Jeff Burton
Jeff Burton
Jeffrey T. "Jeff" Burton, nicknamed "The Mayor", is an American retired stock car racing driver. He scored 21 career victories in the Sprint Cup Series, including two Coca-Cola 600s in 1999 and 2001 and the 1999 Southern 500. He currently serves as a color analyst for NBC Sports, having joined them upon their return to their coverage of NASCAR. His brother Ward Burton and his nephew Jeb Burton have also competed in the Sprint Cup Series...
ProfessionRace Car Driver
Date of Birth29 June 1967
CitySouth Boston, VA
ask car felt five people race racing safer today
Racing is safer today than it was five years ago, but we didn't know it. People ask me, 'Do you feel safer today in a race car than you did five years ago?' No, I don't. I felt safe five years ago. I thought we were doing all we could do. I didn't know we could do more.
chance clean far good hit kevin last race teammate
I wasn't going to hit Kevin. I race clean every chance I get and the last person I'm going to hit is my teammate. Kevin has been real good to me as far as being a teammate and he would do the same for me.
appreciate believe continuing fight guaranteed mark martin pay percent proud race remembered taught throughout time track victory
Mark Martin taught me that you're never guaranteed to be in Victory Lane, and to appreciate it every time and I remembered that. I'm proud of myself for continuing to fight and give 100 percent throughout all of it. I never once didn't come to the race track and try, and I believe that'll pay off for me.
bristol drive environment fans intense matched pull racetrack surrounded unique
When you pull into Bristol, it's a different environment than when you go to other places. How you have to drive the racetrack is so intense and so aggressive. Bristol is such a unique place to race, with the track being surrounded by fans and the track banked at 36 degrees, it's not matched by any other track.
mental physical race
It's very much a mental race but very physical at the same time.
competition good impossible left pass race shape teams turn
It's like impossible to pass here. It's because of the shape of the race track, but the competition is so fierce, so many good teams and good drivers. You just don't turn left and pass people.
came cars drive driving drove good junk race rookies step top
When I came into the sport, rookies didn't drive good race cars. You drove junk. Rookies don't step in driving junk anymore. They step in driving top cars because there is no junk. They step in driving really, really good stuff.
car driving pride race sponsors time work
There is time for both. When I am driving a race car I am driving a race car. But I take a lot of pride in the sponsors I work with.
difficult good race racing rookies start
This is a difficult race track, for sure, but the rookies that we have are really good and they didn't just start racing yesterday.
car demanding early fast good help practice race start tough
Going out early is never a good thing. We made our car as fast as we could in practice so that is a good thing. It didn't help us by going out third, but there is nothing we can do about that. You just start where you start, and get the most out of it. It is a tough race track, demanding race track.
best car drives looks race
Right now the 2 car looks like the very best car. I like the way my car drives and I think we can do what we need to do with it. We've got a long, long race here and a lot of things can happen.
dig heels knocked last ourselves priorities race running trying wins year
For us, every race is important when you've been knocked back on your heels and you're trying to get back in the fight. Right now, we don't have to dig ourselves out of a hole. If we keep running the way we're running, we'll get our wins and we'll do what we need to do in points. Our priorities have to be going fast. That's what we couldn't do last year. That's what I couldn't do the year before, or the year before that. That's what I have been able to do this year.
groove knock race track
He went a groove up the race track to knock us out. Unbelievable.
cry knew lose race somebody stomp time
He didn't stomp his feet, cry and pout. He didn't lose it. He knew when the race was over it was time to be somebody different.