Jeff Burton
No. 31 AT&T Chevrolet
Event Preview Fact Sheet
Event/Date: Subway 500 – October 21, 2007
Venue: Martinsville (Va.) Speedway
NOTES:
This Week’s AT&T Chevrolet at Martinsville Speedway … Jeff Burton will pilot chassis No. 204 from the Richard Childress Racing (RCR) stable. Built new for 2007, Burton raced this car earlier this season at New Hampshire International Speedway in September where he started 23rd and finished 18th.
Stat Facts … In 26 starts at Martinsville, Burton boasts one win, nine top-five and 13 top-10 finishes. Dating back to April 1996, the South Boston, Va., native has not had a DNF (did not finish) at the track in 23 starts.
Testing, Testing … Burton and the AT&T Racing team will test at Nashville (Tenn.) Superspeedway on Wednesday, October 17 in preparation for the remaining races on the 2007 NASCAR Cup Series calendar.
Points Check … Burton’s fourth-place finish at Lowe’s Motor Speedway vaulted the NASCAR Cup Series Chase contender two spots to 10th in the point standings. The 19-time Cup Series winner is 336 markers out of the lead and just 126 markers out of Carl Edwards’ fifth-place tally.
RCR at Martinsville … In 97 previous NASCAR Cup Series starts at Martinsville, RCR has earned three poles and posted six wins between Ricky Rudd and Dale Earnhardt. Additionally, team owner Richard Childress has earned 22 top-five and 37 top-10 finishes at the .526-mile paper clip-shaped track dating back to April 10, 1972. Childress, a former driver in NASCAR’s top division, contributed four of those top 10s from 1976-1978.
Possible History in the Making … With Burton’s Busch Series win this past weekend at Lowe’s Motor Speedway, RCR’s Cup and Busch Series teams have collected 15 wins (Harvick – seven, Burton –five 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 Earnhardt had five wins in the NASCAR Cup Series and Mike Skinner had eight in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series.
Carry Me Back to Old Virginia … Five members of the AT&T Racing team hail from the Old Dominion State. AT&T driver Jeff Burton was born and raised in South Boston. Gear specialist and fuel runner Curt Bowman calls Meadows of Dan his hometown. Transporter driver Franky Nester was born in Ridgeway and now resides in Stoneville. Other gear specialist Greg Meredeth was born and still resides in Fancy Gap and tire specialist Tracey Ramsey is from Waynesboro.
Catch the Action … The Subway 500 at Martinsville Speedway will be televised live Sunday, October 21 beginning at 1:30 p.m. Eastern Daylight Time (EDT) on ABC and will be broadcast worldwide on the Motor Racing Network (MRN) and Sirius Satellite Radio. Qualifying for the 32nd of 36 NASCAR Cup Series events will take the green flag at 3:30 p.m. EST Friday, October 19 and will be telecast live on ESPN2, MRN and Sirius Satellite Radio.
JEFF BURTON QUOTES:
You gained two positions in the point standings with your fourth-place finish at Charlotte last week. What is your take on the team’s championship run right now?
"Well, realistically it's pretty clear that we'd have to have a pretty odd set of circumstances to get ourselves in position to win the championship. But, we have to do our job as if we still have a shot. You never know what can happen in any kind of sport and this is certainly one of the more volatile sports. We have to continue to work hard. There is a sense, though, of getting ready for next year. There is a sense of making the most out of this year. Eighth in points is better than 12th and sixth is better than eighth. We still have goals we want to try and meet. We want to win races but right now we're not looking real hard at the points situation."
Talladega is considered a wild card race in the Chase. Is Martinsville considered a wild card race, as well?
“Martinsville is another volatile race in The Chase. I think that with how hard we use the brakes, there is potential for mechanical problems or getting into a wreck and we could have some Chase drivers who don’t get through Martinsville. I think Martinsville, like Talladega, stands out as a race which has the potential to have an impact on a lot of Chase contenders. There’s no question that any race we go to people will have trouble but I think Martinsville is a race that has the potential for a lot of people to have trouble.”
