Jeff Burton
No. 31 AT&T Chevrolet
Event Preview Fact Sheet
Event/Date: Dodge Dealers 400 – September 23, 2007
Venue: Dover (Del.) International Speedway
NOTES:
This Week’s AT&T Chevrolet at Dover International Speedway … Jeff Burton will pilot chassis No. 164 from the Richard Childress Racing (RCR) stable. Built new for 2007, this is the AT&T Chevrolet Impala SS Burton raced to a 13th-place finish at Phoenix (started 31st) and to a 12th-place finish at Bristol (started 10th) in the fall. Additionally, this chassis competed at Richmond in the spring (started 39th) where Burton finished 43rd after his engine expired on lap 137 while running 15th.
Stat Facts … In 27 starts at Dover, Burton boasts one win, six top-five and 10 top-10 finishes.
Last Time Around … Defending race winner Jeff Burton captured the checkered flag at last season’s fall race, snapping a 176-race winless streak. He and former teammate Matt Kenseth battled for the top spot over the closing laps before Burton captured the lead on lap 395 when Kenseth ran out of fuel.
Winning Chase Tracks … Including Burton’s NASCAR Busch Series victories at Atlanta, the South Boston, Va., native has won at seven of the 10 race tracks which make up the Chase to the NASCAR Cup. The only tracks where he hasn’t claimed the checkers are Kansas, Talladega and Homestead.
Talk to the Driver … AT&T driver Jeff Burton will be a special guest on Dover International Speedway’s (DIS) teleconference media call Wednesday, September 19 at 10 a.m. Eastern Daylight Time (EDT). For information on joining the teleconference, please contact Gary Camp at DIS via email (gcamp@dovermotorsports.com) or by phone (302-883-6560).
Make it Four … Scott Wimmer will attempt to qualify for his second NASCAR Cup Series race of the season at DIS driving the No. 33 Holiday Inn Chevrolet Impala SS, giving RCR four entries in the Dodge Dealers 400. Wimmer was behind the wheel of the No. 33 at Indianapolis Motor Speedway in July, where he started 22nd and finished 33rd after being involved in an incident on pit road.
History in the Making??? … With Bowyer’s Cup Series win this past weekend at New Hampshire International Speedway, RCR’s Cup and Busch Series teams have collected 14 wins (Harvick – seven, Burton –four and Bowyer – three) so far this season. The record was set last year when all three RCR drivers collected a total of 17 wins. Previously, the record was 13 in 1995 when Dale Earnhardt had five wins in the NASCAR Cup Series and Mike Skinner had eight in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series.
RCR at Dover … RCR team owner Richard Childress has earned four wins at DIS, the latest of which came last September when Burton drove the No. 31 machine into Victory Lane during the Dover 400. The other three wins came with Dale Earnhardt, who won both events at the “Monster Mile” in 1989 and the spring race in 1993. Additionally, RCR has earned one pole, 20 top-five and 35 top-10 finishes at the high-banked concrete oval. Childress, a former driver in NASCAR’s top division, contributed three of those top 10s from 1976-1980.
Up Close and Personal … The No. 31 team will be one of five teams featured this weekend on DIRECTV’S NASCAR HOTPASS. With a channel dedicated solely to the AT&T Racing team during the running of the Dodge Dealers 400, fans will be able to watch all the action through DIRECTV’s multiple camera angles, real-time car telemetry and listen to in-car audio communication.
Up to Speed … Live coverage of the Dodge Dealers 400 from Dover International Speedway begins Sunday, September 23 at 1 p.m. Eastern Daylight Time (EDT) and will be telecast live on ABC. The event will also be broadcast live on the Motor Racing Network (MRN) and Sirius Satellite Radio. Qualifying for round two of the 10-race Chase tour will be broadcast live on ESPN2 Friday, September 21 beginning at 3 p.m. EDT and can be heard worldwide on MRN and Sirius Satellite Radio.
JEFF BURTON QUOTES:
Your win last year at Dover came at a great time with you being in the Chase. What was it like for you to break a 176-race winless streak?
“To win, in the fashion that we got it in with battling against Matt Kenseth, was a dramatic way to win a race. Everyone was worried about the streak of non-wins more than I was. I’ve always been concerned about race by race rather than what we did two or three years ago. It was good to get back in Victory Lane, there’s no question about it, but it also reminded me that we’re still capable of winning races. It was good for the team. It wasn’t about me. I think this is the most underrated team in the garage and it was real rewarding for those guys.”
Talk about last year’s dramatic finish.
“Well, first of all, you have to remember I was racing against Matt Kenseth, one of the best drivers in the world. When I caught him, not only did he find a way to slow me down, he also found a way to pick up speed. If you looked at his lap times, as soon I got to him he got faster. He picked his race up, which obviously made it harder for me and then drove the line where I wanted to go. I wasn’t going to knock him out of the way because he wouldn’t knock me out of the way. The only way to win was the right way and we did that.”
Dover seems to be one of the tougher tracks we go to out of the 10 Chase tracks. Do you agree?
“It is, but I’m glad that track is in the Chase. What’s important for the Chase is a good cross-section of race tracks that we run at during the year. Dover is the kind of race track that is very demanding physically, emotionally and structurally for the race car. I think it fits in the Chase. It’s an example of a race track that demands the most out of everything and I think that is what racing is all about.”
