Race 2 Win: Sprint Cup Series Race Notes

Sprint Cup Series

NASCAR All-Star Race - Jeff Burton Notes

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

Event/Date: NASCAR All-Star Race – May 17, 2008
Venue: Lowe’s Motor Speedway – Concord, N.C.

NOTES:

This Week’s AT&T Chevrolet at Lowe’s Motor Speedway for the NASCAR All-Star Race … Jeff Burton will race chassis No. 243 from the Richard Childress Racing NASCAR Cup Series stable. Built new for the 2008 season, this is the same car Burton drove to a sixth-place finish at Texas Motor Speedway earlier this year.

Stat Facts …

In 15 full seasons in the NASCAR Cup Series, Burton has competed in the NASCAR All-Star Race 10 times, posting his best finish of fourth in 1998 and 2007. He has two top-five and five top-10 finishes in the NASCAR All-Star Race.

Burton became eligible to compete in this year’s NASCAR All-Star Race when he won at Texas in April 2007. The South Boston, Va., native followed up that victory with a win at Bristol Motor Speedway earlier this year.

Burton won the 2003 Open, claiming the final transfer position for The All-Star event where he went on to finish ninth.

Point of Interest … AT&T driver Jeff Burton currently sits second in the NASCAR Cup Series point standings with RCR teammates Clint Bowyer and Kevin Harvick holding down the fifth and ninth spots, respectively. The 20-time Cup Series winner sits 79 markers behind point leader Kyle Busch.

NASCAR Pit Crew Challenge … The AT&T Pit Crew will participate in the NASCAR Pit Crew Challenge Thursday, May 15 at 7 p.m. at the Time Warner Cable Arena in Charlotte, N.C. All qualified teams for the NASCAR All-Star Race are eligible to compete, which includes NASCAR Cup Series race winners from 2007 and 2008, NASCAR All-Star Race winners of the past 10 years, and NASCAR Cup Series Champions of the past 10 years who are active drivers and have competed in at least one Series event during the 2007 or 2008 season. Also eligible is the 2007 Pit Crew Challenge winner. The remaining unfilled positions will be available to the car owners ranked highest in the 2008 NASCAR Cup Series championship owner points standing as of May 13, 2008, who are not otherwise eligible for the event. Seven members of each team are allowed to compete. For ticket information, visit www.pitcrewchallenge.com or call 1-800-495-2295.

Four All-Star Wins for RCR … RCR has won four NASCAR All-Star Races (formerly The Winston), the most recent coming last year with Harvick. Dale Earnhardt won the event in 1987, which included the legendary “Pass in the Grass.” Earnhardt also went on to claim the checkered flag in 1990 and 1993.

Testing One, Two, Three, Testing … Burton and the AT&T Racing team tested at Lowe’s Motor Speedway May 5-6 in preparation for the All-Star Race and next weekend’s Coca-Cola 600. The test was the fifth of seven allowed under NASCAR’s 2008 testing policy. The remaining tests available to teams in NASCAR’s top division will be conducted at Pocono Raceway (May 27-28) and Lowe’s Motor Speedway (Sept. 23-24).

Up to Speed … Live coverage of the NASCAR Showdown and the NASCAR All-Star Race begins Saturday, May 17 at 7 p.m. Eastern Daylight Time on SPEED. The race will be covered live on the Motor Racing Network and Sirius Satellite Radio. Qualifying is scheduled for Friday, March 16 at 5 p.m. EDT and will be aired live on SPEED.

JEFF BURTON QUOTES:
Do you remember the first time you competed in an All-Star event?
“I distinctly remember the first time I competed in it. I stood on the front straightaway (in 1994) during driver introductions. It was a dark night so you couldn’t see the crowd, but you could hear them and feel them. I remember thinking, ‘This is what excitement is all about and what a pre-race event ought to be.’ I will never forget that feeling.”

Is competing in the All-Star Race still a big deal to you?
“It’s an honor to be in the race. It’s a special race and fans get really get excited about it. It’s a huge deal. The reason I know it’s a big deal is because I have not been in it. The times when we didn’t run well enough to be in it really hurt. Having the perspective of being in the All-Star Race makes you want to run well all the time so you don’t miss out on not being in the race.”

What do you think of the new All-Star format?
“I don’t care if they change the format. However, I think the format should produce good racing. When I say good racing, I think it needs to be a reasonable-length race so the fans and drivers can see some exciting racing. I think that a driver that has one bad lap should have a chance to come back and still win. I think shorter races create more excitement because the longer the runs, the more the cars get spread out. At the same time, you have to be careful and not make the segments too short.”

The All-Star Race qualifying format includes not only you as the driver, but the team as well. What are your thoughts on that?
“That’s how it ought to be. The driver gets so much attention and notoriety where the pit crews don’t get nearly as much as what they deserve. It’s cool that the pit crew is such a big part of how we qualify. They play a big part in the team’s overall performance week in and week out that they deserve to be recognized in the All-Star event, as well.”