A Quality Chat With Jeff Burton

Jeff Burton is a classic fan favorite. At least he is here at NBaP. He's been around long enough to know what it takes. He's adapted well enough to stay in contention, and it's just great to see all his hard work get rewarded every now and then and not watch Jeff fade into obscurity like some other drivers may have with time.

Earlier this week, Jeff Burton sat down with the press to chat about a few things. Let's see what he had to say on a few different subjects:

Coming to Phoenix, Jeff has won twice here so you would think it's a good track for Jeff. Despite that, he has some concern being as the team has not done as well as they need to. They're hoping to turn the tables this week for the 12th place sitting team.

His Take On The Economy
It's not as bad as they initially worried it might be, Jeff's take is that sometimes people just have to

"..buy milk first before rather than going to a race, and that's OK. That's a decision people should make."
Regardless, he knows the sport has lot of loyal fans, and he appreciates that.

His take on Marco Ambrose as a driver.
He said he hasn't had a lot of interaction with him but added that everyone is impressed with what he's been able to do this year as far as running competitively, barring engine issues.

Like any rookie, he's feeling his way through it and he thinks what Marcos has done is good.

NBaP LOL Moment:

Jeff was asked if he could understand Marcos when he talks with him.

Jeff said "I grew up with Ward, so I can understand pretty much anybody."

About drivers reaching out to more fans:
A lot boils down to how much time the drivers have to spend. The sponsors have always been the driving force behind the fan interaction with autograph sessions, sweepstakes and other things. Now that racetracks are stepping up to the plate and holding fan events. Everyone needs to do as much as possible on a race weekend to make the experience fun for everyone.

On the lug nut issues at Texas, where lug nuts are falling off because of the new
stud rule, gluing issue.

"Well, the stud length rule, the theory behind that, is that if you don't have enough threads on the nut side of the wheel, it's dangerous. The problem is the more threads there are, the longer it takes to tighten it up. In a competitive-based business, when our tire changers are paid and given the charge to do it quicker than the next guy, making it take longer – it doesn't make it safer. In some ways that can actually make it less safe because you have to stay on the lug nut longer."
He feels the idea behind the rule is sound, but the practice of isn't working out quite yet.

Yet, he doesn't lose sleep over the impact the issue can have on him. His focus is abut the things he can control such as getting on pit road, getting on good, putting the car where he needs to put it and all the other driving parts to the equation.

Otherwise, he says his guys work exceptionally hard and he feels like he's in good hands.

About Sponsors Demanding More For Their Money These Days

Jeff replied, "It's a buyer's market. I don't care what you're buying, except for maybe handguns and ammunition, it's a buyer's market."

His take is that corporate America is really smart and that's why they're where they're at. They're always gonna be looking for added value, there's no question about it.

And with that, teams need to be proactive in what they offer, but it's a fine line between getting a great deal and pricing yourself out of the position to be competitive.

Having "owned" Phoenix earlier this decade, does he think that if they unload a halfway decent car, can he contend for the win?
He feels they can contend for the win and it will take the entire team to do it.

"I can't just sit back and say, I've won her before, you just got to give me a good car. Getting a good car has a lot to do with the driver's input, what the driver thinks he needs out of the car. There's a lot to it other than unloading it. I believe we can go to Phoenix and compete at a high level and contend for a win."

On The Challenges Of RCR Adding A Fourth Team
It's been very difficult, having to build 25% more cars and have more employees. Despite new issues from having four teams, he feels that ultimately it will make them stronger.

Does a racecar driver have to ignite the fire in their belly or does it burn constantly?

He says everyone is human and they have their up and down days. There's even different times in your life or in your day even where you're not as motivated as others. He feels it's important to stay focused.

Despite getting older, he hasn't lost the competitive edge everyone says would happen. Yet he can't predict anything.

"I may only go to Phoenix for three or four more years. I don't know. I want to go for 10 more years, but I don't know if I'll be able to."
"I'm more motivated today than I was when I was 18 because I understand how special it is. I've lost it, and now I have it back. I want to make sure that I don't lose it again."