RCR's Jeff Burton to make 850th career NASCAR start this weekend

By SceneDaily Staff

Tuesday, October 13, 2009

Richard Childress Racing's Jeff Burton will make his 850th career NASCAR start this weekend.

David Griffin
NASCAR Scene

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Richard Childress Racing’s Jeff Burton will reach another career milestone when he makes his 850th career NASCAR start this weekend at Lowe's Motor Speedway.

Burton, 42, will hit the magic number in Friday night’s Dollar General 300 NASCAR Nationwide Series race at Lowe’s Motor Speedway.

Burton, a native of South Boston, Va., made his NASCAR debut at Martinsville Speedway on March 13, 1998. Since then, he has made 541 starts in what is now the Sprint Cup Series, 304 starts in what is now the Nationwide series and four starts in what is now the Camping World Truck Series. He will tie Bill Elliott with 850 NASCAR starts for 11th on the all-time NASCAR starts list, trailing Kyle Petty in 10th with 885 collective starts.

Burton is also one of only 12 drivers to have competed in more than 300 Nationwide races.

“It’s hard to imagine I’ll be making my 850th NASCAR start,” Burton said. “I’m not one to count how many starts I have made, but I can certainly say that I have a lot more starts in my future. Competing in NASCAR’s top levels of racing is something I have dreamed of since I was 5 years old. Thirty-seven years later, I still have a passion for what I do, and I look forward to capturing more trophies and, hopefully, a championship along the way.”

Burton, who pilots the No. 31 RCR Chevrolet in the Cup series, is tied with Bobby Labonte, Benny Parsons and Jack Smith for 28th on the all-time series wins list with 21 victories. He is also tied with Kyle Busch for fourth on the Nationwide all-time wins list with 27.

Overall, Burton has 48 wins, 17 pole positions and 372 top-10 finishes, 209 of them top-fives. He helped RCR win the 2007 Nationwide owners championship and has finished in the top 10 of the Cup point standings in eight of the 15 years he has run the series full time.