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Jeff Burton, No. 31 LENOX Industrial Tools Chevrolet Impala SS New Hampshire Preview

NOTES:

This Week’s LENOX Industrial Tools Chevrolet at New Hampshire Motor Speedway … Jeff Burton will pilot Chassis No. 204 from the Richard Childress Racing NASCAR Cup Series stable. Built new for 2007, Burton raced this car in September at New Hampshire Motor Speedway (st. 23rd, fn. 18th), in October at Martinsville Speedway (st. 18th, fn. 12th) and in November at Phoenix International Raceway (st. 12th, fn. ninth). Most recently, the 20-time Cup Series winner drove this chassis to Victory Lane at Bristol Motor Speedway earlier this year.

Record Holder … Burton seems to know his way around NHMS as he owns a few track records of his own, including 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 1999).

Stat Facts … In 26 Cup Series starts at NHMS, Burton boasts four wins, seven top-five and 12 top-10 finishes and has led for a total of 694 laps. He has a 20.1 starting average coupled with a 13.2 finishing average. Additionally, the South Boston, Va., native is one of four drivers who have competed in all 26 NASCAR Cup Series events at the “Magic Mile.”

From the Start … NHMS was the site of Burton’s first NASCAR Cup Series start on July 11, 1993.

Happy Birthday Jeff … Burton will celebrate his 41st birthday on Sunday, June 29.

Keep on Rolling … The 2008 Food City 500 winner continues to lead all active drivers with the most laps completed this season. With the exception of finishing one lap down at Dover, while still finishing eighth, Burton has completed all laps of competition this season. He has also completed 78.8% of the total laps (3,921 of 4,979) running in the top 15 and leads all drivers with the most runs on the lead lap (4,843 of 4,979). The four-time NHMS winner also leads all active drivers with an impressive finishing average of 8.5.

Change of Scenery … LENOX’s associate sponsorship of RCR’s No. 31 Chevrolet kicks into high gear this weekend in New Hampshire as Burton and the No. 31 team transform their bright orange No. 31 AT&T Chevrolet into a red, white and blue LENOX racing machine for the LENOX Industrial Tools 301. LENOX produces band saw blades, sawing fluids, hand power tool accessories in over 70 countries around the world.

Testing, One, Two, Three, Testing … Burton and the AT&T Racing team tested at The Milwaukee Mile on Wednesday, June 11 in preparation for this weekend’s LENOX Industrial Tools 301 at New Hampshire Motor Speedway.

RCR at NHMS … Richard Childress is tied for third all time with Joe Gibbs and Roger Penske for car owner victories at NHMS with three – Robby Gordon (2001), Kevin Harvick (2006) and Clint Bowyer (2007). In 60 starts at the one-mile oval, Childress also boasts two poles, 10 top-five and 25 top-10 finishes with nine different drivers including Dale Earnhardt, Mike Skinner, Harvick, Gordon, Jeff Green, Steve Park, Dave Blaney, Bowyer and Burton.

Race to the Chase … This weekend’s Cup Series event at NHMS starts the “Race to the Chase” – the 10-race stretch preceding the “Chase for the Cup,” which begins when NASCAR’s premiere division returns to the 1.058-mile track in September. Over the same 10 “Race to the Chase” races last year, Burton posted one top-five and four top-10 finishes, posting an average finish of 13.3. He only had one finish outside the top 16 when he finished 40th at Watkins Glen International where he was involved in an incident of another driver’s making.

LENOX Goes the Extra Mile … In addition to the added mile in this weekend’s LENOX Industrial Tools 301, LENOX has kicked off their Extra Mile Hero contest where LENOX customers can nominate the hero in their life who have gone the extra mile either in their job or community. The contest winner could receive up to a half a million dollars with a matching gift awarded to their charity of choice. Complete LENOX Extra Mile Hero contest details are available at www.lenoxhero.com.

Meet the Press … Burton will be available inside the NHMS infield media center on Friday, June 27 at 9:40 a.m. to field questions from the gathered media.

Catch the Action … The LENOX Industrial Tools 301 at NHMS will be televised live Sunday, June 29 beginning at 12:30 p.m. Eastern Daylight Time on TNT and will broadcast live on the Motor Racing Network and Sirius Satellite Radio. Qualifying for the 17th of 36 NASCAR Cup Series events will take the green flag at 3 p.m. EDT Friday, June 27 and will be telecast live on SPEED.

JEFF BURTON QUOTES:

You’ve had a lot of success at New Hampshire. Can you assess your chances going into race weekend there?

"I certainly have high hopes going there. I'm real comfortable with the race track, but at the same time, we've haven't won a race there in years and we haven’t had the success that we need to have there. We tested at Milwaukee a couple of weeks ago and worked pretty hard learning more about the new car. We’re also taking a car that has been very good to us so I’m going into this weekend being optimistic.”

The “Race to the Chase” begins this weekend. How important will these next 10 races be?

"Obviously as the races get closer to two or three to go before the last 10, we've got a tremendous amount of emphasis put on it. However, we can't forget that they pay the same amount of points for the third race of the year as they do for the 25th race of the year. So all the work that we've done up to this point is what matters and every race by itself matters a great deal. The emphasis will be put on these closing races. At the end of the day, it's an accumulation of all the points you gained in the first 26, so it really doesn't make that race any more important than any other."

What are some of the challenges you are faced with at New Hampshire?

"First off, the big challenge is the fact that the turns are so flat and the groove is half-a-lane off the bottom. The track has continued to gain grip through the years. It used to be real easy to spin the tires and we didn't have any rear grip but today it is actually pretty good with rear grip. Getting the car to turn is your biggest battle in New Hampshire where it used to be getting the rear wheels to hook up. Racing the new car has changed things for sure. There's a lot of work going into the new cars by a lot of different people trying to become more successful, and we're one of them. We haven't run as well as we need to, but that doesn't mean we can't. That just means we've got to figure it out, and we're working a lot right now to try and figure those things out.”


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