It is no surprise that Jeff Burton is looking forward to getting back to Bristol Motor Speedway for the Food City 500.
Although he hasn’t exactly gotten off to a blazing start this season, he did grab his first BMS victory last March. Naturally, he is pretty happy to be coming back to the scene of last year’s first win.
“It’s been an up and down kind of season,” said Burton, who started the year off with a 28th-place finish at Daytona, followed by 32nd (California), third (Las Vegas) and 14th (Atlanta). “So yeah, I’m looking forward to coming back to Bristol and trying to do exactly what we did last year.”
Burton had to go an extra six laps to claim the Food City 500 victory after a late caution. He took the lead from Denny Hamlin after a green-white-checkered restart and the final lap was the only one he led.
Winning the race in such a manner caused no heartburn at all for Burton.
“I’ve actually won several races like that over the last few years,” he said. “It doesn’t bother me at all. All that counts is who is leading on that last lap. The way we won last year, making that late pass, was really exciting. It was certainly the highlight of the year.”
The World’s Fastest Half-Mile is a challenge, says Burton, but one he looks forward to twice a year.
“Bristol is a lot of fun to be quite honest,” he said. “It’s stressful when you are racing for points—it makes it tough. On the other hand, it’s a lot of fun. It’s very physical and very competitive. It is an emotionally draining race as well as being physically draining. There is never a chance to take a break.
“It’s challenging and can be very rewarding, but it can also break your heart pretty quickly. We’ve run well there, but sometimes we ended up getting into someone else’s trouble. Nevertheless, we always go to Bristol with high hopes.”
Burton says he always marvels at the atmosphere surrounding races at the famous .533-mile track.
“Really, there’s just nothing like it,” he said. “When you’re in there and you look around and you see nothing but fans—fans everywhere because the place is packed—and you feel all their energy, it’s just an awesome feeling and something to see.
“If I was a fan, Bristol is the place I’d want to watch a race. Just being there and being part of it is a heck of an experience.”
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