NASCAR Wrecks - Jeff Burton Diary
By Jeff Burton - Cup Scene Daily
I haven’t looked forward to the Coca-Cola 600 for a few years now. It’s not because I don’t love racing at Lowe’s Motor Speedway, it’s because I haven’t been as competitive as I would have liked to be over the last few years.
Richard Childress Racing was once one of the most powerful teams in NASCAR. Following the death of Dale Earnhardt in 2001, things didn’t go as well and the performance wasn’t up to snuff. Towards the end of 2005 and heading into the off-season, everyone at RCR put in a tremendous amount of time and effort to get this organization backing shape.
This season the overall performance at RCR has been far better than last year and I’m very happy with the direction we are heading. Our intermediate-track program, which was our weak point last season, has made huge gains this year.
Not only have our results seen a significant improvement but our overall performance has seen gains as well. With a few minor exceptions our qualifying effort has improved and all of our pit crews have really stepped up this year.
RCR doesn’t like to lose and that starts at the top. Richard Childress has a desire to be the leader in the garage and I’m really proud to be driving for RCR. We are doing everything we can to get this organization back to the top, where it belongs.
Tuesday, May 23
BACK TO THE GRIND
Other than the usual ‘What is Ward doing?’ question, one of the most popular questions I answer from fans is what I do during the week while I’m not at the race track. Well, here’s a little inside look at my weekday schedule as a NASCAR driver -
Monday, May 22
• Work out with my trainer
• Head up to Richard Childress Racing for the weekly competition meeting. Every RCR driver and crew chief, both Cup and Busch, are in this meeting to discuss the previous race, strategies and plans for the upcoming race weekend.
• Tape Cingular’s race review and preview – a weekly feature we shoot at the shop every Monday following the competition meeting to give their subscribers an inside look at our team.
• Inside Nextel Cup – This week I will continue my role as a fill-in host on the popular program on SPEED
Tuesday, May 23
• Work out with my trainer
• A day for me! This is my free day this week so I will most likely catch up on some errands, work on my son’s quarter-midget, do some laundry and possibly cook dinner. It’s really just a day for me to be able to spend some time with my wife Kim and our children Paige and Harrison
Wednesday, May 24
• Work out with my trainer. Today’s work out will include a journalist and photographer from Sports Illustrated for feature in the magazine.
• Shoot a video to highlight the expansion of Cingular's new high-speed 3G wireless broadband network
• Shoot a greeting video to play at State Farm’s national agent meeting
• Autograph appearance at a Charlotte area Cingular store grand opening (4-6 p.m. at Northlake Commons)
Thursday, May 25
• Work out with my trainer
• NBC/TNT Racing Preseason Shoot. This is where they get all those great shots they use for pre-race shows and commercial breaks.
• Back to the track for double duty. This week I will be racing the No. 31 Cingular Chevy in the Cup Series and the No. 29 Holiday Inn Chevy in the Busch Series. Practice and qualifying for both series is scheduled for Thursday which will make for a really busy day.
Friday, May 26
• Work out with my trainer
• No on-track activities for Busch or Cup cars today
• 7 p.m. guest on SPEED’s Trackside program at Speed Street in Downtown Charlotte
• 8 p.m. question and answer session on the Coca-Cola stage
Monday, May 22
There's No Place Like Home
There is nothing quite like a Sunday afternoon at home, especially when you work in the NASCAR Cup Series. Racing in Charlotte for two straight weeks affords the teams an opportunity we rarely have in our sport – free time at home.
Along with the guys who work at the shop Team Cingular, as well as the other Cup teams on the circuit, has a large number team members who travel to the races each weekend. Between the road crew, who travel to each track on Thursday for the typical Sunday race to work on the car for practice and qualifying, and the pit crew, who are responsible for pitting the car on race day, we total roughly 20 team members who travel with us each weekend.
That’s 20 families at home alone for 38 weekends a year while the crew members are at the track doing their jobs. Those 20 families can’t go to church or have Sunday dinner with dad. Giving that much time to your job is difficult but it’s a career they love and are proud of.
Many times people who have the normal weekday work schedule and are off each weekend can’t comprehend how our team members do it.
All sports only have one winner but in NASCAR instead of there being just one losing team, we have 42 each weekend. It’s the competition that brings us back, the chance to lead the last lap and pull into victory lane. That chance to celebrate with your team and hold up the winner’s trophy.
No matter how long it has been since someone has been to victory lane, they never forget what it feels like and do everything they can to get back.
Saturday, May 20
NASCAR’S ALL-STAR EVENT IS THE MOST COMPETITIVE IN ITS CLASS
Many times when professional sports leagues hold their All-Star events it seems like it’s just that, an event. The competition can take a bit of a back seat to the show. The build up to the All-Star game tends to exceed the game itself.
Not NASCAR, not our sport. Now, I’m not going to say NASCAR’s All-Star race doesn’t get hyped up because it certainly does. But, I will stack the competition level of our All-Star event against any out there and know it will come out on top.
