Jeff Burton, No. 31
Prilosec OTC Chevrolet
Impala SS Indianapolis
Preview
NOTES:
· This Week’s Prilosec
OTC Chevrolet at
Indianapolis Motor Speedway
… Jeff Burton will race
Chassis No. 246 from the
Richard Childress Racing
NASCAR Cup Series stable.
Built new for the 2008
season, Burton raced this
car to a sixth-place finish
(started 14th) at Lowe’s
Motor Speedway in May and to
a fifth-place finish
(started 20th) at Pocono
Raceway in June.
· Burton in the Loop at
the Brickyard …
o Stat Facts … Burton is
one of six drivers on the
2008 entry list who have
started every NASCAR race at
the Brickyard. In 14 starts
at Indianapolis Motor
Speedway, Burton has posted
one top five, three top10s
and has been running at the
end of every event. The
South Boston, Va., native
also captured the pole
position for the 2006 event.
o Keep on Running … Of
the 480 laps contested over
the last three Cup Series
events at IMS, Burton spent
343 of those laps (71.5%)
running in the top 15 and
holds a 14.3 finishing
average.
o Just an Average Guy …
According to NASCAR’s loop
data statistics, Burton is
the series’ sixth-best in
the Average Running Position
category. Over the last
three events at the famed
race track, the South
Boston, Va., native’s ARP is
10.9. That statistic is
derived from the sum of his
position on each lap divided
by the number of laps run in
each race.
o Since We’re Talking
Stats … Burton holds the
sixth-best Driver Rating at
the historic “Yard of
Bricks” with 98.6. The
Driver Rating is a formula
that combines the following
categories: wins, finishes,
top-15 finishes, average
running position while on
the lead lap, average speed
under green, fastest lap,
most laps led and lead-lap
finishes. The maximum points
a driver can earn in each
race is 150 points. The
Driver Rating number is used
pre-race as a prediction
tool and post-race as a
performance evaluator.
· Change of Scenery …
Prilosec OTC’s major
associate sponsorship of
RCR’s No. 31 Chevrolet
Impala SS kicks into high
gear this weekend in
Indianpolis as Burton and
the No. 31 team transform
their bright orange No. 31
AT&T Chevrolet into a purple
Prilosec OTC racing machine
for the Allstate 400 at the
Brickyard. Prilosec OTC,
marketed exclusively by
Procter & Gamble, is
available in food, drug,
mass, and club stores in the
U.S. Prilosec OTC is
available over-the-counter
for the treatment of
frequent heartburn, with one
pill taken every day for 14
days and is the No. 1
selling over-the-counter
heartburn medication.
· RCR at Indianapolis …
In 14 previous Cup Series
races at IMS, RCR has posted
two poles (Kevin Harvick
2003, Burton 2006) two wins
(Earnhardt 1995, Harvick
2003), eight top-five and 17
top-10 finishes. RCR cars
have also been running at
the finish of every Allstate
400 at The Brickyard dating
back to the inaugural race
in 1994.
· Chevy Day at The
Brickyard … Burton will
participate in Chevy Day at
the Brickyard Friday, July
25 from 9-11 a.m. in the IMS
infield. The AT&T driver
will provide media and
Chevrolet consumers “hot
laps” around the historic
2.5-mile race course. He
will also race remote
controlled cars, participate
in a fan question and answer
session and sign autographs.
RCR president and CEO
Richard Childress, along
with Burton’s teammates
Clint Bowyer, Harvick and
Scott Wimmer, will also be
on-hand for the morning’s
activities.
· Seven to Go … The
20-time series winner
currently sits third in the
championship point standings
with seven races remaining
in NASCAR’s “Race to the
Chase.” The 12 Chase
contenders will be
determined once the
checkered flag waves at
Richmond International
Raceway on Saturday,
September 6. Over the same
seven races last season,
Burton had a 12th-place
average starting position
coupled with a 15.3 average
finishing position.
