Putting It Into “Dover-Drive:” Jeff Burton’s 2006 Win Started His Surge DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. (May 29, 2007) – Jeff Burton (#29 Holiday Inn Chevy) had a good start to his 2006 season in both NASCAR Busch Series and NASCAR NEXTEL Cup Series competition, but after winning last year’s Dover 200, both of his series seasons seemed to click.

Burton had ended a national series winless streak that dated back to 2001 with a NASCAR Busch Series win at Atlanta Motor Speedway in March last season, but it’s the Dover win that truly launched his special year.

The 39-year-old South Boston, Va., native who is tied for fourth on the all-time series wins list with 24 – two of those wins came in succession this year at Las Vegas Motor Speedway and Atlanta – ran off four top fives and five top-10 finishes in the remaining nine NASCAR Busch Series races on his schedule after he won at Dover one year ago.

The resurgence was also evident in his NASCAR NEXTEL Cup ride as he surged in the point standings to not only claim a spot in the 2006 Chase for the NASCAR NEXTEL Cup, but took the lead after winning that series’ fall race at Dover. He held on to the top spot for the subsequent three races before eventually finishing seventh, his first foray into the Premier Series top 10 since 2001.

And the surge continues. In addition to the two NASCAR Busch Series wins this year, Burton is ninth in the points, the first time since 1999 he’s been in the top 10 more than once in the same season. He’s also fifth in the NASCAR NEXTEL Cup standings with one win.

Top-10 Shuffle: Smith, Blaney Up; Reutimann, Hamilton Jr. Down

After 13 weeks of racing, the NASCAR Busch Series point standings are on either side of the lucky scale depending on which driver you talk to.

After seven consecutive weeks in the top 10 with a high ranking of fifth, Bobby Hamilton Jr. (#35 McDonald’s Ford) fell out of the standings after a season-worst 36th-place last Saturday at Lowe’s Motor Speedway. Hamilton is only four points out of finding his way back into the top 10, however.

David Reutimann (#99 Aaron’s Dream Machine Toyota) is also a bad-luck recipient as of late. After spending the last six weeks in the top 10, most recently ranked a career-high third following the event at Darlington Raceway, Reutimann is now fifth due to a 43rd place finish in Charlotte as a result of engine failure just four laps into the race. He’s still well within striking distance of spots within the top five, though.

Those who consider 13 lucky include Regan Smith (#4 Ginn Resorts Chevy) who has tied Reutimann with 1,393 points and is sixth in the standings, a career-best for the Cato, N.Y., native. He’s also the highest-ranked among series regulars and tied his career-best fifth-place finish at LMS.

Reutimann’s misfortune pushed Dave Blaney (#10 Fan1st.com Toyota) back into third place and within striking distance of reigning series champion Kevin Harvick (#77 Dollar General Chevy). Blaney comes to Dover 169 points behind second place Harvick.
 
In The Loop: Hamilton Jr.’s Dover History Could East Recent Slump
 
Jeff Burton returns to Dover International Speedway this weekend to defend his NASCAR Busch Series win of a year ago.  At that race, Burton flashed his veteran wile.  Driving arguably only the third-best car in that race, he captured the checkered flag, nudging out Carl Edwards (#60 Dish Network Ford) and Clint Bowyer, who led 67 and 62 laps, respectively. Burton led 19.

Burton earned a Driver Rating of 122.1 in that event and also had an Average Running Position of 8.410, a race-high 41 Fastest Laps Run and a race-high 24 Fastest Laps Run. Overall at Dover, Edwards has a Driver Rating of 103.9 and an Average Running Position of 7.6.

Another driver to watch this weekend is Ragan Smith who made a charge up the point standings with a fifth-place finish last weekend at Lowe’s Motor Speedway. The performance, which matched his career-best finish, vaulted Smith from eighth to sixth place in the standings, another career mark.

He had the fourth-best Average Running Position (7.925), the fifth-best Driver Rating (105.7) and the eighth-fastest Green Flag Speed. Also, Smith spent only eight laps outside the top 15.

On the other hand, Bobby Hamilton Jr. has dropped from the top 10. Hamilton has struggled of late with finishes of 22nd, 20th and 33rd over his last three races. His fall peaked this past weekend in Charlotte, as he dropped from seventh to 12th in the standings.

Hamilton stats at LMS were below par as well. Hamilton had an Average Running Position of 36.315 and a Driver Rating of 38.1. Coming into the Lowe’s race, he had a season-to-date Average Running Position of 22.477 and a Driver Rating of 64.3.

There is light at the end of the tunnel for Hamilton, though, who finished second at Dover in 2003 and fourth in ‘04, the last time he raced at at The Monster Mile in NASCAR Busch Series competition.

NBS ETC.

