Jeff Burton
No. 31 Cingular Wireless Chevrolet
Event Preview Fact Sheet
Event/Date: Daytona 500 – Feb. 18, 2007
Venue: Daytona International Speedway – Daytona Beach, Fla.
NOTES:
This Week’s Race Car at Daytona International Speedway … Jeff Burton will pilot Chassis No. 177 from the Richard Childress Racing (RCR) stable, a new race car for the 2007 season that Burton tested at Daytona in January.
Stat Facts …
o Start your engine … The 49th Daytona 500 will mark Burton’s 440th career start in the NASCAR Cup Series. This will also be Burton’s 14th consecutive run in the prestigious event.
o Former Winner … Burton is a former winner at the famed Daytona International Speedway. He claimed victory under the lights in the 2000 Pepsi 400.
o Bud Pole Winner … Burton captured the Bud Pole position for the 2006 Daytona 500. He also captured the top starting spots at Chicago, Indianapolis and at Michigan in August last year, tripling his career pole total (2) in just one season.
RCR Rocks Daytona … Dating back to 1986, RCR has won seven poles, including Burton’s 2006 Daytona 500 pole, and owns 22 total victories at DIS, including 10 straight (1990-1999) Twin 125 wins with Dale Earnhardt. All totaled, RCR has won five Bud Shootouts, 13 Twin 125 qualifying races, two Pepsi 400s and one Daytona 500. Additionally, Dale Earnhardt Jr., won the Feb. 2002 NASCAR Busch Series race at Daytona driving a car fielded by RCR.
Meet the Driver … Burton will sign autographs at the Cingular Wireless store located in front of the Volusia County Mall from 3:30 – 5:30 p.m. Friday, February 16. In addition, fans can win give-away items, courtesy of Cingular Wireless.
2007 + Prilosec OTC = 1 NASCAR Fan’s Victory of a Lifetime … Prilosec OTC Victory of a Lifetime Sweepstakes winner Jim Farina of Pittsfield, Mass. kicks off the ultimate NASCAR Fan’s season at DIS. Jim will serve as an honorary member of Team Cingular and will attend 20 NASCAR Cup races this season. Jim started his 20 race schedule with RCR’s No. 31 Cup team last Saturday which included a personal welcome to the team by Jeff Burton and attendance at the Budweiser Shootout pre-race drivers meeting. Jim will return to Daytona this weekend with 2 friends which will include a visit with team owner Richard Childress, race tickets and garage and pit access on race day.
Catch the Action … The Daytona 500 will be televised live Sunday, February 18 beginning at 2 p.m. Eastern Standard Time (EST) on FOX and will be broadcast live on MRN and Sirius Satellite Radio. The Gatorade Duel at Daytona 150-mile qualifying races will take the green flag Thursday, February 15 at 2 p.m. EST and will be broadcast live on SPEED, MRN and Sirius Satellite Radio. Qualifying for the Daytona 500 will air live on FOX and MRN on Sunday, February 11 beginning at 2 p.m. EST.
JEFF BURTON QUOTES:
What are your goals for the 2007 season?
“Well, I break the year down in two parts. The first goal is to make the Chase. Once we accomplish that goal, it’s time to execute and put ourselves in position to win. Winning the championship was never really a goal of mine. My goal is always to be in the position to win the championship and races. I’d like for us to be faster than we were last year, find a way for us to lead more laps, post more top-five finishes, get more bonus points and put ourselves in the position as we were last year but execute a little better.”
You won the Pepsi 400 in 2000 and captured the pole position for last year’s Daytona 500. What would it mean to you if you won this year’s Daytona 500?
“Winning the Daytona 500 would be huge. If I look at what I’ve been able to accomplish in winning races, there are two races that I would like to add to that list – the Daytona 500 and the Brickyard. I’ve won the Southern 500, Coca-Cola 600, and a race at Daytona (but not the 500). I’ve been fortunate to win some big races but winning the Daytona 500 is certainly missing from my resume. That would be something I could look back on later in life. Seeing a Daytona 500 trophy sitting in my trophy case would be really cool.”
Team Cingular participated in Preseason Thunder testing at Daytona in January. What are your assessments on how the test went?
“Our test certainly didn’t go as well as it did last year. At the same time, one thing I’ve learned about this race team is that when we don’t run well on Fridays or Saturdays we don’t walk out of the garage thinking that we’re going to not run well on Sunday. Scott Miller does a really good job of turning things around and making them better. We didn’t come back from the test feeling like we ran well enough, which means Scott and the rest of Team Cingular are working really hard at making the car better. I’m not nearly as optimistic as I was at this point last year about Daytona but when we get down there, we’ll see what we have. We put a plan in place and the thing we didn’t do well last year was race well at either Daytona races. We struggled with handling and we decided this year we were going to build some cars that would drive better and not get caught up in how fast the car would go by itself. We’re going to stick to that plan. We’ve got to get closer on our speeds so we are going to have to work on some things but we’re not going to steer completely away from our plan.”
How important is it to have teammates in a restrictor plate race?
“I think the whole teammate portion is blown out of proportion a little bit. Teammates work well when it’s beneficial for both drivers to work with each other. You can’t ask your teammate to do something that’s going to hurt him. At the same time, it’s a great feeling knowing that your teammate is behind you when a driver is leading the race with two or three laps to go because you believe that he will go with you when you make your move. But again, he can’t go with you if it’s going to hurt him. In some ways it’s almost a nuisance because people get mad when they can’t help each other. What we do here at RCR is if you can help me without hurting yourself, then do it. But if you’re going to hurt yourself to help me, then I don’t expect it.”
RICHARD CHILDRESS QUOTES:
You know the feeling of winning the Daytona 500. What would it mean to you and RCR if you won this year’s event?
“All winter all I thought about was winning the Daytona 500. It’s been a while since RCR has won a restrictor plate race and it just feels like it’s our time to win it this year. I feel real good about our chances of winning the race.”
What are your thoughts on the changes to this year’s Chase format?
“I think it’s going to add a lot more excitement. Now that there are 12 drivers eligible to make the Chase, combined with the extra points you get for winning races, it’s going to throw in some extra excitement. It’s definitely a neat deal. With only 10 drivers on stage for the season-ending banquet, you don’t want to be one of the two drivers that’s left out, that’s for sure.”
