RCR shows off the No. 31 CAT Chevy
Richard Childress Racing unveiled today at Chicagoland Speedway the No. 31 Caterpillar Chevrolet Impala SS to be driven by Jeff Burton in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series beginning in 2009. Caterpillar Inc. and RCR announced June 18 that they had entered into a multi-year partnership for the No. 31 Chevrolet team and Burton. Next season marks Caterpillar’s 17th year of sponsorship involvement in NASCAR. It will also be Richard Childress’ 40th anniversary in the sport.
Caterpillar to sponsor Burton and No. 31 in 2009
Tags: jeff burton, sponsor news, richard childress racing
Caterpillar Inc. and Richard Childress Racing have agreed to a multi-year partnership for the No. 31 Chevrolet driven by Jeff Burton beginning with the 2009 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series season.
Burton, a 20-time winner in NASCAR Sprint Cup Series competition, is currently second in the 2008 point standings with one victory, four top-five and 10 top-10 finishes in the season’s first 15 races. The No. 31 team has made the “Chase for the Championship” the past two seasons, finishing seventh in 2006 and eighth last year.
“To represent a well-known global brand like Caterpillar is an honor,” said Richard Childress, president and CEO of RCR. “Cat products have played a big part over the decades in construction projects at RCR, Childress Vineyards and Yadkin River Angus. Jeff and I look forward to meeting the Cat dealers and customers who loyally follow NASCAR racing.” (From RCRRacing.com)
Comments (12)Driver comments from Texas
Tags: bobby labonte, kevin harvick, jeff burton, clint bowyer, tony stewart, jeff gordon, jimmie johnson, kyle busch, robby gordon, mark martin
Chevy:
comments from Mark Martin, Kevin Harvick, Jeff Burton, Clint Bowyer, Dale Jr., Jimmie Johnson, and Jeff Gordon
comments from DEI team
Dodge:
comments from Bobby Labonte
comments from Robby Gordon
comments from Elliot Sadler
comments from Patrick Carpentier
comments from Ryan Newman
comments from Sam Hornish, Jr.
comments from Kurt Busch
Ford:
Toyota:
comments from Denny Hamlin
comments from Kyle Busch
comments from Tony Stewart
comments from J.J. Yeley
comments from Dave Blaney
Notes - Samsung 500 at Texas
Tags: clint bowyer, jeff burton, greg biffle, dale earnhardt jr, ryan newman, denny hamlin, sam hornish jr, matt kenseth, jamie mcmurray, david reutimann
-Dale Jr. had a decent finish, but couldn't do better than 12th. “It was frustrating,” Earnhardt said. “We just chased the handling of the car all day, we had it too tight there at the end.”
-Clint Bowyer and Denny Hamlin touched coming out of turn 4 on the last lap. Bowyer, who was going for a top-5 finish, hit the wall, but was able to save the car and finished 10th. “Clint just pinched me up there on the final lap,” Hamlin said. “I had to turn left or I’d have gone into the wall. There was no place to go.”
“(Hamlin’s car) clipped us in the right rear, and that was it,” Bowyer said.
-Ryan Newman failed the postrace inspection Sunday. It was determined that the right rear of the car was too high. NASCAR will announce any resulting penalties this week.
-Jamie McMurray finished 14th, and is now well inside the top-35 in points (26th). This is second five-position jump in the points after finishing eighth at Martinsville.
-Sam Hornish Jr. moved up two spots to 34th and is guaranteed a spot in Saturday's race at Phoenix International Raceway.
-Hornish's gain is Mayfield's loss, the two drivers switched places with Jeremy Mayfield falling out of the top 35.
-David Reutimann finished 41st. He dropped another spot to 38th in points, and will have to qualify on time again at Phoenix.
-Greg Biffle took the biggest hit in the point standings. He lost six spots (to 9th) in the standings after starting the race 16th, and finishing 39th, 27 laps down (mechanical problems).
-Jeff Burton maintains his points lead after finishing sixth.
-Matt Kenseth decided to not pit for fresh tires during the final caution, and was passed shortly after green by Jeff Burton and Tony Stewart, and finished ninth.
"When you're the first one on old tires and everybody's got new tires behind you, they're going to eat your lunch," Kenseth said. "It was a 50-50 call, and we were right in the middle, and we tried it and it didn't work."
-Denny Hamlin's postrace interview session on pit road lasted just 41 seconds before he nearly passed out from dehydration, and was taken to the infield care center. "I'm feeling much better now," Hamlin said at the center. "It really hit me when I got out of the car. I was dizzy and just needed to sit down."
Comments (1)Details, Drivers announced for Prelude to a Dream
Tags: bobby labonte, kevin harvick, aric almirola, clint bowyer, jeff burton, tony stewart, local tracks, jeff gordon, kasey kahne, jimmie johnson
April 4, 2008 // FORT WORTH, Texas -- A supernova of racing talent will again descend upon the Field of Dreams that is Eldora Speedway in Rossburg, Ohio, on June 4 when the dirt that made champions out of A.J. Foyt and Mario Andretti hosts today's racing stars at the fourth annual Old Spice Prelude to the Dream.