• Time To Walk The Walk: Track activity will be far from over following Saturday’s Dover 200. The fourth annual NASCAR Foundation Track Walk returns, offering fans the opportunity to walk The Monster Mile while raising money for The NASCAR Foundation and its Family of Charities organizations that participate in the event.
  
  Over 1,200 participants including fans – and drivers – joined the walk last year. Juan Pablo Montoya (#42 Texaco/Havoline Dodge), Greg Biffle (#16 3M Ford), Ward Burton (#27 Kleenex Ford) and J.J. Yeley (#1 Miccosukee Resorts Chevy) are among the NASCAR Busch Series drivers scheduled to walk following the Dover 200.

“With over 1,200 people participating in the 2006 event, we hope that the 2007 walk can provide even more support for all the charities that are participating,” said Mike Helton, president of NASCAR and The NASCAR Foundation.

Fans can register online by accessing the NASCAR Foundation website at www.foundation.nascar.com.

• Also Of Note: Kasey Kahne (#9 Wisk Dodge) goes for back-to-back wins this weekend. He captured last Saturday’s race in Charlotte. Jeff Burton and Carl Edwards have won consecutive races this season.
• Jason Keller (#11 CJM Racing Chevy) goes for start #404 at Dover. He’s chasing the all-time record of 417 set by Tommy Houston.
• Shane Huffman (#88 U.S. NAVY Chevy) is scheduled to visit Bethesda Naval Hospital and the Navy Investigative Services headquarters in Washington, D.C. on Wednesday prior to arriving in Dover.
• Keep an eye on Steve Wallace (#66 HomeLife Communities Dodge). The 19-year-old now has his uncle, NASCAR Busch Series veteran Kenny Wallace, spotting for him and the RWI team has traditionally done well at Dover. …
• James Hylton (#01 RACEGIRL Chevy), 72, and Morgan Shepherd (#89 Victory in Jesus Racing Dodge), 65, are entered at Dover. Shepherd won at Dover from the Busch Pole in 1986.
• In addition to Shepherd, there are five other former winners at Dover entered in the field including two-time victors and Roush Fenway teammates Greg Biffle and Matt Kenseth (#17 Arby’s Ford). Kenseth’s win in 1998 came one day before his NASCAR NEXTEL Cup debut. His seven top-five finishes are the most among all drivers in NASCAR Busch Series competition at the track and his 637 laps led are the most among active drivers at The Monster Mile.

The Director's Take: Dover

WHAT TO WATCH FOR AT DOVER: THOUGHTS FROM JOE BALASH,NASCAR BUSCH SERIES DIRECTOR

“Dover lives up to its “Monster Mile” nickname due to the loads that are placed on all of the chassis parts. The high banking and high speeds also place a lot of stress on all of the suspension parts.

“The concrete surface will be a factor, too. Teams will need to manage their tires since Dover is one of four tracks we go to this year where only five sets of tires can be used. The majority of our events utilize six sets for practice, qualifying and the race.

“Pit strategy plays a big part at this race. Pit road at Dover is tight with concrete boxes, so drivers need to have their cars under control and not slide the tires. This is key especially if they’re making a two-tire stop.

Lastly, teams may gamble on taking fuel only to gain track position.”

Rookie Spotlight: Ambrose Righting The Ship

• High Five: Ragan Ups Lead Over Montoya: increased his lead from two to five points over Juan Pablo Montoya following last Saturday night’s race in Charlotte. Ragan’s finish wasn’t sharp – 25th – but it was enough to pad his lead after Montoya’s 40th-place result due to an accident. That finish was his worst since the start of the season at Daytona when he was also saddled with 40th.

• Ambrose Regains Some Footing: Early-season surprise Marcos Ambrose (#59 Kingsford Ford) led the standings as recently as after Talladega but has lacked consistency since Atlanta where he finished 28th. Ambrose had four top-20 finishes in his first seven races – including two top 10s – but averaged a forgetful 26th over his next four events. But he’s picked up his performance over the last two races with finishes of 19th and 20th, respectively.

• Richardson Returns: Robert Richardson Jr. is scheduled to drive the #28 U.S. Border Patrol Chevy for Haas/CNC Racing at Dover. Richardson’s last race was at Talladega Superspeedway in April where he posted his career-best finish (19th).

2007 NASCAR BUSCH SERIES
RAYBESTOS ROOKIE OF THE YEAR STANDINGS

      Driver                         Points
 1.  David Ragan               132
 2.  Juan Pablo Montoya    127
 3.  Marcos Ambrose        123
 4.  Kyle Krisiloff               110
 5.  Brad Keselowski          73
 6.  Brad Coleman              50
 7.  Justin Diercks              39
 8.  Sam Hornish Jr.           35
 9.  Robert Richardson Jr.   23
10. Alex Garcia                    7
11. Bobby Santos                6

ESPN / ABC

Suzy Kolber will make her debut as host of NASCAR Countdown on Saturday from Dover. The pre-race show will air on ESPN2 beginning at 2:30 p.m. ET, with race coverage of the Dover 200 starting at 3 p.m.

