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2013 Bristol: Jeff Burton NASCAR Sprint Cup Race Preview
This Week's No. 31 Cheerios Chevrolet SS ... Jeff Burton will race chassis No. 372 this weekend at Bristol Motor Speedway (BMS). This is a brand new No. 31 Chevrolet seeing its first on-track action during Friday's first NASCAR Sprint Cup Series practice session.
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Burton in Thunder Valley ... Burton has 38 starts at Bristol Motor Speedway with one win (2008), eight top-five and 15 top-10 finishes. In addition, he has led 322 laps at the 0.533-mile facility.
No Stranger to Victory Lane ... Burton claimed the 2008 Food City 500 trophy at Bristol Motor Speedway in a 1-2-3 RCR finish. He also visited Victory Lane in NASCAR Nationwide Series competition at the half-mile facility in April 1997.
Black and Yellow ... The iconic General Mills brand Cheerios returns as the primary sponsor on Burton's No. 31 Chevrolet SS. America's No.1 cereal franchise will bring its fan-favorite yellow and black paint scheme to these additional races in 2013: Charlotte Motor Speedway (May 26), Dover International Speedway (June 2), Michigan International Speedway (August 18) and New Hampshire Motor Speedway (September 22). General Mills has roots as a NASCAR sponsor for more than 15 years and began its partnership with RCR in 2008 with the Cheerios brand as the primary sponsor of the No. 33 Sprint Cup Series team. The program moved to the No. 31 team as a co-primary sponsor for the 2012 Sprint Cup Series season.
Food City Race Night ... Burton will take part in the Food City Race Night fan question-and-answer session on Friday, March 15 at 5:45 p.m. in the track hospitality village located outside turn four. For more information on the free event, log on to http://www.foodcity.com/community/racing/food-city-race-night.
Race Rewind 2012 ... Burton and the No. 31 Chevrolet team scored their second top-10 finish of the 2012 NSCS season, after placing sixth in the Food City 500 at Bristol Motor Speedway.
JEFF BURTON QUOTES:
To be successful at Bristol Motor Speedway, do you need to be aggressive or patient?
"You definitely have to be aggressive. I think the fans like to see drivers beating and banging on each other. At the same time, they like to see side-by-side racing. We gave them side-by-side racing and now they want to see us hit each other. You aren't going to make everyone happy all the time. There are not as many wrecks as there used to be, but the actual racing is better."
The top groove was supposed to be fixed last year where drivers couldn't run up there. That wasn't the case though.
"The top groove was incredible. To be honest, I was really surprised. They took the banking out of it, but we got up there and made a lot of grip. It was definitely rough, but faster up there. I think it surprised everyone. I think they just need to let us go race and let the race speak for itself. I know I'm in the minority there, but I think when we try to manipulate something, we always make it worse."
PaddockTalk Perspective
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