NASCAR’s All-Star race is a no points, no-holds-barred, ultra-competitive Saturday night race under the lights for all the money and, hands down, the most exciting race for the fans all season. This one, folks, is worth every penny. Anytime there is a million dollars on the line and no possible repercussions in the championship points chase, it’s going to be good.
Sure, every sport touts their All-Star game as pitting the best against the best and that part is true. Individual athletes from various teams come together to make up an all-star lineup for one game. In NASCAR, the drivers may be the headline to the event but they compete in the All-Star race with the team that has gotten him there, so it’s much more of a team event.
It starts at the beginning of the event, at what on any other race weekend are the driver introductions. For our All-Star game, the pit crew is introduced with the driver. I think that is the way to do it since it’s not just about the driver, at the all-star race or any race during the season.
Friday, May 19
CHOICES
NASCAR Cup Series teams had a big decision to make this week - which car to bring to the All-Star Challenge this weekend at Lowe’s Motor Speedway.
There are two different thought processes when it comes to making that decision. One train of thought is to bring the best car in the shop, the one which has the best performance history. After all, this is our All-Star game and winning brings a big payday and all the prestige that goes along with it. But, when people think about the history of the race what tends to pop up in everyone’s mind are the wrecks. When there is a lot of money on the line and no points to consider, there’s no guessing what can happen.
Those wrecks are what lead to the second line of reasoning. Sometimes you make a conscious decision to bring a car that is disposable and the team can stand to lose.
For Team Cingular, we pretty much took the middle road. We brought chassis No. 132, which is a car we tested in February at Las Vegas but we haven’t raced it yet this season. We’ve been running one particular car on all the intermediate tracks this season and, since it has performed so well, it makes it difficult to veer away from it. Our Open car has made the rounds as our back up at all the intermediate tracks, so we’re now giving the nod and seeing if it can make the cut.
NASCAR has a new testing policy in place for 2006 which limits the number of sessions and tracks where we can test. So anytime we can use actual track time to gain some additional information on another car I think we need to take advantage of it. That was a big factor in the decision to bring chassis No. 132.
We are not currently in the All-Star Challenge. If we win the Open we will transfer into the All-Star race and our chance at the big check. I know we have a car and team up to the task, now we just need to prove it.
Greg Engle, the Editor of the Cup Scene Daily is seeking employment within the motorsports journalism industry. If you are interested, please contact him at:
greg@cupscene.com
I haven’t looked forward to the Coca-Cola 600 for a few years now. It’s not because I don’t love racing at Lowe’s Motor Speedway, it’s because I haven’t been as competitive as I would have liked to be over the last few years.
Richard Childress Racing was once one of the most powerful teams in NASCAR. Following the death of Dale Earnhardt in 2001, things didn’t go as well and the performance wasn’t up to snuff. Towards the end of 2005 and heading into the off-season, everyone at RCR put in a tremendous amount of time and effort to get this organization backing shape.
This season the overall performance at RCR has been far better than last year and I’m very happy with the direction we are heading. Our intermediate-track program, which was our weak point last season, has made huge gains this year.
Not only have our results seen a significant improvement but our overall performance has seen gains as well. With a few minor exceptions our qualifying effort has improved and all of our pit crews have really stepped up this year.
RCR doesn’t like to lose and that starts at the top. Richard Childress has a desire to be the leader in the garage and I’m really proud to be driving for RCR. We are doing everything we can to get this organization back to the top, where it belongs.
Tuesday, May 23
BACK TO THE GRIND
Other than the usual ‘What is Ward doing?’ question, one of the most popular questions I answer from fans is what I do during the week while I’m not at the race track. Well, here’s a little inside look at my weekday schedule as a NASCAR driver -
Monday, May 22
• Work out with my trainer
• Head up to Richard Childress Racing for the weekly competition meeting. Every RCR driver and crew chief, both Cup and Busch, are in this meeting to discuss the previous race, strategies and plans for the upcoming race weekend.
• Tape Cingular’s race review and preview – a weekly feature we shoot at the shop every Monday following the competition meeting to give their subscribers an inside look at our team.
• Inside Nextel Cup – This week I will continue my role as a fill-in host on the popular program on SPEED
Tuesday, May 23
• Work out with my trainer
• A day for me! This is my free day this week so I will most likely catch up on some errands, work on my son’s quarter-midget, do some laundry and possibly cook dinner. It’s really just a day for me to be able to spend some time with my wife Kim and our children Paige and Harrison
Wednesday, May 24
• Work out with my trainer. Today’s work out will include a journalist and photographer from Sports Illustrated for feature in the magazine.
