Race 2 Win: NEXTEL Cup Series Race Notes

Nextel Cup Series

Bank of America 500 - Jeff Burton Notes

Jeff Burton
No. 31 AT&T Chevrolet
Event Preview Fact Sheet

Event/Date: Bank of America 500 – October 13, 2007
Venue: Lowe’s Motor Speedway – Concord, N.C.

NOTES:

This Week’s AT&T Chevrolet at Lowe’s Motor Speedway (LMS) … Jeff Burton will race Chassis No. 155 from the Richard Childress Racing (RCR) stable. Most recently, Burton raced this car to a fourth-place finish at California Speedway. Additionally, this is the same AT&T Chevrolet Burton raced to Victory Lane at Texas Motor Speedway (started second) earlier this year. This car also saw action at California Speedway in February (started eighth, finished fourth), Las Vegas Motor Speedway (started fifth, finished 15th), Atlanta Motor Speedway (started 32nd, finished fourth), Michigan International Speedway in June (started ninth, finished 24th) and Indianapolis Motor Speedway (started 7th, finished 8th).

Stat Facts … In 27 starts at LMS, Burton boasts two wins, four top-five and 12 top-10 finishes. Both of the victories at LMS for the South Boston, Va., native came in the Coca-Cola 600.

RCR at Charlotte … In 93 starts at LMS, RCR has earned four points-paying victories – all of them coming with Dale Earnhardt. Kevin Harvick also recorded an impressive win at the All-Star Challenge in May to go along with Earnhardt’s three victories at the annual all-star showcase, giving RCR eight total Cup Series checkered flags at LMS. Additionally, RCR boasts 16 top-five and 31 top-10 finishes at the 1.5-mile oval with six different drivers including Earnhardt, Ricky Rudd, Mike Skinner, Kevin Harvick and Burton. Richard Childress, a former driver on NASCAR’s senior circuit, contributed two of those top 10s from 1978-1979.

Double Duty … In addition to his driving duties with the No. 31 AT&T Chevrolet at LMS, Burton, a 25-time race winner in the NASCAR Busch Series, will pilot the No. 29 Holiday Inn Chevrolet in the Dollar General 300 Friday, October 12. Live coverage of the event will be televised on ABC beginning at 7 p.m. Eastern Daylight Time (EDT). Qualifying for the 31st race on the 2007 Busch Series calendar will be televised live on ESPN2 the same day at 4 p.m. EDT.

Pit Crew Signing … All three of RCR’s Cup Series over-the-wall teams will be signing autographs at the RCR museum Thursday, October 11. The No. 07 Jack Daniel’s crew will sign from 9:40 a.m. – 10 a.m., the No. 29 Shell-Pennzoil crew from 11:40 a.m. – noon and the No. 31 AT&T crew from 2:40 p.m. – 3 p.m.

RCR Fan Day … RCR will host a special fan day on Friday, October 12 from 9 a.m.-4 p.m. All RCR drivers, including Clint Bowyer, Burton, Harvick, Scott Wimmer and Tim McCreadie, along with team owner Richard Childress will be on hand to sign autographs beginning at 9:30 a.m. In addition to the autograph sessions, there will be museum tours, pit stop ride-a-longs, product discounts, food and live music. Fans should arrive early to get tickets for the autograph sessions and stay all day. Log on to www.rcrracing.com for directions to RCR and more information.

Austin Across the Street … On Wednesday, October 10, Austin Dillon, son of RCR’s Vice President of Competition Mike Dillon and grandson of team owner Richard Childress, will compete at the Dirt Track at Lowe’s Motor Speedway when the World of Outlaws Late Model Series visits Charlotte for the Jani King Southern Showdown. Dillon notched a win at the four-tenths-mile clay oval in May, capturing the checkered flag in the 25-lap Goodyear Fastrak Late Model Challenge event. Gates open at 5 p.m., hot laps are at 6:45 and heat races are slated to begin at 7:30. Tickets are available in advance for $25 for adults and $10 for children 12 and under. Tickets can be purchased by calling 1-800-455-FANS or online at www.lowesmotorspeedway.com.

October is for Birthdays … Three members of the AT&T Racing team will celebrate birthdays this month. Assistant team engineer Aaron Johnston turns 24 on October 15, Gasman Larry Hartle turns 43 on October 23 and catch can man Rich Burgess also turned 43 on October 4.

Up to Speed … The Bank of America 500 from LMS will be televised live on ABC Saturday, October 13 beginning at 7 p.m. EDT. The race will also be broadcast live on PRN and Sirius Satellite Radio. Qualifying for round five in the Chase for the NASCAR Cup will be televised live on ESPN2 Thursday, October 11 at 7 p.m. EDT.

JEFF BURTON QUOTES:
How does the October race at Charlotte vary from the May race?
“I don’t know if it differs a lot. Obviously, they both end at night and you don’t’ go through as big of a transition as you do from day to night in the fall as you do in the spring race. The spring race starts during the day and it’s normally sunny and hot. The fall race starts a little later in the day. The race is shorter so you don’t have a big change from the start of the race to the end of the race. That’s the biggest affect. I think the biggest difference is how the fall race transition doesn’t change as much.”

Last week’s finish at Talladega dropped you to 12th in the point standings. What is the team’s approach on the remaining races in the Chase?
“Obviously, last weekend’s finish wrapped up our championship hopes but we will keep fighting. We’ll continue to go to the last few races with the same approach we have had all year. We don’t come to each track worrying about a championship, we focus on each race. All that we can do as a team is our very best and if we do that, the points up will add up. We can’t control the other teams or worry about what the other teams are doing. We have to focus on what we are doing and do a good job. If we do that, then we’ll be able to battle back and move up in the standings.”