Race 2 Win: Sprint Cup Series Race Notes

Sprint Cup Series

Food City 500 - Jeff Burton Notes

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

Event/Date: Food City 500 – March 16, 2008
Venue: Bristol Motor Speedway – Bristol, Tenn.

NOTES:

This Week’s AT&T Chevrolet at Bristol Motor Speedway … Jeff Burton will pilot chassis No. 204 from the Richard Childress Racing (RCR) NASCAR Cup Series stable, a brand new race car for the 2008 season.

Burton in the Loop at Bristol …

Stat Facts … In 28 NASCAR Cup starts at Bristol Motor Speedway (BMS), Burton has posted seven top-five and 11 top-10 finishes. Since joining RCR in August 2004, Burton has three top-five and four top-10 efforts at the 0.533-mile race track.

The Bristol Report … According to NASCAR’s loop data statistics, Burton is the seventh-best driver in the Average Running Position (ARP) category at BMS. His average running position over the last six races at the Thunder Valley oval is 13.991. The ARP is the sum of the driver position on each lap divided by the number of laps run in the race. Additionally, the 19-time Cup Series winner is the series’ seventh-best quality passer. Since the inception of loop data statistics in 2005, Burton has made 105 passes while running in the top 15 under green-flag conditions.

Since We’re Talking Stats … Burton is the eighth-best driver when it comes to number of laps driven in the top 15. Out of 3,004 total laps, the South Boston, Va., native completed 1,802 laps while running in the top 15 (60.0%). Additionally, he is 10th in the Driver Rating category (90.5). The Driver Rating is a formula that combines the following categories: wins, 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.

This Time Last Year … In what was NASCAR’s first Car of Tomorrow event, the 19-time Cup Series winner battled Kyle Busch on a green-white-checkered finish and ultimately finished second by a margin of 0.064 seconds.

RCR at Bristol … In 102 NASCAR Cup Series starts at Bristol, RCR boasts eight wins – seven with Dale Earnhardt and one with Kevin Harvick – three poles, 26 top-five and 46 top-10 finishes. Additionally, in 35 starts, RCR Nationwide Series teams have claimed five wins – four with Harvick and one with Jeff Green – 15 top-five and 20 top-10 finishes.

Happy Birthday, Wes … Wes Adams, assistant engine assembler for the AT&T Chevy, will celebrate his 37th birthday this Sunday at BMS. At the track, the Winston-Salem, N.C., native’s duties include engine tuning and windshield tear-offs.

Up to Speed … The Food City 500 from Bristol Motor Speedway will take the green flag Sunday, March 16 at 2 p.m. Eastern Daylight Time (EDT) and will be telecast live on FOX. The event will also be broadcast live on the Performance Racing Network (PRN) and Sirius Satellite Radio. Qualifying for the fifth of 36 races on the 2008 NASCAR Cup Series tour will air live on SPEED, PRN and Sirius Satellite Radio Friday, March 14 at 3:30 p.m. EDT.

JEFF BURTON QUOTES:
What are your thoughts on the new surface at Bristol Motor Speedway?
“I thought the new surface was really good. The Cup Series race didn’t yield the same kind of race the Truck and Nationwide races yielded and I don’t know why, but it will. If you want to go to a race to watch the wrecks, you probably won’t like the new surface as much. If you want to watch a better race with more action and true side-by-side racing, with guys passing each other instead of wrecking others, then you’ll like the new surface. I think the new track is going to provide better racing and add more excitement. I’m a huge fan of the new surface and it’s a step in the right direction, for sure.”

Are you concerned that the top groove didn’t work during last season’s fall race after the track was re-surfaced?
“Anytime you get the opportunity to run (a groove) somewhere else, you’re going to figure out how to do that. It’s a whole lot easier to drive on the outside than it is to move guys out of the way. During the Nationwide race, I was able to run the top groove and we were wicked fast. So, I did that in my Cup car, too. We were really fast during Friday’s practice. I was running the high line and everything was good. But for half the race, I was trying to make that work and I had to give up on it. Once I gave up on it, we got good and up through the pack we started coming. I don’t know why it happened but it did and it won’t stay like that for long.”

Assess your late-race battle with Kyle Busch and overall performance in last year’s race.
“We ran really well there. The AT&T Chevy was good on long runs and we caught the strategy right. Scott Miller did a great job calling the race and got us in position to win. We missed a win by half a car length but we ran well and I think we learned a lot. Now the track is different so we have to re-learn everything but we feel good about where we are.”

From a driver’s standpoint, what are your thoughts on this weekend’s race?
“You are going to have to trust the fact that the racing is going to be better at Bristol, better than it’s ever been. The race will be very competitive and will be more exciting. We learned a lot about the Impala SS and the best races are ahead of us.”