Richard Childress Racing

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July 31, 2012

Jeff Burton Event Preview: Pennsylvania 400

"Today, Pocono (Raceway) is a modern facility with the kind of racing surface that is needed to put on a good race. I was very impressed with the workmanship and quality of the job. It's as good of a job as any track we have repaved."

RCR RCR

Event Preview Fact Sheet

Jeff Burton
No. 31 EnerSys/ODYSSEY Battery Chevrolet

Event/Date:    
Pennsylvania 400
August 5, 2012

Venue:        
Pocono Raceway
Long Pond, Pa.

Race Notes and Quotes:
This Weekend’s EnerSys/ODYSSEY Battery Chevrolet at Pocono Raceway … Jeff Burton will race chassis No. 385 from the Richard Childress Racing NASCAR Sprint Cup Series stable. Burton has driven this No. 31 Chevrolet three times this season including the Coca-Cola 600 at Charlotte Motor Speedway in May (started-22nd, finished-19th), Texas Motor Speedway in April (started-24th, finished 29th) and Las Vegas Motor Speedway in March (started-22nd, finished 14th).

Career Pocono Stats … This weekend’s 400-mile event marks Burton’s 38th start at the 2.5-mile facility and 640th-career Sprint Cup Series entry. Burton has garnered seven top-five and 17 top-10 finishes at the track, leading 104 laps.

Getting Loopy at “The Tricky Triangle” … Burton has accrued impressive NASCAR Loop Data Statistics at Pocono Raceway since the inception in 2006. Of all drivers entering the event, he leads the Closers category, gaining an average of 3.8 positions over the last 10 percent of each contested race. Burton also has the sixth-most Green Flag Passes (1,241) with 581 coming while running in the top 15 (ninth-most Quality Passes). Burton has also spent 1,849 Laps in the Top 15, which ranks him eighth amongst his competitors. He also has the 10th-best Average Running Position (14.001) at the facility know as “The Tricky Triangle.”

About EnerSys/ODYSSEY Battery … EnerSys, the global leader in stored energy solutions for industrial applications, along with their ODYSSEY Battery brand, will be primary sponsor of the No. 31 Chevrolet this weekend at Pocono Raceway and at Martinsville Speedway in October. ODYSSEY Battery, a RCR partner since 2009, delivers the extreme power that racing enthusiasts demand and EnerSys guarantees longer service life to save time and money. The five-second cranking power of ODYSSEY batteries is double to triple that of conventional batteries. In addition, the ODYSSEY battery’s sealed drycell construction makes it safe, explosion proof, leak proof and it can be mounted in any position. Its rugged construction also offers improved vibration resistance and durability.

In the Booth … Tune-in on Saturday, August 4 at 12:30 p.m. ET as Burton will visit SPEED’s Phil Parsons, Rick Allen and Michael Waltrip in the press box for part of the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series race broadcast to discuss RCR’s NCWTS program and his nephew Jeb Burton’s year-to-date performance in his rookie season.

Race Rewind … After running in the top 20 for most of the afternoon at Indianapolis Motor Speedway, Burton's No. 31 Rain-X Chevrolet suffered a broken brake rotor which relegated  the Richard Childress Racing driver to a 32nd-place finish in the 2012 Brickyard 400.

Points Racing … After 20 points-paying events of the 36-race Sprint Cup Series season, Burton has scored 505 points and sits in the 20th position in the Sprint Cup Series driver championship point standings. The veteran RCR driver has two top-five and four top-10 finishes and has spent 1,863 laps running in the top 15, made 2,062 green-flag passes and led 35 laps.

JEFF BURTON QUOTES:
What were your thoughts on the first race at Pocono Raceway with the newly repaved asphalt?
“I was very impressed. We had a disappointing 14th-place finish with a top-10 car. The last run of the race was our worst run and we lost a few spots in the end. We had fun that whole week and spent over five days there testing, practicing and qualifying. I had Harrison, my 11-year-old son, with me and we took advantage of what the area had to offer. We went to the go-kart race track, played paintball and all kinds of different stuff. We made a holiday out of it. Pocono Raceway took a step into the present. We used to go there and feel like our race cars, haulers and the preparation far outweighed the quality of the race track. We were taking modern pieces of racing technology to a track that was outdated. Today, Pocono (Raceway) is a modern facility with the kind of racing surface that is needed to put on a good race. I was very impressed with the workmanship and quality of the job. It’s as good of a job as any track we have repaved.”

What’s the difference of the “old” Pocono Raceway to the “new” Pocono Raceway?
“The old Pocono Raceway was so rough, slick and you had to run 500 miles. It was hard to put on an entertaining race. Let’s face it. Part of what we do is for the fans. We do this for them to be entertained. Track surfaces and tires have an impact on what kind of race the fans see. This pavement and the tire Goodyear brings are all collectively going to make a better race for the fans to see.”

Do you play gas mileage more conservatively at long, flat tracks like Pocono Raceway?
“One thing about the EFI engines is that even when you run out of gas, the engine doesn’t shut off. You can’t run fast, but you can idle the car around the track and back to pit road. The old engines would just shut off. It does open a little bit of a window to be able to run out of gas at some point on the race track and still get back to the pits. Pocono (Raceway) is always dangerous because if you run out of fuel coming off turn three and can’t get to pit road, you are in big trouble. You have to play fuel strategy the best way you know how, no matter what the race is.”

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