This weekend is a milestone in the career of Jeff Burton, as Sunday’s AdvoCare 500 will be his 1,000 career start in a NASCAR national series race.
NASCAR Phoenix 2013: Jeff Burton set for milestone 1,000 career start
On the eve of a milestone start, Jeff Burton is uncertain about his future plans but is adamant about staying in NASCAR in some capacity.
Jerome Miron-USA TODAY Sports
That he has spent a quarter-century competing in the upper levels of NASCAR is something Burton is quite proud. Ever since he was a little boy growing up in South Boston, Va., the 46-year-old wanted to be a NASCAR driver. He fulfilled the dream when he made his Nationwide Series debut March 13, 1988 at Martinsville Speedway.
"I will be involved in the sport. There is a place for me. I want to be here."-Jeff Burton
Burton remembers that race fondly, but not just because it was his first national division race. Needing money for an engine, he went to the bank to take out a loan. The engine, however, didn’t make it past qualifying before blowing up, and a mad scramble ensued trying to find a replacement motor. That engine, too, also expired.
“I remember it vividly,” Burton said Friday at Phoenix International Raceway. “It took me about three years to pay that damn engine off. No, it didn’t, it took me longer than that. It took me like five years to pay that engine off.”
Burton’s time in NASCAR has included 21 wins in Cup, 27 in Nationwide and four appearances in the Chase for the Sprint Cup. Along the way he has also become one of the most respected voices in the garage, and is affectionately known as “The Mayor.”
But it appears “The Mayor’s” term may soon be coming to an end.
When the season concludes next week at Homestead-Miami Speedway, it will mark Burton’s final race driving for Richard Childress Racing, his home since August 2004. Despite having a year left on his contract, he is leaving the team to make way for Ryan Newman, as sponsorship couldn’t be found to keep Burton behind the wheel of the No. 31 car.
What Burton’s plans are for 2014 are unknown, though he maintains he will continue to drive on a limited basis in a deal that has yet to be made public.
“I feel very confident,” Burton said. “I know exactly what I’m going to be doing part of next year and there is another part of it that I’m still working on, but really close on. I’m just not the kind of person that is going to talk about it until we need to be talking about it.”
As Burton transitions into his post-driving career one option he is open to is working in television. With an infectious personality and an innate ability to explain the nuances of the sport, it’s not farfetched to think one day soon he will end up in a broadcasting booth.
“The last several months have been really interesting,” Burton said. “I have been offered some things that were just crazy that I can’t talk about today, but there were some really interesting things that have come my way. I’m having meetings with people currently about doing stuff with them that are real exciting, but I don’t know.
“I will be involved in the sport. There is a place for me. I want to be here. I feel like I can contribute so I would be surprised if five years from now I wasn’t still involved in the sport.”
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