Sonoma Raceway Hosting A Breakfast with Jeff Burton

If you're a fan of Jeff Burton and you're headed to the Sonoma race weekend on June 21/22/23, boy, you might be in luck!

Sonoma Raceway is hosting a breakfast session with Jeff Burton on Friday, June 21st, from 8:30am to 10am.

Their flyer says "Get your race ticket and Heart Walk with Jeff for just $25.

To check out more details, and maybe even buy tickets for some quality time with Jeff Burton, and helping a good cause, go to RaceSonoma.com for more info/details.

-Bruce

Jeff Burton & Richard Childress To Unveil 2013 Chevy in Peoria, Ill (Appearance Alert)

Jeff Burton and Richard Childress are making a public appearance on December 5th.

Sometimes, fans have to scramble to catch their favorites in some of their public appearances.  I remember chasing down Jack Roush at a Galpin Ford in Van Nuys, CA and getting autographs.  It was cool to do.  Now, if any fans live near Peoria, you could have a shot at seeing Jeff Burton or Richard Childress!

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via RCR Press Release

NASCAR Sprint Cup Series driver Jeff Burton and team owner Richard Childress will unveil the 2013 No. 31 Caterpillar Chevrolet SS on Wednesday, December 5 at the new Caterpillar Visitors Center located behind Caterpillar world headquarters in downtown Peoria, Ill.

"Caterpillar has invited Richard (Childress) and I to tour their new world-class Visitors Center and we are encouraging NASCAR fans to come visit too," said Jeff Burton. "We are bringing the No. 31 hauler for fans to tour and unveiling the new 2013 Caterpillar Chevrolet SS that I will be driving next season. I think fans are really going to like the look of the new car."

Burton and Childress will take part in an autograph session 5 to 7 p.m. Central Time and everyone attending the event will receive a 2013 Sprint Cup Series schedule poster. The Richard Childress Racing No. 31 team hauler will be on display for fans to tour throughout the day beginning at 10 a.m. The 80' hauler transports the No. 31 Caterpillar Chevrolet to all 36 Sprint Cup Series races across the country.

For additional information on this event, please visit CATRacing.com and RCRRacing.com.  For ticket information, visit www.caterpillar.com/visitors-center.

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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."

JEFF BURTON Preseason Thunder Interview

Here's some insider news from one of the many press interviews held at Preseason Thunder at Daytona last week:

Jeff Burton will be driving the No. 31 Caterpillar Chevrolet for Richard Childress Racing racing this year.

They're pretty excited about the upcoming year though like everyone else, still holds a bit of reservation with the no testing rule. Despite that, they feel their engine program has improved and they feel good about coming to Daytona, despite the unknowns.

He touched on how though we've been hearing about the proving grounds in relation to questions about the testing ban, it's was interesting to hear that the proving grounds are nothing new to the major players (teams) and that teams are headed to Rockingham and anything else they can do to get some testing under their belts.

And as I've observed and about to mention, he put out there that this is not a literal testing ban, but it's more a testing restriction. So teams will still be testing, but it's just seems so much more apparent due to the lack of track time the fans are used to seeing at Daytona.

Burton also noted how other facilities are looking to update their tracks with the intent of now being usable as a testing area.

The one thing Jeff sees as to what the team needs to improve on is speed. They need to lead more laps and be in the position to win more races.

He added it's not just about throwing money at the car, but it's also in the hands of the driver as "The drivers have a huge play in how fast our cars go, so we have to be willing to look at ourselves and try to find a way to be better, as well."

This in my mind would equate to how aggressive or not one would be hitting the corners, coming out of the corners, the meticulous approach to ones line. They all play a factor. It's been my experience that the less aggressive one is at the front of a fuel run, and you get to run without a yellow interrupting your fuel run, then there is a slight reward at the end of the fuel run as far as how much your tires have fallen off. It's not the most aggressive approach, but it has it's merit. This is just one example I can think of off the top of my head.

On Carl Edwads winning the championship this year: "The question is from a competition standpoint, have other people narrowed the gap, have they become complacent? Carl is going to drive hard and drive very effectively, but this sport is a moving target. You know, it's hard to go into a year and pick a team, but if you had to pick a team, the 99 team would certainly be one of those that you would pick."

Another insightful conversation with Jeff Burton folks.

source: nascar media; photo: Rusty Jarrett/Getty Images

Jeff Burton Milestone

This is cool news for the safety advocate of NASCAR, Jeff Burton.

When he starts on Sunday, Jeff Burton will be making his 500th start after 16 years of competition.

source

The 31 Team can Keep Their Present Sponsor

Great news for Jeff Burton, Richard Childress Racing and the 31 team:

AT&T can appear on Burton car through 2008! AT&T will be allowed to sponsor the NASCAR Nextel Cup car through 2008 but must come off after next season, said David Garver, AT&T executive director of business development and wireless sponsorship. As part of the agreement, NASCAR agreed to drop the $100 million countersuit against AT&T.

It's short term ( a one year extension) but it doesn't leave the 31 team in the lurch.

scenedaily

Another AT & T twist

Cingular / AT & T signed a multi year deal with the Childress 31 car, and Jeff Burton has also signed a contract extension.

RCRacing

Now that's showing some faith in the system all around!!