Catchfence

2009 NSCS Jeff Burton - (Photo Credit: Sam Greenwood/Getty Images for NASCAR)

· This Week’s Caterpillar Chevrolet at Texas Motor Speedway … Jeff Burton will pilot chassis No. 274 from the Richard Childress Racing NASCAR Sprint Cup Series stable. This is a brand new Caterpillar Chevrolet Impala SS that will be put through its first paces this weekend.

· Burton in the Loop …

§ The Texas Report … In 15 starts at Texas Motor Speedway, Burton boasts two wins, two top-five and six top-10 finishes. According to NASCAR’s loop data statistics, Burton is the sport’s fourth-best Closer at the 1.5-mile oval – a statistic derived from the number of positions improved over the last 10 percent of each race. Burton has gained an average of 1.8 spots over the last eight events held at TMS and has improved a total of 14 positions over the closing 10 percent of those same races.

§ Good Start, Better Finish … Over those same 15 races, he holds a 26.9 starting average to go along with a respectable 16th-place finishing average. The track’s first repeat winner has finished no worse than 13th over the last four races held at the Fort Worth facility.

§ Since We’re Talking Stats … Burton is the series’ 10th-best green-flag passer. He has completed 443 passes under green-flag conditions during his last eight trips to TMS. Additionally, 192 of those passes were made while running in the top 15.

§ How this All Stacks Up … Burton currently holds a Driver Rating of 83.4 at TMS. 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.

· Inaugural Winner … Burton won the inaugural NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race held at Texas Motor Speedway on Apr. 6, 1997, capturing his first NASCAR Sprint Cup Series win. Additionally, the South Boston, Va., native became the track’s first repeat winner when he took the checkers in April 2007.

· Rear View Mirror … Although Burton didn’t have the performance he had hoped for at Martinsville Speedway last weekend, he still finished 15th in the Goody’s Fast Pain Relief 500. Track conditions changed during the middle stages of the 500-lap feature, making it difficult for the 21-time Sprint Cup Series winner to navigate the tricky .526-mile oval with his ill-handling machine. While running 12th during the closing laps, Burton was engaged in a spirited battle with the No. 42 machine, resulting in a cut tire with two laps to go. Nonetheless, the South Boston, Va., native was able to maintain his footing in the top 15 during the final laps and soldiered his way to a 15th-place finish.

· Over the First Six … In the season’s first six events, Burton has earned one top-five and two top-10 finishes and has led 61 laps of competition. He has recorded a 24.8 starting average coupled with a 16.7 finishing average. The veteran driver has completed all but four laps (2,016 of 2,020) contested and sits 13th in points. The No. 31 CAT Racing team sits outside the coveted top 12 by a mere seven points, trailing teammate Kevin Harvick’s 10th-place tally by only 17 markers.

· Double Down in the Lone Star State … In addition to his driving duties with the No. 31 Caterpillar Chevrolet, Burton, a 27-time race winner in the NASCAR Nationwide Series, will drive RCR’s No. 29 Holiday Inn/Holiday Inn Express Chevrolet in the O’Reilly 300 Sat., April 4. The race will air live on ESPN2 beginning at 2:30 p.m. Eastern Daylight Time and will also be broadcast worldwide on the Performance Racing Network and Sirius XM Satellite Radio.

· RCR at TMS … In 43 starts at TMS, dating back to 1997, RCR has recorded one win, five top-five and 16 top-10 finishes with Burton, Clint Bowyer, Dale Earnhardt, Harvick and Jeff Green. Prior to TMS’s inaugural season, Childress, a former driver in NASCAR’s top division, earned a pair of top 10s while he was still behind the wheel at the now defunct Texas World Speedway in College Station.

· Prilosec OTC BBQ Shootout Series … The Prilosec OTC BBQ Shootout Series rolls into NASCAR cities across the nation and is giving fans the opportunity to taste the best in class, meet NASCAR drivers and win tickets to upcoming NASCAR Sprint Cup Series races. Starting this weekend, award winning BBQ Pit Masters from across the country will be firing up their grills during local events to compete for tens of thousands of dollars in prize money – and barbeque bragging rights. Whether the chefs throw down with a dry rub or zesty sauce, lip-smacking BBQ will be available for fans on-site to enjoy. For more information, please visit www.BBQShootoutSeries.com.

· Catch the Driver … On behalf of sponsor Prilosec OTC, Burton will sign autographs at the Wal-Mart store located at 1228 Northwest Highway 377 in Roanoke, Texas on Wed., April 1 from 7 – 8 p.m. The store is situated four miles east of the Texas race track.

· Meet the Press … Burton will be available inside TMS’s infield media center to field questions from the gathered media Fri., Apr. 3 at 10:30 a.m.

· Catch the Action … The Samsung 500 from Texas Motor Speedway will be televised live Sun., Apr. 5 beginning at 1:30 p.m. EDT on FOX and broadcast worldwide on PRN and Sirius XM Satellite Radio. Qualifying for the seventh of 36 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series events will take the green flag at 4:40 p.m. EDT Fri., Apr. 3 and will broadcast live on SPEED, PRN and Sirius XM Satellite Radio.

JEFF BURTON QUOTES:

You’ve ran well at Texas over the past three years. What is your comfort level at that race track?

“We’ve had a lot of good things happen to us at Texas. It’s also one of those places where we’ve run terrible, too. I know that when we go to Texas, it’s not a given that we are going to run well. We have to go earn it. The race two years ago with (Matt) Kenseth was a heck of a race. It was a lot of fun and things fell our way. We were really good on old tires and got a real long run at the end of the race. It worked out well for us. I have the utmost respect for Matt (Kenseth) and to race him for the win meant a great deal to me.”

Is passing difficult at tracks that are fast paced?

“The track slows down a lot in race trim, but it’s still really fast. Goodyear is bringing a new tire to this race that is, hopefully, going to have a lot of grip. Speed should be up and stay there during the whole run. Anytime you have a lot of speed, track position becomes real important because it’s harder to pass. The way you pass is you have to catch a guy who is not handling well. If you’re handling better, you drive by them. The better the cars drive, the harder it is to pass. So, track position is going to be really important. Corner speed is everything at Texas. Turns 2 and 4 are tight coming off the corner so you have to be able to be in the throttle, accelerating off the corners to go fast.”

Is practice at Texas critical?

“It makes it exceptionally important. The key to our sport is taking the time that you have to do anything that you are doing and do it efficiently. If you have an hour practice, you have to use that hour of practice better than your competition. The teams that can do that are the teams that continually have success. Being efficient with your time is really important. This style of car requires that because we’re all still learning different things and without testing, it makes practice that much more important.”

- Richard Childress Racing, Press Release