JEFF BURTON
No. 66 Let’s Go Places TOYOTA
Las Vegas Motor Speedway Preview
CORNELIUS, N.C. — No. 66 Let’s Go Places Toyota Camry driver Jeff Burton will make his first start of the 2014 season Sunday at Las Vegas Motor Speedway.
Burton and Michael Waltrip will drive the No. 66 for Michael Waltrip Racing in a limited number of races in 2014. A newly formed partnership between MWR and Jay Robinson Racing will allow the No. 66 to compete in all NASCAR Sprint Cup races with Joe Nemechek as the primary driver.
JEFF BURTON RACING AT VEGAS: “I am really looking forward to getting back in a race car this weekend. We spent a lot of time testing this winter. I really like the direction that Michael Waltrip Racing is heading. I really like my team and I am excited to see how our off season testing worked for us. I am excited to work with everyone at MWR and I am really excited to see what we have for them in Vegas.”
ON PART-TIME SCHEDULE: “We have a hard schedule – Vegas being very hard and there are other ones we feel pretty sure about that we’re going to run, but we haven’t really talked about it yet so we might change our mind. We’re going to run where it makes sense. Having more teams doesn’t make us better, right? So, what we have to do is run when it’s smart. We got to run where it make sense to run and not just run because we want to run. It’s got to be part of a plan and if it’s not, we’re making a mistake.”
NOTES:
· Burton Stats:
Starts-691 Poles-6 Wins-21 Top 5s-134 Top 10s-254
· Burton in Sin City: Burton has 16 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series starts at Las Vegas Motor Speedway. He owns two wins (1999 and 2000), five top-five and eight top-10 finishes. He has led 280 laps and has a finishing average of 11.9.
· Career Stats: Burton has 1,001 starts in NASCAR’s three top series. He owns 21 Sprint Cup and 27 Nationwide Series wins. He has earned 17 poles, 225 top-five and 410 top-10 finishes. He has also led 11,355 laps of competition.
· 10 Years of Toyota: The 2014 season marks Toyota’s 10th anniversary participating in NASCAR national series competition. In 2004, the manufacturer first entered the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series (NCWTS) with the Tundra and moved into the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series (NSCS) and NASCAR Nationwide Series (NNS) with the Camry beginning in 2007. Toyota has won nine manufacturers championships — three in the NNS and six in the NCWTS, as well as five driver’s championships. Toyota drivers have combined for 265 total wins — 63 in the NSCS, 89 in the NNS and 113 in the NCWTS — during the 10-year timespan.
· Sirius: Michael Waltrip will co-host a special live edition Thursday of “Dialed In with Claire B. Lang” on SiriusXM NASCAR Radio channel 90 from 5-6 p.m. local time from the Pub in Las Vegas’s Monte Carlo Hotel.
· Chassis: Primary 796 & backup 779— Neither chassis has raced.
