NOTES:

· This Week’s Caterpillar Chevrolet at Talladega Superspeedway … Jeff Burton will race chassis No. 217 from the Richard Childress Racing NASCAR Sprint Cup Series stable in this weekend’s 500 miler. Built new this season, Burton drove this Chevy Impala SS in the season-opening Daytona 500. Despite running a smart and conservative race, contact from another car and then the outer retaining wall left the No. 31 Caterpillar Impala SS 28th when rain forced NASCAR to declare the race official 48 laps from its scheduled 200-lap distance. This No. 31 racer then competed at Talladega Superspeedway in April where Burton fought back from going three laps down to the leader after electrical issues forced the CAT Racing team to change an alternator in the early goings of the 188-lap feature to finish 10th. Most recently, the South Boston, Va., native overcame a flat right-front tire in the latter stages of the 400-mile event at Daytona International Speedway in July to record a 16th-place finish.

· Talladega Tales … In 31 Sprint Cup Series starts at Talladega, Burton owns three top-five and 12 top-10 finishes. He holds an 18.4 average finish, has led 72 laps of competition and ranks ninth with the most miles completed at the larger-than-life speedway. Over the past nine races at the Talladega, Ala., facility, Burton has made 3,403 passes under green-flag conditions, the most of all drivers. Of those same passes, the RCR driver made 2,229 of them while running in the top 15, making him the sport’s third-best quality passer.

· Welcome Aboard, Todd … Todd Berrier will take over crew chief duties on the No. 31 Caterpillar team beginning this weekend. Scott Miller, who has led the No. 31 team since 2005, will now move fulltime to the director of competition position he was named to in September. Berrier’s RCR career began as a fabricator in 1994. Since then,the Kernersville, N.C., native has earned 19 victories as a crew chief in the Sprint Cup Series, Nationwide Series and Camping World Truck Series. He won the 2001 NASCAR Nationwide Series championship, the 2003 Brickyard 400 and the 2007 Daytona 500, all with driver Kevin Harvick.

· Summing Up the First 32 … Over the season’s first 32 races, the veteran driver has notched two top-five, six top-10 and 11 top-15 finishes. He sits 18th in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series championship point standings, 74 markers behind Marcos Ambrose in 17th. Additionally, he holds a 24th-place average starting position to go along with a 19.7 average finishing position and has led 73 laps of competition. Burton has also completed 9,279 of 9,388 (98.8 percent) of laps contested thus far.

· Happy 40th Anniversary, RCR … Richard Childress competed as a driver in Talladega’s inaugural race in 1969 and used his winnings from that race weekend to help start RCR. He drove the No. 13 Chevrolet to a 23rd-place finish after a broken axle forced him to call it a day 80 laps into the 188-lap event. Forty years later, Childress has captured 12 NASCAR championships, 89 Sprint Cup Series victories, 55 Nationwide Series wins and 20 Camping World Truck Series trophies.

· RCR Firsts … Forty years ago, the Welcome, N.C.,-based organization competed in its first Sprint Cup Series race at Talladega Superspeedway. RCR’s first Sprint Cup Series win came in 1983 at the now defunct Riverside (Calif.) International Speedway with driver Ricky Rudd. Harvick captured RCR’s first Nationwide Series win in 2000 at Bristol Motor Speedway while Mike Skinner earned its first Camping World Truck Series victory in the series’ inaugural race at Phoenix International Raceway. In 1983, Childress won his first NASCAR championship as a team owner with Dale Earnhardt in the Sprint Cup Series before Skinner took home the title in the Camping World Truck Series in 1995. Harvick brought home RCR’s first Nationwide Series championship in 2001, making Childress the first team owner to capture championships in all three of NASCAR’s national series.

· RCR at Talladega … Childress boasts nine victories at the storied Alabama oval - all of them coming with Dale Earnhardt. Additionally, in 116 starts, RCR boasts four poles, 29 top-five, 48 top-10 finishes and just over $8 million in earnings.

· Technology Program Named After Childress … The motorsports technology program at Forsyth Technical Community College has been renamed Richard Childress Race Car Technology at Forsyth Tech. Richard Childress Racing has a long-standing relationship with Forsyth Tech and employs a number of its graduates. Forsyth Tech has been named a Center of Excellence for Motorsports by the North Carolina Motorsports Consortium. Childress was on-hand for the October 27 announcement that was held on the campus in Winston-Salem, N.C.

· Need Gas? … Vote online for the winners of the Shell V-Power “Fuel My Passion” Contest and be entered to win a $50 Shell Gift Card. From now until November 3, 2009, four lucky voters will be chosen at random each day to receive a $50 Shell Gift Card after voting online for their favorite contest finalists. For your chance to win, log on to http://www.shell.us/fuelmypassion.

· Catch the Action … Flag-to-flag coverage of the AMP Energy 500 from Talladega Superspeedway begins Sunday, Nov. 1 at 12 Noon Eastern Standard Time and will be telecast live on ABC. The event will also be broadcast live on the Motor Racing Network and Sirius XM Satellite Radio. Qualifying for the 33rd points-paying race on the 36-race tour will be broadcast live on SPEED Saturday, Oct. 31 beginning at 12 Noon Eastern Daylight Time and can be heard worldwide on MRN and Sirius XM Satellite Radio.

JEFF BURTON QUOTES:

This will be your 32nd start at Talladega but you have yet to capture a win there. Why is that?

"Honestly, I think this will be one of our best chances ever to win a race at Talladega. Over the past year and a half, everyone back at the shop has worked extremely hard on taking things to the next level, including our engine department. We’ve seen a big difference in our horsepower when it comes to our superspeedway engines and I think we’ll be able to put our best stuff forward this weekend. Back in April, our Caterpillar Chevy was extremely fast. We ended up going three laps down because he had to change an alternator but was lucky enough to get those laps back and then fought our way to finish 10th. In the past, I can honestly tell you that I don’t think I’ve ever been to Talladega with a car fast enough to win a race. My strategy was to always try to get reasonable finishes out of it because I didn’t think I was good enough to win. I think that will be different this time.”

What is it like racing at Talladega Superspeedway?

“I’m always nervous to run at Talladega. You have to go into that race thinking that there is going to be a multi-car incident and how to miss it. To me, it’s a stressful Sunday morning and once the race gets going, I calm down. But as the laps start winding down, the intensity level just goes through the roof. It’s unbelievable how you can feel it there more than any other race track. At every other race track, if you’re racing for the lead you might be racing with maybe two or three other guys. At Talladega, you’re contending with 30 drivers. When the intensity level increases for 30 people versus three, it changes the way you race.”

Where do you want to be on the last lap?

“Talladega has the potential of being a 20-car pack with 23 others in the garage or the potential to be a 35-car pack. The bigger the pack, the more danger you are in being in the front. If something happens with three to go and the first four cars break away, then being in the front is not as dangerous. Being in the front is dangerous when the guys in front can get momentum and come get you. I do believe with the old car you were more protected up front than you are in the new car. You seem to be more of a sitting duck with the new car.”