Jeff Burton facts for kids

Kids Encyclopedia Facts

Quick facts for kids

Jeff Burton

Burton at Dover International Speedway in 2019

Born

Jeffrey Tyler Burton
June 29, 1967 (age 57)
South Boston, Virginia, U.S.

Height

5 ft 7 in (1.70 m)

Achievements

1999 Southern 500 Winner
1999, 2001 Coca-Cola 600 Winner

Awards

1994 Winston Cup Series Rookie of the Year
Named one of NASCAR's 75 Greatest Drivers (2023)

NASCAR Cup Series career

695 races run over 22 years

2014 position

41st

Best finish

3rd (2000)

First race

1993 Slick 50 300 (Loudon)

Last race

2014 Irwin Tools Night Race (Bristol)

First win

1997 Interstate Batteries 500 (Texas)

Last win

2008 Bank of America 500 (Charlotte)

Wins	Top tens	Poles
21	254	6

NASCAR Xfinity Series career

306 races run over 20 years

2009 position

28th

Best finish

9th (1992)

First race

1988 Miller Classic (Martinsville)

Last race

2009 Ford 300 (Homestead)

First win

1990 Zerex 150 (Martinsville)

Last win

2007 Ford 300 (Homestead)

Wins	Top tens	Poles
27	153	11

NASCAR Gander RV & Outdoors Truck Series career

4 races run over 1 year

1996 position

42nd

Best finish

42nd (1996)

First race

1996 Lund Look 225 (Topeka)

Last race

1996 Hanes 250 (Martinsville)

Wins	Top tens	Poles
0	3	0

Statistics current as of August 23, 2014.

Jeffrey Tyler Burton (born June 29, 1967), known as "the Mayor", is an American former professional stock car racing driver. He is also a racing commentator today. Jeff is part of the famous Burton racing family. He won 23 races in the NASCAR Cup Series. This includes two Coca-Cola 600 races in 1999 and 2001. He also won the 1999 Southern 500.

Today, Jeff works as a commentator for NBC Sports. He joined them when they started covering NASCAR again. His son, Harrison, races in the NASCAR Cup Series. His nephew, Jeb Burton, races in the NASCAR Xfinity Series. His brother, Ward Burton, also raced in the Cup Series.

Jeff Burton's Racing Journey
Life After Racing and Business Ventures
About Jeff's Personal Life
Images for kids
See also

Jeff Burton's Racing Journey

Starting Out in Racing

Jeff Burton grew up around racing. His father introduced him and his brothers to go-kart racing. Later, Jeff started driving late model stock cars. He raced at places like South Boston Speedway.

Early NASCAR Career

Jeff began racing in the Busch Series in 1988. He drove car number 69, which his father owned. In 1989, he raced a full season for Rookie of the Year. He drove the No. 12 Pontiac for Burton Autosports.

In 1990, he drove a Buick sponsored by Armour Lower Salt Bacon. He won his first race that year. He later moved to J&J Racing in 1991. Then he joined FILMAR Racing in 1992. He drove an Oldsmobile and later a Ford. Jeff made his first Winston Cup start in 1993.

Racing with Stavola Brothers

1994 was Jeff's first full year in the Winston Cup Series. He drove the No. 8 Raybestos-sponsored Ford. He finished 24th in points that year. He also earned the 1994 NASCAR Rookie of the Year award. He was one of 10 rookies that year. He beat future stars like Joe Nemechek and his brother Ward. In 1995, he had one Top 5 finish. He ended the year 32nd in points.

Success with Roush Racing

1997 racecar

Jeff Burton walks to his car for qualifying at Pocono Raceway in 1998.

In 1996, Jeff joined Roush Racing. He drove the No. 99 Exide Batteries Ford. He finished 13th in points that season. His career really took off from 1997 to 2000. He was in the top five in points for four years straight.

He got his first win in 1997 at Texas Motor Speedway. He won 14 more races during this time. In 1998, his team switched to the new Ford Taurus. In 1999, Jeff won six races, his most in one year. This included the Coca-Cola 600 and the 50th Annual Southern 500. These wins earned him a $1 million bonus. He finished fifth in points that year.

His best points finish was third in 2000. He was only 294 points behind the champion. On September 17, 2000, Jeff led every lap of a race at New Hampshire Motor Speedway. This was a special race that used a restrictor plate for safety. From 1997 to 2000, Jeff won a race at New Hampshire every year.

In late 2000, CITGO became the new sponsor for Jeff's No. 99 car. In 2001, Jeff won two more races. This brought his total wins to 17. He finished tenth in points that year. In 2002 and 2003, he finished 12th in points. He had many Top 5 and Top 10 finishes. However, he didn't win any races in those two years. CITGO left Roush Racing at the end of 2003.

Jeff raced the 2004 season without a main sponsor. His personal sponsor SKF often sponsored races. Rumors started that Jeff would leave Roush Racing. He eventually signed with Richard Childress Racing (RCR) in mid-2004. He left Roush after eight and a half years.

