Jeff Burton will race chassis No. 393 from the Richard Childress Racing NASCAR Sprint Cup Series stable this weekend. This is a brand new No. 31 Chevrolet that will turn its first laps at the “Monster Mile” this weekend.
Burgundy and Gray … Burton’s No. 31 Chevrolet will sport the burgundy and gray colors of Winston-Salem, N.C.-based BB&T this weekend. The No. 31 BB&T Chevrolet paint scheme debuted in March at Bristol Motor Speedway and made appearances this season at Martinsville Speedway, Richmond International Raceway and Darlington Raceway along with a special edition co-branded paint scheme with Caterpillar during NASCAR’s Sprint All-Star Race Weekend at Charlotte Motor Speedway.
Career Dover Stats … This weekend’s 400-mile event marks Burton’s 37th start at the one-mile facility and 632nd-career Sprint Cup Series entry. Burton garnered one win, eight top-five and 15 top-10 finishes at the track, leading 136 laps.
No Stranger to Victory Lane … Burton has made two previous visits to Dover International Speedway’s Victory Lane in Sprint Cup Series and NASCAR Nationwide Series competition. Both victories came with the Welcome, N.C.-based RCR during the 2006 season, notching one win in each series.
Getting Loopy in “The First State” … Burton has accrued impressive NASCAR Loop Data statistics at Dover International Speedway since their inception in 2006. Of all drivers entering the event, he has the most green flag passes (660) with 358 coming while running in the top 15 (sixth-most). Burton has also spent 3,699 laps in the top 15, which ranks him 10th amongst his competitors. He also has the ninth-best average running position (13.47) and a ninth-best 90.0 driver rating at the Dover, Del.-based facility.
Official Bank of RCR … BB&T is one of the largest financial services holding companies in the U.S. with $174.6 billion in assets and market capitalization of $14.9 billion, as of Dec. 31, 2011. Based in Winston-Salem, N.C., the company operates approximately 1,800 financial centers in 12 states and Washington, D.C., and offers a full range of consumer and commercial banking, securities brokerage, asset management, mortgage and insurance products and services. A Fortune 500 company, BB&T is consistently recognized for outstanding client satisfaction by J.D. Power and Associates, the U.S. Small Business Administration, Greenwich Associates and others. The RCR partnership with BB&T has enjoyed great success both on and off the track in the past five years, including the 2008 NASCAR Nationwide Series driver’s championship with Clint Bowyer and multiple trips to victory lane in NASCAR’s premiere division at Richmond International Raceway and Talladega Superspeedway. The relationship began at the start of the 2007 Nationwide Series season and moved up to Sprint Cup Series action in 2009.More information about BB&T and its full line of products and services is available at www.BBT.com.
Vote for Burton … The Drive for the Cover campaign has officially kicked off and Burton has the opportunity to grace the cover of NASCAR The Game: Inside Line. The campaign will position 32 drivers in a five-round bracket-style tournament and fans will select the cover driver for this year’s game. Fans can vote one time per day on the NASCAR The Game: Inside Line Facebook page at http://www.driveforthecover.com/jeffburton.
Race Rewind … Burton and the No. 31 Wheaties Chevrolet team finished 19th after a tire issue late in the race forced the RCR team to make an unscheduled green-flag pit stop in the Coca-Cola 600 at Charlotte Motor Speedway.
Points Racing … Burton has scored 300 points and sits 17th in the Sprint Cup Series driver championship point standings. After 12 points-paying events of the 36-race Sprint Cup Series season, Burton has one top-five and three top-10 finishes. The veteran RCR driver has spent 1,451 laps running in the top 15, has made 1,346 green-flag passes and led 34 laps.
JEFF BURTON QUOTES:
What are your overall thoughts on Dover International Speedway? “Dover (International Speedway) is a track where we normally run well. The track is pretty consistent between the two races in June and September. I really like the track. It is fun and you must be aggressive. We’ve had some good race cars there and won a race in 2006. It’s one of those race tracks where I’m really comfortable and feel like we should run well.”
Is Dover International Speedway really as intimidating as they make it out to be? “If you say Dover (International Speedway) doesn’t intimidate you, you are lying. I couldn’t think of a more perfect nickname than the “Monster Mile.” You have to be exceptionally aggressive, but if you cross the line, you will be in trouble. It’s an incredible race track and a huge challenge, but I like going there.”
What kind of setup do you need to win at a track like Dover International Speedway? “As long as I’ve gone to Dover (International Speedway), it has always been a fight between how loose I can be so that I can make speed, against how tight is too tight. It’s like that every time. You always know what the fight will be going into Dover. You see drivers go there and run well for a certain period of time, but then fall off for certain periods. For me, I know what our struggles will be going in and have an idea what we need to do to get into contention for a victory.”