· Meet the Press … Burton
will be available inside the
Plaza Village Pavilion,
located behind the Pagoda,
to field questions from the
gathered media on Friday,
July 25 at 12:45 p.m.
· Jeff Burton Live …
Burton will appear at the
Chevy Stage for a question
and answer session on
Sunday, July 27 from 10 –
10:15 a.m. The Chevy stage
will be located in the east
lot of the Hall of Fame
Museum in the track’s
infield.
· The Brickyard - Fan’s
Victory of a Lifetime Rolls
into Indy … Prilosec OTC
Victory of a Lifetime
Sweepstakes winner Kathryn
Cooley of Barnesville, Md.,
continues her ultimate
NASCAR Fan’s season this
weekend at Indianapolis
Motor Speedway. The Allstate
400 at the Brickyard will be
Cooley’s 10th race and marks
the half way point of her
20-race schedule with RCR’s
No. 31 Cup Series team. In
addition to receiving a Hot
Pass credential that grants
Cooley and her guests all
access throughout the entire
race, they will be treated
to a Hot Lap in the Official
Pace Car of the Allstate 400
prior to the start of the
race.
· Up to Speed … The
Allstate 400 at the
Brickyard will be televised
live Sunday, July 27
beginning at 1 p.m. Eastern
Daylight Time on ESPN. The
Indianapolis Motor Speedway
Radio Network and Sirius
Satellite Radio will also
carry the race broadcast
live. Qualifying for the
20th stop on the 36-race
NASCAR Cup Series tour is
scheduled for Saturday, July
26 beginning at 10 a.m. EDT
and will be telecast live on
ESPN2.
JEFF BURTON QUOTES –
What makes Indianapolis
Motor Speedway a thrill to
go to each year?
“I think it’s an honor to
go to Indy every year. The
history is unbelievable.
There is no where we go
where you get the sense of
people like you do at Indy
with the grandstands on both
sides of the front
straightaway. When you walk
out on Sunday afternoon to
start that race, it’s like
nothing else. The driver’s
introductions there are
pretty cool. It’s amazing to
see that many people and the
excitement at Indy is cool.
It’s an open-wheel
sacred-ground race track and
the fact that we can go
there and race is truly an
honor.”
Do you think not testing
at Indy is the right
approach to take?
“I’m a fan of not testing
at Indy. Indy is Indy –
there is no other place like
it. I think we should test
at race tracks that provide
us information for more than
one track and Indy is the
smoothest and flattest track
we go to. I wasn’t
disappointed that we weren’t
going to test there because
it puts everybody in the
same boat. We don’t get to
test at a majority places
that we run on. Indy is no
different, in my opinion,
because we didn’t test
there.”
Based on what you know
now, how do you think the
COT will react to
competition at Indy?
“I think the COT performs
well on smooth race tracks
and will run well at Indy.
It’s a great place for the
COT to shine. Our Impala SS
ran extremely well at Pocono
and Loudon so our flat track
program gives us a lot of
optimism going into this
weekend. It’s the first week
back after a weekend off and
a lot of teams put a lot of
effort into Indy. We try not
to put any more effort into
Indy than we do any other
race. Some teams try harder
for Indy but we, overall,
try as hard as anybody and I
think that’s the right
approach. Indy is one of
those places where I feel we
can be successful.”
Is Indianapolis a big
momentum race track?
“Momentum is everything
at Indy. It’s all about
carrying speed through the
middle of the corner so that
you can be fast off the
corner. Indy’s corners are
different from any other
track we race on. They’re
shorter and there’s less
corner. The track is
perfectly smooth and you
have to have really good
grip to take advantage of
that smoothness. If you are
a little bit slow in the
middle of the corner, it
just carries that speed onto
the exit of the corner. So,
it’s very important to
handle in all parts of the
corners at Indy. You can’t
just handle well getting in
or getting off, it has to be
good in all parts of the
corners.”