page_title: Jeff Burton
section_title: No. 31 car
hierarchical_section_title: Jeff Burton / NASCAR career / Richard Childress Racing / No. 31 car
caption_attribution_description: English: Jeff Burton during the 2013 STP Gas Booster 500.
context_page_description: Jeffrey Tyler Burton, nicknamed The Mayor, is an American former professional stock car racing driver and current racing commentator. He scored 21 career victories in the NASCAR Cup Series, including two Coca-Cola 600s in 1999 and 2001 and the 1999 Southern 500. He currently serves as a color commentator for NBC Sports, having joined them upon their return to their coverage of NASCAR. His son Harrison Burton currently competes in the Xfinity Series and part-time in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series. His brother Ward Burton and his nephew Jeb Burton have also competed in the NASCAR Cup Series.
context_section_description: 2005 was Burton's first full year at RCR, and he had six Top 10s and three Top 5s for the year, including a third-place finish in the Subway Fresh 500 at Phoenix in April and a second-place finish in the Sharpie 500 at Bristol Motor Speedway.
  In 2006, Burton won the pole for four races, bringing his total number of career pole wins to six. This poles were for the Daytona 500, the USG Sheetrock 400 at Chicagoland Speedway, the Brickyard 400 at Indianapolis Motor Speedway, and the GFS Marketplace 400 at Michigan International Speedway. Prior to qualifying for the Daytona 500, Burton was extremely enthusiastic about the improvements to RCR as a whole. He proved this by winning his first pole since September 2000 at Richmond. The Allstate 400 pole gave Richard Childress Racing the front row as teammate Clint Bowyer recorded the second fastest time. Burton's best finish came in the Chicagoland race where he recorded a second-place finish. He led the most laps at Indianapolis and Bristol's Sharpie 500, setting the pace for more than half the race. In the Busch Series, he won at Atlanta Motor Speedway and Dover International Speedway, breaking his four-year winless streak in any series. After the race at Richmond International Raceway Jeff qualified for the Chase for the Nextel Cup. During the Chase, Burton won the Dover 400 at Dover International Speedway, breaking a 185-race winless streak dating back to October 28, 2001, allowing him to take the points lead. However, a series of relatively poor finishes in subsequent races, including a flat tire at Talladega while running in the top five and an engine failure at Martinsville, eliminated Burton from contention for the championship.
  Burton won the Samsung 500 at Texas on April 15, 2007, driving with sponsorship from Prilosec OTC, passing former teammate Matt Kenseth on the final lap, making him the first driver to have multiple wins at Texas Motor Speedway. He later went on to qualify for the Chase for the Nextel Cup, he tied for seventh in the 2007 standings.
  Burton came very close to winning the 50th annual Daytona 500. He qualified 36th and by the end of the race, he had worked his way up in the field. He led prior to the race's final caution, but when the green flag dropped with four laps to go, lost several positions and wound up finishing 13th.
  Burton won the Food City 500 at Bristol Motor Speedway. Following contact between Kevin Harvick and Tony Stewart, Burton passed Harvick and Stewart for second. On the ensuing restart, Burton passed Denny Hamlin coming off of Turn 2 to win the Food City 500 and finishing off a sweep of the podium for Richard Childress Racing. Burton also won the 2008 Bank of America 500 at Lowe's Motor Speedway. Burton took the lead from Greg Biffle with just over 70 laps to go. During the final round of pit stops Burton took fuel only and held off a hard charging Jimmie Johnson for his first multiple win season since 2001.
  In 2009, Caterpillar signed on as a sponsor through 2011. Burton was expected to make a run for the championship but a poor season led Burton to miss the Chase for the first time since 2005. Burton's best finish that year was a pair of second-place finishes in the final two races at Phoenix and Homestead, which eventually put him 17th in points.
  In 2010, he rebounded but he had still not won a race, though he made the Chase and finished second in both Dover races. He nearly won the fall Martinsville race but a flat tire with 15 laps remaining gave Denny Hamlin the win. A couple weeks later, he and Jeff Gordon got into a wreck long after the caution was out. Burton walked up the track to confront Gordon and the two got into a shoving match. Burton finished 12th in the final points standings. Afterward, Burton assumed responsibility for the incident, stating he was attempting to catch up to Gordon, but was unable to see in the sunlight's glare.
  In 2011, Burton was looking for a better season, but a very bad season gave Burton a poor series of finishes. He won the second Gatorade Duel, edging out his Richard Childress Racing teamma
caption: Burton during the 2013 STP Gas Booster 500
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