rd position.
RCR at the Glen … In 33 starts at Watkins Glen International, RCR has earned one win (Robby Gordon 2003), seven top-five and 15 top-10 finishes with seven different drivers. Additionally, Dale Earnhardt won the pole three times (1990, ’92, ’96).
Meet the Driver … On behalf of Cingular Wireless, Jeff Burton is scheduled to appear at the Erie County Fair in Hamburg, NY on Thursday, August 10 from 4-6 p.m. His appearance in the NASCAR building will include a question and answer session with the fans followed by an autograph session. The No. 31 Cingular Chevrolet show car will also be on display.
Up to Speed … The Sirius at The Glen will be televised live Sunday, August 13 beginning at 1 p.m. Eastern Daylight Time on NBC. Motor Radio Network (MRN) and XM Satellite Radio will also carry the race broadcast live. Qualifying is scheduled for Friday, August 11 beginning at 3 p.m. EDT.
JEFF BURTON QUOTES
Team Cingular had a good run at Sonoma earlier this season. Does that give you a good boost going to Watkins Glen?
“Well, we’ve actually run better at the Glen the last few years than we have at Sonoma for some reason, though the results don’t show it. Our road course program struggled a bit so we have definitely put some effort into it. Last year, we were very fast at Watkins Glen then I got us in trouble. I got us wrecked. But I still feel really good going to The Glen. Much like I thought about the race in Sonoma, I think this is a race that could be very volatile in the points. Certainly some Chase contenders will have some issues at The Glen. We definitely do not want to be one of them. The best way to avoid issues at a road course is to run in the front, be aggressive and stick to the game plan. That’s what we’ll do. We’ll go there and try to run as fast as we can, the best we can and get the best finish we possibly can.”
What are the main differences between the two road courses on the NASCAR Cup schedule?
“The best way I know how to describe it is Sonoma is like the Martinsville of road courses and Watkins Glen is more like a Charlotte or Chicago. It’s a much bigger, wider, faster race track than Sonoma. Sonoma is very tight with a lot of elevation changes. The Glen has some elevation changes too, but it’s in a fast part of the race track. They are in slower parts at Sonoma. I think that The Glen is a little less technical, it’s faster and it offers a few more passing zones. It’s just a bigger, wider, faster race track.”
