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June 5, 2012

Jeff Burton Event Preview: Pocono 400

"The quality of racing will be much better because of the pavement and the race will also only be 400 miles."

RCR/HHP Photo RCR/HHP Photo

Event Preview Fact Sheet
Jeff Burton
No. 31 Armed Forces Foundation Chevrolet

Event/Date:    
Pocono 400
June 10, 2012

Venue:
Pocono Raceway
Long Pond, Pa.

RACE NOTES AND QUOTES:
This Weekend’s Armed Forces Foundation Chevrolet at Pocono Raceway … Jeff Burton will race chassis No. 385 from the Richard Childress Racing NASCAR Sprint Cup Series stable this weekend. This No. 31 Chevrolet, built new for the 2012 season, was utilized twice this season at Las Vegas Motor Speedway in March (started-22nd, finished-14th) and Texas Motor Speedway in April (started-24th, finished-29th).

Serving Those Who Serve … Burton and the No. 31 RCR team are proud to carry the colors of The Armed Forces Foundation this weekend at Pocono Raceway. The AFF offers vital assistance to active-duty and retired personnel, National Guard, Reserve Components and military families. As soon as a wounded warrior arrives at the hospital, the Armed Forces Foundation steps in to assist the family in traveling to his or her side and provides lodging for them to stay with their loved one. The foundation also provides financial assistance, therapeutic recreational and outreach programs, outdoor hunting programs, military family events, a national education initiative surrounding Veterans Day and Christmas toy drives. The AFF follows their motto “serving those who serve,” as a blueprint to provide a well-rounded program of assistance and support for the entire military family unit.

Career Pocono Stats … This weekend’s 400-mile event marks Burton’s 37th start at the 2.5-mile facility and 633rd-career Sprint Cup Series entry. Burton 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 4.3 positions over the last 10 percent of each contested race. Burton also has the seventh-most green flag passes (1,165) with 544 coming while running in the top 15 (ninth-most). Burton has also spent 1,751 laps in the top 15, which ranks him eighth amongst his competitors. He also has the ninth-best average running position (13.94) at the facility know as “The Tricky Triangle.”

Meet the Press … Burton will field questions from the media inside the Pocono Raceway infield media center on Wednesday, June 6, at 4:15 p.m. ET to discuss the first day of Sprint Cup Series testing on the newly-repaved asphalt surface at the Long Pond, Pa.-based facility.

Poker Face … Burton will take part in the Pocono Celebrity Charity Poker Showdown on Thursday, June 7 at Mohegan Sun at Pocono Downs in Wilkes-Barre, Pa., benefitting the NASCAR Foundation and the Armed Forces Foundation. A limited number of playing spots are available. Fans can choose from three donation options: A $250 donation offers a pre-tournament, VIP meet-and-greet with drivers and celebrities on hand as well as entry to participate in the Poker Showdown, a $150 donation reserves a seat in the poker tournament and a $50 donation allows fans to attend the event as spectators. The top-finishing fan will receive their choice of an all-expense paid trip to Mohegan Sun in Montville, Conn. or a VIP Pocono Raceway race weekend experience. To register for the Pocono Celebrity Poker Showdown, fans can visit http://www.NASCAR.COM/Unites.

Team Chevy … Burton is scheduled to participate in a question and answer session at the Team Chevy stage located in the Pocono Raceway display area on Sunday, June 10 at 9:45 a.m. ET.

Vote for Burton … The Drive for the Cover campaign has officially kicked off and Burton has the opportunity to grace the cover of NASCAR The Game: Inside Line. The campaign will position 32 drivers in a five-round bracket-style tournament and fans will select the cover driver for this year’s game. Fans can vote one time per day on the NASCAR The Game: Inside Line Facebook page at http://www.driveforthecover.com/jeffburton. The first round of voting runs through June 9.

Race Rewind … After running in the top 15 for 240 of the first 364 laps in Sunday’s Sprint Cup Series race at Dover International Speedway, Burton’s No. 31 BB&T Chevrolet suffered engine problems and relegating the RCR driver to a 22nd-place finish in an early exit.

Points Racing … Burton scored 321 points and sits 18th in the Sprint Cup Series driver championship point standings. After 13 points-paying events of the 36-race Sprint Cup Series season, Burton has one top-five and three top-10 finishes. The veteran RCR driver has spent 1,691 laps running in the top 15, has made 1,401 green-flag passes and led 34 laps.

JEFF BURTON QUOTES:
Share your thoughts on Pocono Raceway deciding to repave its asphalt surface.
“It was time to repave. The quality of racing will be much better because of the pavement and the race will also only be 400 miles. The grip level had gotten so far down that it was hard to keep everyone running a similar speed. Drivers got spread out a lot on a big track like that. To me, it was the track that needed the new pavement the most”.

How much do you think changing the race to 400 miles will make it a better race?
“I think a 100-mile cutback is a great idea for Pocono Raceway. I think it would be a great idea for some other race tracks too. There is no reason to run a 500-mile race just because that’s the way we’ve always done it. You need to run the kind of races that put on the best shows for the fans. There seems to be positive feedback from the fans on the decision to run 400 miles at Pocono. I think it will be a good race for many reasons, not just the fact it is 400 miles.”

Talk about the speeds you all carry going into turn one at Pocono Raceway. How much that will change with the new asphalt?
“You will be smoking going to into turn one, that’s for sure. The grip level will also be better. Let me tell you, going into turn one at Pocono Raceway is always an event. There is a lot of stuff going on in there. You are going so fast into the corner where you aren’t supposed to go that fast. It will be interesting to see what happens now that we are going faster, but I think the transition will be quick and the grip level will make it smoother than what it used to be.”

Talk about the old pit road entrance at Pocono Raceway.
“I hope they fixed that (laughter). The access roads and pit road entrances at Pocono Raceway were repaved about six years ago and they didn’t do any grating. They just laid some asphalt. It was so unbelievably rough. It was just time for a complete repave. It needed an update and I’m glad they did it. I think it will make the racing better and everyone will feel better going there. It’s a fun race track and I enjoy going there, but it was time for an update.”
 

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