Jeff Burton
No. 31 AT&T Chevrolet
Event Preview Fact Sheet
Event/Date: Checker Auto Parts 500 presented by Pennzoil – November 11, 2007
Venue: Phoenix International Raceway – Avondale, Ariz.
NOTES:
This Week’s AT&T Chevrolet at Phoenix International Raceway … 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 16 starts at PIR, Jeff Burton boasts two wins, five top-five and eight top-10 finishes to go along with his Busch Series victory in 2000 at the track. In addition, Burton has finished on the lead lap in all but one of his 16 starts at the one-mile desert oval and has led a total of 215 laps.
Right Mix at Phoenix … Since joining RCR in August 2004, Burton has run six races at PIR, garnering a 10.2 average finish with one top-five, three top-10 and six top-15 finishes.
RCR at PIR … In 45 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 18 top-10 finishes at the one-mile desert oval.
Movin’ On Up … Burton’s sixth-place finish at Texas Motor Speedway advanced the NASCAR Cup Series Chase contender one spot to seventh in the point standings. The South Boston, Va., native started this year’s Chase for the Cup 10th in points and, after posting a 43rd-place finish at Talladega due to an expired engine, fell to 12th. Over the next four races, the AT&T Racing team has posted two top-five and three top-10 finishes allowing the team to vault four positions in the point standings. The 19-time Cup Series winner is 431 markers out of the lead and just 74 behind Carl Edwards’ fifth-place tally.
Possible RCR History in the Making … With Harvick’s Busch Series win this past weekend at Texas Motor Speedway, RCR’s Cup and Busch Series teams have collected 16 wins (Harvick – eight, 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.
RCR Drivers Leading the Way at Phoenix … Harvick, who’s currently eighth in the point standings, and Burton lead all Chase participants with two wins each at PIR.
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 Checker Auto Parts 500, 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.
Chevy’s 50th Promotion … To help celebrate the 50th running of the Daytona 500, Chevrolet will be providing 50 race fans from 50 different states a once-in-a-lifetime weekend experience at the Daytona 500 on Feb. 17, 2008, while 10 of those individuals will win a brand new Chevy Impala. Beginning on Oct. 16 and through Dec. 3, fans can visit www.chevy.com/Daytona500 to enter.
Catch the Action … Live coverage of the Checker Auto Parts 500 presented by Pennzoil will be televised on ABC Sunday, November 11 beginning at 3 p.m. Eastern Standard Time (EST). The race will also be broadcast worldwide on the Motor Racing Network (MRN) and Sirius Satellite Radio. Qualifying for the 35th of 36 points paying races will be televised on ESPN2 beginning at 5:30 p.m. EST. MRN and Sirius Satellite Radio will also provide qualifying updates.
JEFF BURTON QUOTES:
It’s been a few years since you’ve been to Victory Lane at Phoenix. What are your thoughts on this weekend’s race?
“We haven’t been as good at Phoenix as we needed to be over the last couple of years. It’s been one of the tracks we have struggled on. We’re using Phoenix as a place to go and try to get better at the one-mile race tracks. We’ve worked hard on that program but the other two teams have done a better job than we have. We’re definitely going to lean heavy on our teammates and try to learn something.”
Phoenix is the last Car of Tomorrow race for this year. Do you think that’s a relief to most teams?
“It’s been a struggle and driving the Car of Tomorrow has been tough but we have a whole year of it coming. We better start getting good at it because there’s not going to be time to get good once the year starts. I’m looking forward to running the Car of Tomorrow next year and Phoenix, because where we are in the points gives us a chance to try some things different and hopefully apply it to next year.”
How would you grade the Car of Tomorrow in its first year of competition?
“I think its okay. I think time is still left to tell. We’ve only run the Car of Tomorrow 13 times and there is a tremendous amount of information that we still don’t know about. I think it’s been good but I think there’s room to grow.”
