Catchfence

Jeff Burton - Photo Credit: Todd Warshaw/Getty Images

Race Notes and Quotes

This Week’s Caterpillar Chevrolet at New Hampshire Motor Speedway … Jeff Burton will pilot Chassis No. 323 from the Richard Childress Racing NASCAR Sprint Cup Series stable. Built new for 2010, this RCR Chevrolet was put through its first paces at Kansas Speedway last October where the South Boston, Va., native was credited with an 18th-place finish after starting 23rd. Burton then raced this No. 31 racer at Phoenix International Raceway earlier this season and was credited with a 26th-place effort after being involved in a multi-car incident just 60 laps into the 312-lap showdown. Most recently, this RCR entry ran competitively at Richmond International Raceway where Burton drove it to a 16th-place result.

Record Holder … Burton holds the most track records at NHMS – most wins (four), most laps led by a race winner (300 – September 2000), least laps led by a race winner (two – July 1999) and track race record (Time 2:42:35, Speed 117.134 mph – July 1997).

Loudon Details … In 32 Sprint Cup Series starts at NHMS, Burton boasts four wins, eight top-five and 13 top-10 finishes and has led for a total of 783 laps. He has a 19.9 starting average coupled with a respectable 13.5 finishing average. Additionally, the South Boston, Va., native is one of four drivers who have competed in all 32 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series events at “The Magic Mile.”

Where It All Began … NHMS is the site of Burton’s first NASCAR Sprint Cup Series start on July 11, 1993. The 44-year-old driver started sixth and finished 37th, driving Filbert Martocci’s No. 0 entry. Since then, Burton has recorded six poles, 21 wins, 128 top fives, 237 top 10s and has led 6,413 laps in 601 races throughout 18 seasons in NASCAR’s senior circuit.

Loopy in Loudon … According to NASCAR’s loop data statistics that were compiled over the last 12 races at the 1.058-mile short track, Burton is the sports fifth best driver when it comes to racing inside the top 15 (71.6 percent), ranks sixth amongst his competitors with an average running position of 11.725 and seventh in the Driver Rating category with 94.6.

JEFF BURTON QUOTES:

In last year’s races at Loudon, you had promising top-five runs diminish in the closing laps for different circumstances (late-race incident and fuel strategy). How do you enter this weekend’s race? “It’s a clean slate when we go back to Loudon this weekend. That’s one thing about this sport – you have to move on and not dwell on what happened in the past. We have, certainly, been in great positions to have good finishes and even possibly a win but the way we look at it is we would have to do something different anyways. Tires, track conditions and cars change. You always want to learn and apply what you learned in the past because it’s important but, at the same time, you have to look ahead and figure out how to be better.”

It seems as though there is a lot of contact between the drivers on the race track at Loudon.

“Some races are pretty calm at Loudon and some are pretty aggressive. Restarts are definitely tough. The cars slide around a lot and its one of the places we go to that is hard to have good, clean restarts because the cars don’t make a lot of grip for the first three or four laps. A lot of times, you see contact on the restarts but, short of that, it’s a pretty typical race track.”

The Cat Racing team has struggled somewhat this year. What’s been your mindset this season?

“It’s important to separate what is truly out of you and your teams control and what was in everyone’s control. When you really, truly separate it, it’s easier to deal with. When you start attributing everything to bad luck, you’ve taken control of your destiny out of your hands. That’s exceptionally hard to deal with because, even if you are the best driver with the best pit crew and crew chief, you still aren’t going to win because it’s not in your control. You have to recognize the areas you need to improve in and you have to recognize the areas you couldn’t control. The stuff that you really and truly couldn’t control you’ll find are a lot less than the ones you can (control). So, if you are willing to learn and be better, to me, that mindset gets you through the tough times. If you believe in yourself and the group that you work with then when things are tough and it’s a bad day, you’ll get through it. That’s what helps me.”

- Richard Childress Racing, Press Release