NASCAR: Jeff Burton’s Five Most Significant Wins
By Mike Hutton
The next installment of our NASCAR Most Significant series, highlighting a driver’s five most significant wins will feature recently-retired driver and current NBC analyst Jeff Burton.
Retired NASCAR driver and current NBC analyst Jeff Burton’s Cup career spanned 22 years, where he recorded 21 victories. He is a three-time winner of a marquee event having won the Coca-Cola 600 from Charlotte twice (1999 and 2001) and the Southern 500 from Darlington also in 1999. Burton is also credited with 27 wins in an Xfinity series career that spanned over 20 years as well and an IROC win in 1998 at Michigan.
Burton’s older brother Ward was also a NASCAR driver, and Burton’s nephew Jeb (Ward’s son) is a young driver on the Cup scene. Burton drive for Roush Racing in the early stages of his career from 1996 until late in the 2004 season. Like many before and after him, he realized Roush offered no prospects for future success and left to join Richard-Childress Racing (RCR) until retiring from full-time competition at the end of the 2013 season. He would do two races apiece for Michael Waltrip Racing and Stewart-Haas Racing in relief roles in 2014.
Burton has earned the nickname, “the Mayor” because of his intellect and thoughtful, rational demeanor among colleagues and competitors alike. His contemporary knowledge of today’s cars and equipment coupled with his ability to communicate that to fans, has allowed him to seamlessly transition from the track to the broadcast booth and is why he is still well-regarded by fans.
Next: #5 - Texas, April 1997