ET. She’ll be joined in the ESPN pit studio by analyst Brad Daugherty with Tim Brewer at the ESPN Chevy Cutaway Car.

Dr. Jerry Punch will be the lead announcer for the race telecast, with Dale Jarrett and Andy Petree in the ESPN booth handling analysis. Jarrett is filling in for ESPN’s lead auto racing analyst, Rusty Wallace, who will rejoin NASCAR coverage next week when the series heads to Nashville Superspeedway for its third stand-alone event of the season. Allen Bestwick, Dave Burns, Jamie Little and Mike Massaro will serve as pit reporters.

In addition to the telecast on ESPN2, ESPN’s signature broadband service, ESPN360.com, will deliver a live online simulcast of the event, and a Spanish-language version of the race will be televised on ESPN Deportes, ESPN’s domestic Spanish-language network.

2007 At-A-Glance: NASCAR Busch Series Leaders After 13 Of 35 Races:

Traditional Statistics:
        
Driver points – Edwards (2075) 
Victories – Bowyer, J. Burton, Edwards, Kenseth (2)     
Races led – Edwards (9)       
Laps led – Ky. Busch (536)         
Top-five finishes – Edwards (9)  
Top-10 finishes – Edwards (11)  
Owner points – Roush (#60) - (2075)
Money Won – Edwards ($549,625) 
Miles led – Ky. Busch (764.03)
Busch Poles – Ky. Busch, Hamlin (2)
Closing in on Top 10 – Biffle 10th (1320 pts), Ky Busch (-2), Hamilton Jr. (-4), Ambrose (-17), Mears (-18), Montoya (-50)
Consecutive Weeks in Top 10 – Blaney,Edwards, Harvick (13)

Loop Data Statistics:

Driver Rating – Ky. Busch (113.2)
Average Running Position – Edwards (7.516) 
Fastest Laps Run – Ky. Busch (242 fastest laps)
Quality Passes – Edwards (599)
Laps In Top 15 – Edwards (2,165 of a possible 2,389)

Chevy Rules In Manufacturer Standings And At Dover, But Dodge Could Factor In

Chevy remains solidly in the lead in the Bill France Performance Cup standings as the NASCAR Busch Series moves on to Dover. Chevy is also the leader in victories at The Monster Mile, having won 20 times at the track, including two in a row and six of the last eight races there.

Ford – second in the standings – broke into that streak with a Greg Biffle  victory in this race in 2004. But it’s Dodge (third in the rankings) that snapped Chevy’s string most recently with a victory by Ryan Newman in the fall race in 2005, and it’s Dodge that may have an upper hand in once again challenging Chevy this weekend.

Kasey Kahne captured the manufacturer’s second win of the season last Saturday at Lowe’s Motor Speedway and first since Juan Pablo Montoya won in Mexico City in March. Dodge also had two cars in the top 10 in this event last year at Dover.

Toyota, 11 points behind Dodge in the standings, will make its debut at Dover.
 
Up Next: Federated Auto Parts 300 Presented By Dollar General At Nashville Superspeedway

The first portion of the summer’s “stand-alone” season begins June 9 at Nashville Superspeedway when the NASCAR Busch Series makes its second visit of the year to the 1.333-mile track for a Saturday night event.

Standings leader Carl Edwards won this race last year while Roush Fenway teammate Todd Kluever captured his first career Busch Pole. Edwards will seek his second consecutive victory at Nashville after also winning arguably the most coveted trophy in the series – the Gibson guitar custom-painted by famed NASCAR artist Sam Bass – this past April.

The Federated Auto Parts 300 presented by Dollar General is the first of three consecutive stand-alone events for the NASCAR Busch Series in the month of June; solo races at Kentucky Speedway (June 16) and The Milwaukee Mile (June 23) follow.

FAST FACTS

The Race:  Dover 200
The Place: Dover International Speedway
The Date:  June 2, 20071
The Time:  3:00 p.m. (ET)
TV: ESPN2, 2:30 p.m. (ET)
Track Layout: 1-mile oval
Race Purse: $1,127,483
2006 Winner: Jeff Burton
2006 Pole: None - weather

2007 Point Standings

No. Driver         Points
 1   Edwards     2075
 2   Harvick       1652
 3   Blaney        1483
 4   Kenseth      1431
 5   Reutimann  1393
 6   Smith         1393
 7   Ragan        1358
 8   Bowyer      1349
 9   J Burton     1340
10  Biffle          1320

Schedule:
Fri. 9–10:20 a.m. – Practice; 1:20–2:45 p.m. – Rookie Practice; 2–3:00 p.m. – Final Practice. Sat. 11:05 a.m. – Qualifying  (Impound).