• Shoot a video to highlight the expansion of Cingular's new high-speed 3G wireless broadband network
• Shoot a greeting video to play at State Farm’s national agent meeting
• Autograph appearance at a Charlotte area Cingular store grand opening (4-6 p.m. at Northlake Commons)
Thursday, May 25
• Work out with my trainer
• NBC/TNT Racing Preseason Shoot. This is where they get all those great shots they use for pre-race shows and commercial breaks.
• Back to the track for double duty. This week I will be racing the No. 31 Cingular Chevy in the Cup Series and the No. 29 Holiday Inn Chevy in the Busch Series. Practice and qualifying for both series is scheduled for Thursday which will make for a really busy day.
Friday, May 26
• Work out with my trainer
• No on-track activities for Busch or Cup cars today
• 7 p.m. guest on SPEED’s Trackside program at Speed Street in Downtown Charlotte
• 8 p.m. question and answer session on the Coca-Cola stage
Monday, May 22
There's No Place Like Home
There is nothing quite like a Sunday afternoon at home, especially when you work in the NASCAR Cup Series. Racing in Charlotte for two straight weeks affords the teams an opportunity we rarely have in our sport – free time at home.
Along with the guys who work at the shop Team Cingular, as well as the other Cup teams on the circuit, has a large number team members who travel to the races each weekend. Between the road crew, who travel to each track on Thursday for the typical Sunday race to work on the car for practice and qualifying, and the pit crew, who are responsible for pitting the car on race day, we total roughly 20 team members who travel with us each weekend.
That’s 20 families at home alone for 38 weekends a year while the crew members are at the track doing their jobs. Those 20 families can’t go to church or have Sunday dinner with dad. Giving that much time to your job is difficult but it’s a career they love and are proud of.
Many times people who have the normal weekday work schedule and are off each weekend can’t comprehend how our team members do it.
All sports only have one winner but in NASCAR instead of there being just one losing team, we have 42 each weekend. It’s the competition that brings us back, the chance to lead the last lap and pull into victory lane. That chance to celebrate with your team and hold up the winner’s trophy.
No matter how long it has been since someone has been to victory lane, they never forget what it feels like and do everything they can to get back.
Saturday, May 20
NASCAR’S ALL-STAR EVENT IS THE MOST COMPETITIVE IN ITS CLASS
Many times when professional sports leagues hold their All-Star events it seems like it’s just that, an event. The competition can take a bit of a back seat to the show. The build up to the All-Star game tends to exceed the game itself.
Not NASCAR, not our sport. Now, I’m not going to say NASCAR’s All-Star race doesn’t get hyped up because it certainly does. But, I will stack the competition level of our All-Star event against any out there and know it will come out on top.
NASCAR’s All-Star race is a no points, no-holds-barred, ultra-competitive Saturday night race under the lights for all the money and, hands down, the most exciting race for the fans all season. This one, folks, is worth every penny. Anytime there is a million dollars on the line and no possible repercussions in the championship points chase, it’s going to be good.
Sure, every sport touts their All-Star game as pitting the best against the best and that part is true. Individual athletes from various teams come together to make up an all-star lineup for one game. In NASCAR, the drivers may be the headline to the event but they compete in the All-Star race with the team that has gotten him there, so it’s much more of a team event.
It starts at the beginning of the event, at what on any other race weekend are the driver introductions. For our All-Star game, the pit crew is introduced with the driver. I think that is the way to do it since it’s not just about the driver, at the all-star race or any race during the season.
Friday, May 19
CHOICES
NASCAR Cup Series teams had a big decision to make this week - which car to bring to the All-Star Challenge this weekend at Lowe’s Motor Speedway.
There are two different thought processes when it comes to making that decision. One train of thought is to bring the best car in the shop, the one which has the best performance history. After all, this is our All-Star game and winning brings a big payday and all the prestige that goes along with it. But, when people think about the history of the race what tends to pop up in everyone’s mind are the wrecks. When there is a lot of money on the line and no points to consider, there’s no guessing what can happen.
Those wrecks are what lead to the second line of reasoning. Sometimes you make a conscious decision to bring a car that is disposable and the team can stand to lose.
For Team Cingular, we pretty much took the middle road. We brought chassis No. 132, which is a car we tested in February at Las Vegas but we haven’t raced it yet this season. We’ve been running one particular car on all the intermediate tracks this season and, since it has performed so well, it makes it difficult to veer away from it. Our Open car has made the rounds as our back up at all the intermediate tracks, so we’re now giving the nod and seeing if it can make the cut.
NASCAR has a new testing policy in place for 2006 which limits the number of sessions and tracks where we can test. So anytime we can use actual track time to gain some additional information on another car I think we need to take advantage of it. That was a big factor in the decision to bring chassis No. 132.
We are not currently in the All-Star Challenge. If we win the Open we will transfer into the All-Star race and our chance at the big check. I know we have a car and team up to the task, now we just need to prove it.
Greg Engle, the Editor of the Cup Scene Daily is seeking employment within the motorsports journalism industry. If you are interested, please contact him at:
greg@cupscene.com
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