Virginia native Jeff Burton raced for 11 years in the NASCAR Cup Series, collecting 21 career wins in his time. Now the former driver is in the booth as a race analyst with NBC Sports, while also playing the role of mentor for his son, Harrison, who start racing in the Camping World Truck Series this year.
Burton talked with the Bulletin Friday morning about watching his son take up the family business, and what he expects to see at Martinsville Speedway this weekend.
(this interview has been condensed and edited for clarity.)
This will be Harrison’s third trip to Martinsville in the Camping World Truck Series. What are you expecting to see out of him this weekend?
Harrison’s had a really good year. His winning percentage is really high this year. He’s been racing for a long time. He’s young. He just turned 17 last week but he has a ton of racing experience underneath his belt.
To be honest with you in the Truck Series, we just pounded it in his head this year ‘don’t worry about results, just enjoy the experience, go out and learn.’ And honestly this year is about preparing for next year. He kind of understood what his plans were for 2018 and he has a unique opportunity to kind of proceed easily into the Truck Series and that’s what he’s done.
Really we just haven’t got caught up in just looking at finishes. We’ve tried to use this Truck Series experience to be able to go back and evaluate the race, not just the finish. If you only focus on the finish sometimes you tend to miss things. So that’s really been the Truck Series approach. Next year that will change. Next year is much more about results and where you finish but we’re just kind of taking it slow. As young as he is he has plenty of time and there’s just no need to get so caught up in the Truck Series that he ends up getting in wrecks or causing wrecks for other people. That’s really been the mindset for this year.
What is it like for you, as a dad, to see your son finding success in your sport?
It’s fun. It’s fun to see your children do what they want to do and have an opportunity to do what they want to do. That’s the main thing for me. It’s easy to get caught up in ‘this is what I did so that’s what I want my son to do’ and really there hasn’t been any of that. I had a passion and now he’s following that because that’s what he wants to do. So it’s fun to watch. I enjoy watching my daughter do the things she does as well. They’re both doing a good job at the things that they care about and as a parent that’s really all you can ask for.
The race will start later than in recent years, and will definitely finish under the lights. Given how cold it is in Martinsville, how do you think the cooler temperatures will affect the race?
What we saw here in the spring is we saw a lot of rubber get driven into the racetrack. And that changed how people drove the track. You saw people being able to run a much higher groove. Not way high but high for Martinsville and you have to just be right around the curb. As the heat goes away from the racetrack it’ll be harder for that rubber to get laid down. So it’ll be interesting to see as it moves to a little bit cooler conditions how the track changes.
I don’t’ think the start of the race makes any difference, it’s just how it changes as it cools down. It’s going to get dark. I’m not saying it’s going to get pitch dark but the sun is going to set and the track temps are going to come down. It’ll be fascinating to watch what the rubber does. That’s what’s fun about this race track, you can actually see the rubber get laid down on it and it’ll be fun to see how that changes. And nobody has any notes on that. Nobody has any experience on what happens when the track cools down and how the rubber gets laid down. Somebody is going to figure it out and other people won’t.
What are you expecting to see on Sunday?
I think that what we’ve seen the last two races is the norm. I think that, obviously Talladega was crazy but last week at Kansas was pretty crazy as well. There’s just so much on the line for those eight drivers that are trying to advance. But then we tend to forget all those other drivers, although they don’t have a chance at a championship their year can completely change around and their future could change around by having success right now. Even though they’re not vying for a championship they’re still out there racing for wins and to have a good year. They have such an impact on the race so I expect to see another crazy race. The last two have been crazy and I just don’t see how this one won’t be the same way.
This is Dale Earnhardt, Jr.’s final race here at Martinsville. How do you think he’ll do this weekend?
Ultimately, I think it’s the kind of track he’s had the best chance to run well on. Hendrick (Motorsports team) has a really good package at these racetracks. They seem to have a real handle on Martinsville so I think this is one of the place where they have a really good shot. Here and Phoenix are the two places that I believe he stands the best opportunity to win. So it wouldn’t surprise me a bit to see him run well. It wouldn’t surprise me a bit to see him run in the front.
Cara Cooper is a sports writer for the Martinsville Bulletin. She can be reached