• This Week’s AT&T Chevrolet at Auto Club Speedway of Southern California … Jeff Burton will race chassis No. 255 from the Richard Childress Racing NASCAR Cup Series stable. Built new for 2008, this is the same AT&T Chevrolet Burton drove to a 21st-place finish at Pocono Raceway in August. Burton was well on his way to a top-five finish but, on the day’s last pit stop, a penalty was called for an uncontrolled tire which resulted in a pass-through penalty for the AT&T Racing team. The South Boston, Va., native also piloted this Chevy Impala SS two weeks ago at Michigan International Speedway where he started 28th and finished 11th.

• 500 for JB … Jeff Burton will add his name to an exclusive list on Sunday when he takes the green flag at Sunday’s Pepsi 500 at Auto Club Speedway for his 500th career start in NASCAR’s premier series. He will become the 29th driver to reach the 500-start mark. He is also 30th all-time with 20 victories, including his first at Texas Motor Speedway’s inaugural event in 1997, back-to-back wins at Darlington Raceway in 1999, two Coca-Cola 600 wins at Lowe’s Motor Speedway in 1999 and 2001, and under the lights at Daytona International Speedway in 2000. Over 16 years of Cup Series competition, Burton has compiled 114 top-five and 205 top-10 finishes.

• The California Report … In 16 Cup Series starts at Auto Club Speedway, Burton has earned five top-five and six top-10 finishes. Additionally, the 2008 Chase contender is the sport’s second-best Quality Passer, with passing car 370 cars while running in the top 15 since 2005, just 13 shy of leader Jeff Gordon. He is also the sport’s seventh-best Green Flag Passer, passing a total of 537 cars under green-flag conditions over the past seven races at two-mile Fontana oval. The RCR driver has a 12th-place Average Running Position and sits 11th in the Driver Rating category with 92.8.

• Double Down West Coast Style … In addition to his driving duties with the No. 31 AT&T Chevrolet, Burton, a 27-time race winner in the NASCAR Nationwide Series, will drive RCR’s No. 29 Holiday Inn Chevrolet in the Aug. 30 Camping World 300. The race will air live on ESPN2 beginning at 9:30 p.m. Eastern Daylight Time and can also be heard on the Motor Racing Network and Sirius Satellite Radio.

• California Driver … Jeff Burton isn’t the only member of the AT&T Racing team with driving experience in California. Crew chief Scott Miller was behind the wheel on six occasions at the now-defunct Riverside International Raceway from 1981-1984, with a top finish of 14th at the nine-turn road course in Southern California. Miller raced in the NASCAR Winston West Series from 1983-1986 accumulating two poles, one win and six top-five finishes.

• Racin’ for a Chase Spot … The AT&T driver currently sits fifth in the championship point standings with two races remaining in NASCAR’s “Race to the Chase.” Burton can clinch a spot in this season’s Chase for the Cup if he posts a finish of 15th or better. Additionally, the 2008 Food City 500 winner will contend for the 2008 championship if he finishes 16th or 17th and leads a lap or finishes 20th and leads the most laps.

• RCR at California … In 44 overall starts at Auto Club Speedway, RCR cars have earned one pole (Mike Skinner – April 2000) four top five and 12 top-10 finishes. Clint Bowyer’s third-place run in September 2006 is RCR’s best effort at the moderately-banked D-shaped race track.

• One Trophy Missing from the Case … RCR has earned a Cup Series victory at 18 of the 22 tracks on the 2008 schedule. The only tracks on the current schedule where RCR hasn’t earned wins are Auto Club Speedway, Homestead-Miami Speedway, Las Vegas Motor Speedway and Kansas Speedway. All told, RCR has Cup Series wins at 21 tracks, including three tracks no longer on the schedule (North Wilkesboro, Riverside and Rockingham).

• Here’s to You, Jeff … To commemorate his 500th NASCAR Cup Series start, Burton will be honored at a roast on Sat., Aug. 30 at Auto Club Speedway. ESPN broadcaster Allen Bestwick will serve as the roastmaster, with team owner Richard Childress, fellow RCR drivers Kevin Harvick and Bowyer, ESPN broadcaster and recently retired Cup Series driver Dale Jarrett and AT&T’s director of national sponsorships Tim McGhee as roasters. The roast will begin at 11:15am in the driver’s meeting room, located in the infield between the Cup and Nationwide garages, and all media are invited to attend.

• Catch the Action … Flag-to-flag coverage of the Pepsi 500 at Auto Club Speedway will take the green flag Sun., Aug. 31 beginning at 7 p.m. EDT on ESPN. The race will also be broadcast on MRN and Sirius Satellite Radio. Qualifying for the 25th points-paying race on the Cup Series calendar will be televised live on SPEED Fri., Aug. 29 beginning at 6:30 p.m. EDT and will also broadcast live on MRN and Sirius Satellite Radio.

JEFF BURTON QUOTES:

What are your thoughts as you embark on your 500th start?

“It’s pretty hard to believe I’m coming up on my 500th start. Professionally, there’s nothing else I’d rather be doing. Competing in NASCAR’s top level series has been a lifelong dream and I’m fortunate that I have been doing what I love for as long as I have but I still believe my best years are ahead of me. I’ve learned a lot over the years and this environment has made me a better person because of it. Racing is something I dreamed of as a kid and I’m fortunate that I am doing it.”

California’s fall race starts during the day and runs into the night. What type of changes will you see?

“California is a fairly slick race track. It’s not a track with a tremendous amount of grip. What will end up happening is you’ll slide around a little bit during the day and when it gets darker and the track cools down, there will be more grip. That will make your car a little bit tighter or it will make it drive a little better, depending on your situation. If you’re good during the day, it might hurt it and get too tight at night. But, if your setup isn’t so good during the day, it might transfer up and be really good at night.”

How does your points position affect the way you drive in these last two races before the Chase?

"Well, we are obviously in a position of need. We need to get ourselves in the Chase. That is goal number one. To do that, we need to have good finishes, we need to run well, we need to compete at a high level and we need to get the best finish that we can. We certainly don't want to put ourselves in a situation that we didn't have to be in because I did something silly or we had a mechanical problem. But at the same time, you have to compete at a high level. The competition is too tough. So, we are going to go out and try to win the race. If we can't win the race, then we are going to try to finish second. If we can't finish second, then we are going to try to finish third. That is what we try to do every week.”