Race 2 Win: NEXTEL Cup Series Race Notes

Nextel Cup Series

Subway Fresh Fit 500 - Jeff Burton Notes

Jeff Burton
No. 31 Cingular Wireless Chevrolet Impala SS
Event Preview Fact Sheet

Event/Date: Subway Fresh Fit 500 – April 21, 2007
Venue: Phoenix International Raceway – Avondale, Ariz.

NOTES:

This Week’s Race Car Phoenix International Raceway … Jeff Burton will pilot chassis No. 193 from the Richard Childress Racing (RCR) stable. Built new for the 2007 season, Burton tested this “Car of Tomorrow” chassis at Richmond International Raceway April 3-4.

Burton in the Loop at Phoenix … o Stat Facts … In 13 starts at Phoenix International Raceway (PIR), Burton boasts two wins, five top-five and eight top-10 finishes. Additionally, the South Boston, Va., native captured victory in the 2000 NASCAR Busch Series event at PIR. o Leading the Way … Burton has posted five top-five and six top-10 finishes so far this season and has yet to finish a race outside the top-15. Additionally, the 19-time NASCAR Cup Series race winner is one of only three drivers who have completed every lap so far this season. He has also completed 86.2% of the total laps (2,053 of 2,382 laps) running in the top-15. o Better than Average … Team Cingular’s strong performances continue to show as Burton continues to lead all drivers in the Average Running Position category. His average running position of 8.770 is the sum of his positions on each lap divided by the laps run in the race. o Rate this … Burton gained two spots in NASCAR’s Driver Rating rankings after his win last weekend at Texas Motor Speedway. He currently sits second (108.4) behind leader Jeff Gordon (112.7). The Driver Rating is a formula that combines the following categories: wins, finishes, top-15 finishes, average running position while on the lead lap, average speed under green, fastest lap, most laps led and lead-lap finishes. The maximum points a driver can earn in each race is 150 points. The Driver Rating number is used pre-race as a prediction tool and post-race as a performance evaluator.

What a Difference a Year Makes … In the season’s first seven races, Burton currently enjoys a solid 14.6 starting average and a 5.0 finishing average. He also sits second in the championship point standings. Over those same seven races last season, Burton’s average start was 11.06 coupled with a 20.3 finishing average. He was 16th in points at this time last year.

Double Duty … In addition to his driving duties with the No. 31 Cingular Chevrolet, Burton, a 24-time race winner in the NASCAR Busch Series, will drive RCR’s No. 29 Holiday Inn Chevrolet in the Bashas’ Supermarkets 200 Friday, April 20. The race will air live on ESPN2 beginning at 9:30 p.m. Eastern Daylight Time (EDT) and can also be heard on the Motor Racing Network (MRN) and Sirius Satellite Radio.

And the Winner Is … On behalf of State Farm, Burton attended the 2007 CMT Music Award show on Monday night. Along with country music artists Blake Shelton and Taylor Swift, Burton presented the Video Director of the Year award to

RCR at PIR … In 42 races at Phoenix, RCR has earned three wins including Kevin Harvick’s sweep of both races at PIR last season. Prior to that, Dale Earnhardt won the Checker 500 on November 4, 1990. Additionally, RCR boasts 10 top-five and 17 top-10 finishes at the one-mile desert oval.

Four to Go … RCR has earned a NEXTEL Cup Series victory at 18 of the 22 tracks on the 2007 schedule. With Burton’s win last week at Texas Motor Speedway, the only tracks on the current schedule where RCR hasn’t earned wins are California Speedway, Homestead-Miami Speedway, Las Vegas Motor Speedway and Kansas Speedway. Additionally, RCR has NEXTEL Cup wins at 21 tracks, the three defunct tracks being North Wilkesboro, Riverside and Rockingham.

Million Dollar Man … With his victory at Texas Motor Speedway last weekend, Burton has already topped the $2 million mark in earnings for the 2007 season, totaling $2,070,662 in seven starts.

Up to Speed … The Subway Fresh Fit 500 at PIR will be televised live Saturday, April 21 beginning at 8 p.m. EDT on FOX and broadcast live on the Motor Racing Network (MRN) and Sirius Satellite Radio. Qualifying for the eighth of 36 NASCAR Cup Series events will take the green flag at 6 p.m. EDT Thursday, April 19 and will be broadcast live on SPEED, MRN and Sirius Satellite Radio.

JEFF BURTON QUOTES:
A lot of people say that RCR has a great flat track program. What are your thoughts heading into Phoenix?
“Well, that’s because Kevin Harvick is great there. He’s the guy who has made everyone focus more on our flat track program. I have worked on myself to try and find a way to race better at Phoenix. We barely had two top-10 finishes and we didn’t compete at the level the 29 (Kevin Harvick) did and we have to find a way to do things better. We’ve worked hard on our flat track program. We’re racing the Car of Tomorrow this weekend so there are a lot of changes that come with the program. I worked on how I drive the car in order to help that program a little bit and the team has worked exceptionally hard on trying to make the car turn better in the corners. We’ll see what happens.”

Do you enjoy racing at Phoenix?
“I love going to Phoenix. It’s one of the fun race tracks we go to. For a flat race track, it puts on great races. The track has multiple grooves. You can run the middle groove in turns one and two and the middle groove in turns three and four. The grooves change all the time. Some races you can go out there and run way up by the wall and the next race you can’t. You never know what race track you are going to get and, to me, that makes it a lot of fun.”

You started 37th and finished ninth in last year’s race. You had to do some serious passing to pull off a finish like that.
“It was one of those days where we were being methodical. We never made a big move where we went from 37th to 15th in one run. We just made little gains throughout the race, and when the race was over, we finished ninth. We weren’t nearly as competitive as we needed to be. That kind of kick started the focus on our flat track program. We started doing things differently and worked smarter at it. It also made me look at my driving style. It was one of those days where we didn’t run well but we made something decent out of it and that’s what you have to do. Not every race are you going to be in position to win.”