For those not lucky enough to grab a seat for the dirt late-model race featuring more than 25 world renowned drivers as they battle for dirt supremacy, HBO Pay-Per-View will present the event live to the entire nation. Proceeds from this telecast will support construction of Victory Junction Gang Camp II in Kansas City, as well as the Tony Stewart Foundationexternal link.
The all-star race will feature such racing icons as Tony Stewart, Kasey Kahne, Kyle Busch, Jeff Gordon, Jimmie Johnson, Carl Edwards, Kevin Harvick, Matt Kenseth, Mark Martin, Denny Hamlin, Bobby Labonte and more. All will pilot 2,300-pound dirt late-model stock cars capable of putting out more than 800 horsepower. Additionally, J.J. Yeley, Clint Bowyer, Jeff Burton, Ryan Newman, Bill Elliott, Dave Blaney, Aric Almirola, Ron Capps, Cruz Pedregon, Ray Evernham, Red Farmer, Ken Schrader and Kenny Wallace have also committed to the Old Spice Prelude to the Dream.
Drivers from all types of disciplines, some with lots of dirt-track experience and others with hardly any, will participate in hot laps, qualifying, heat races and the 30-lap feature on the half-mile clay oval, all of which will be televised live on HBO. (From EldoraSpeedway.com)
Comments (0)Texas: Samsung 500 - Last minute notes (4/6/08)
Tags: jeff burton, kyle busch, carl edwards, dale earnhardt jr, michael mcdowell, roush racing
Pole: Dale Earnhardt Jr. - 190.907 mph
Outside pole: Carl Edwards - 189.487 mph
Didn't qualify: Dario Franchitti, Chad McCumbee and Burney Lamar
Jeff Burton is the only driver to win more than once in 14 races at Texas.
Dale Jr. seems to be the popular pick for this weekend. He's starting from the pole, but he's trying to win only his first race since Richmond in 2006. However, don't count out Kyle Busch, who won at - the similar - Atlanta Motor Speedway earlier this year, and who dominated the Nationwide Series race on Saturday.
Roush looks good also: The five cars of the Roush Fenway Racing team were impressive in the final Cup practice. Carl Edwards posted the fastest lap of the session and Greg Biffle the second best. All five drivers were in the top 12.
"We're real happy with where our Cup cars are," owner Jack Roush said. "We've really got a lock on the mile-and-a-half tracks. If the weather is good, we know we can run well."
From Michael McDowell:
"I want to be in the media spotlight for the right reason and that's for being a good race car driver and running well," McDowell said on Saturday. "The second part of it is that you'll take it whenever you can get it. Especially with the way this sport is right now. We don't want to go out there and wreck cars to get on TV, that's never the plan. If you're going to do one as spectacular as we did, we'll definitely soak up as much as we can get.
"Nobody is going to forget this wreck, but it doesn't guarantee me that I'm going to have a ride. The only thing that guarantees me of having a ride is performance and that's what I'm going to focus on. I'll climb back in there and do it."
Comments (1)Texas Motor Speedway Power Rankings
Tags: kevin harvick, jeff burton, tony stewart, jeff gordon, jimmie johnson, kyle busch, greg biffle, carl edwards, texas motor speedway, denny hamlin
Here are the Sprint Cup power rankings going into Texas Motor Speedway according to Fox Sports:
1. Kyle Busch — 110.5 driver rating (No. 1 last week)
2. Carl Edwards — 106.5 driver rating (No. 2 last week)
3. Jeff Gordon — 106.5 driver rating (No. 4 last week)
4. Dale Earnhardt Jr. — 105.0 driver rating (No. 7 last week)
5. Tony Stewart — 100.8 driver rating (No. 6 last week)
6. Kevin Harvick — 100.0 driver rating (No. 3 last week)
7. Jeff Burton — 99.4 driver rating (No. 8 last week)
8. Jimmie Johnson — 95.5 driver rating (Outside of top 10 last week)
9. Greg Biffle — 95.1 driver rating (No. 5 last week)
10. Denny Hamlin — 93.6 driver rating (Outside of top 10 last week)
Dropped out: Matt Kenseth, Kasey Kahne
Comments (0)Martinsville: team and driver post race comments (3/30/08)
Tags: bobby labonte, jeff burton, clint bowyer, tony stewart, jeff gordon, robby gordon, toyota, michael mcdowell, dave blaney, denny hamlin
Ford Racing:
comments from Jamie McMurray, David Ragan, and Matt Kenseth (from FordRacing.com)
Chevy Racing:
comments from Jeff Burton and Jeff Gordon (from GeneralMotors.com)
comments from Clint Bowyer (from RCRRacing.com)
Dodge Racing:
comments from Robby Gordon (from RobbyGordon.com)
comments from Bobby Labonte (from PettyEnterprises.com)
comments from Kurt Busch (from PenskeRacing.com)
comments from Sam Hornish Jr. (from PenskeRacing.com)
comments from Ryan Newman (from PenskeRacing.com)
Toyota Racing:
comments from Denny Hamlin, Tony Stewart, Brian Vickers, Michael McDowell, Mike Skinner, and Dave Blaney (from ToyotaPitpass.com)
comments from Tony Stewart (from JoeGibbsRacing.com)
comments from J.J. Yeley (from HallOfFameRacing.com)