Car: #31 CAT Chevrolet for
Richard Childress RacingBorn: June 29, 1967 in South Boston, Virginia
Career highlights: Jeff grew up racing at the famed
South Boston Speedway with his older brother, Ward Burton, a former Daytona 500 champion who stopped racing in 2004. Jeff Burton races in the
Nextel Cup Series and is also a semi-regular in the
Busch Series.
- Burton has won 17 Cup races, and finished a career-high 3rd in the points in 2000.
- Burton entered the Nextel Cup (then the Winston Cup) Series in 1994, driving the #8 car for the Stavola Brothers team. He finished 24th in the standings and captured the Rookie of the Year from the record 10 rookies who were competing that season.
- In 1996, Burton moved to Roush Racing to drive the #99 car, and finished 13th in the standings. From 1997 to 2000, Burton was one of the strongest drivers in NASCAR, never finishing below 5th in the points.
- In 1999, he won a career-high six races.
- In 2000, he finished third in the points and, on Sept. 27 at New Hampshire International Speedway he became the first driver since Cale Yarborough in 1978 to lead a race wire-to-wire.
- In 2001, he won another two races, but his career began to fizzle.
- In 2005, he switched to the #31 car, though he has yet to win a race with Richard Childress.
- In 2006, Burton captured the pole for the Daytona 500 and won a Busch Series race at Atlanta, his first win of any kind in four years. Jeff Burton won his first Sprint Cup race in four years, qualified for the chase, and finished seventh in the standings.
- 2007 was another good year for Jeff Burton as he passed Matt Kenseth on the final lap in the Spring Texas race for the victory. He finished eighth in the points.
- 2008 was Burtons first multipe win season scince 2001. He scored wins at Bristol and Lowe's Motor speedway. Burton was fourth with eight laps to go at Bristol, but a spinout by second and third place Kevin Harvick and Tony Stewart, then a fuel pick up problem for leader Denny Hamlin left Burton in the lead when the checkers flew.