Time with Richard Childress Racing (RCR)

Driving the No. 30 Car

When Jeff joined RCR, he drove the No. 30 AOL-sponsored Chevrolet. He was the fourth driver for that car that season. Before he joined, Jeff was struggling in his races. But after switching teams, his performance improved. During the offseason, Jeff moved to the No. 31 Cingular Wireless-sponsored Chevy.

Driving the No. 31 Car

2005 was Jeff's first full season with RCR. He had six Top 10 finishes and three Top 5 finishes. This included a third-place finish at Phoenix. He also had a second-place finish at Bristol Motor Speedway.

Stephen Rochon and Jeff Burton hold the victory trophy from 2006 Nicorette 300

In 2006, Jeff won the pole position for four races. This meant he started first in those races. These poles included the Daytona 500. He showed how much RCR had improved. His best finish was second place at Chicagoland. He led many laps at Indianapolis and Bristol. In the Busch Series, he won races at Atlanta Motor Speedway and Dover International Speedway. This was his first win in any series in four years. Jeff made it into the Chase for the Nextel Cup. During the Chase, he won the Dover 400. This ended a 185-race winless streak. He even took the points lead for three races. But bad luck later in the season stopped him from winning the championship.

Burton in the pits during his 2007 win at Texas

Jeff won the Samsung 500 at Texas on April 15, 2007. He drove with Prilosec OTC as his sponsor. He passed his former teammate Matt Kenseth on the last lap. This made him the first driver to win multiple times at Texas. He qualified for the Chase again and finished seventh overall.

JeffBurtonApril2007TexasMotorSpeedwayWinner

Burton celebrates after winning at Texas in 2007

Jeff almost won the 50th annual Daytona 500. He started 36th but moved up in the race. He was leading before the last caution flag. But he finished 13th after the final restart.

Jeff won the Food City 500 at Bristol Motor Speedway. He passed Kevin Harvick and Tony Stewart to take second place. Then he passed Denny Hamlin to win the race. RCR drivers finished first, second, and third. Jeff also won the 2008 Bank of America 500 at Lowe's Motor Speedway. He took the lead from Greg Biffle. He held off Jimmie Johnson to win. This was his first season with multiple wins since 2001.

2008 Cup car at Daytona

In 2009, Caterpillar became his sponsor. Jeff was expected to compete for the championship. But he had a tough season and missed the Chase. His best finishes were two second-place spots. He finished 17th in points.

Burton during the 2013 STP Gas Booster 500

In 2010, Jeff improved but still didn't win a race. He made the Chase and finished second in both Dover races. He almost won at Martinsville but had a flat tire. This gave Denny Hamlin the win. Later, he had a small argument with Jeff Gordon after a crash. Jeff finished 12th in points. He took responsibility for the incident.

In 2011, Jeff hoped for a better season. He won the second Gatorade Duel race. But his season went downhill after that. His engine failed during the Daytona 500. He almost won the Coca-Cola 600 but spun out. NASCAR decided to finish the race under green. His teammate Kevin Harvick won the race. Jeff's first Top 10 came at Watkins Glen International. He missed the 2011 Chase. He had a strong run at Talladega. He led on the last lap but finished second.

In 2012, Jeff got new sponsors like Wheaties and BB&T. He also got a new crew chief. After a difficult 2012, Luke Lambert became his crew chief in 2013. Jeff had six Top 10 finishes in 2012. He had a dramatic second-place finish at Daytona. At the AdvoCare 500 at Phoenix International Raceway, Jeff made his 1,000th NASCAR start. He was the sixth driver in NASCAR history to do this.

On September 4, 2013, RCR announced Jeff would not return in 2014. Jeff later said he wanted to stay with RCR. He wanted to move from racing to television. But RCR signed Ryan Newman instead.

Racing with Michael Waltrip Racing

On December 2, 2013, Jeff joined Michael Waltrip Racing. He would race a few times for their research team. Jeff debuted in the No. 66 car at Las Vegas.

Later, it was announced that Brett Moffitt would replace Jeff. Jeff was given one more start at Loudon. This was expected to be his last race.

Racing with Stewart-Haas Racing

However, on August 14, 2014, Jeff joined Stewart-Haas Racing. He replaced Tony Stewart in the No. 14 car. This was after a sad accident involving sprint car driver Kevin Ward Jr.

Life After Racing and Business Ventures

On December 3, 2013, NBC Sports Network announced Jeff would become a racing analyst. He started working for NBC in 2015.

On January 9, 2023, Jeff Burton Autosports, Inc. bought the CARS Tour. This was part of a group that included DEJ Management and Kevin Harvick Incorporated.

About Jeff's Personal Life

Jeff Burton is the younger brother of Ward Burton. Ward is also a former Cup Series driver. Jeff is married to Kim and they have two children. Their children are Paige and Harrison. Harrison is a NASCAR driver, just like his dad. He currently races in the Cup Series. Jeff also has another brother, Brian. Brian did not race in NASCAR. He took over the family's construction business.

Jeff's family history goes back a long way. His earliest ancestor came to the Jamestown Colony in the 1630s. His family can be traced back to the 1200s.

Jeff is a big fan of Bruce Lee. At a race in Japan, he even had a special Bruce Lee design on his car.