Texas Motor Speedway’s first winner talks about the hot track and Sunday’s favorites
The first sporting event in the state of Texas with fans in the stands since the start of the coronavirus pandemic will be this Sunday as motorsports returns to Fort Worth this weekend. NASCAR’s featured race, the O’Reilly Auto Parts 500, at Texas Motor Speedway will start at 2 p.m.
Jeff Burton, a former NASCAR driver who won the inaugural race at TMS in 1997 and became the track’s first two-time winner in 2007, will call the race for NBC Sports. Burton will call the race remotely from Charlotte Motor Speedway with Dale Earnhardt Jr. Despite the remote production, NBC will still have interviews throughout the race, including in-car interviews.
Burton, who was inducted into the Texas Motor Sports Hall of Fame in 2016, spoke Friday morning about Sunday’s race and this year’s NASCAR season.
On winning the first race at Texas Motor Speedway:
“Winning the first race at Texas was a great deal for me. It was a brand new race track and unbelievable facility. There were a lot of challenges, lot of rain and parking issues. There was a big wreck, I think it was the first lap. So there were different conditions, but winning my first race there will always be a part of me and something to remember. It’s always fun to go back and re-live those things.”
Is TMS viewed up there with Daytona and Brickyard as an elite race?
“Texas is an elite race and the facility speaks for itself. [TMS president] Eddie Gossage and his team do a nice job. The track has a feel to it. It’s one of the biggest races.”
On Texas’ first Cup race with fans, NASCAR obviously prides itself on being “fan friendly.”
“Fans make our sport, they just do. They bring the excitement, it’s hard not having fans there. We still have the races on TV and fans can watch, but the energy they bring to the race track is so special that it will be good to see them in the grandstands. We saw some fans at Bristol for the All-Star race. It wasn’t a lot of fans, but you could hear them and that was the cool part. It was nice to see their enthusiasm and I can’t wait until we can fill up the stands again.”
The track is going to be hot, how will heat play a factor?
“The drivers won’t be able to see the race track until Lap 1 at the start of the race. It’s going to be smoking hot and will have a lot of unknowns. I think it makes the race a little more fun and better not knowing what to expect.”
Who are your favorites to win?
“The two best are Kevin Harvick and Denny Hamlin. Their recent history at TMS lends itself to that. Ryan Blaney is another. Seems like anything I look up, he’s running in the front. You also can’t forget about Jimmie Johnson. His numbers aren’t great, but his average running position is much better than his finishes. Things can happen at the end of the race that puts him in contention so don’t be surprised if any of them get a win.”
NASCAR has been running multiple races each week because of the COVID-19 hiatus, how might that affect the drivers?
“It affects the drivers and teams in different ways. There’s less recovery time, prep time when it’s consolidated. When something bad happens or drivers get upset on a Wednesday, they have to turn right around and race together again. It’s not enough time for wounds to heal. Not saying we should run less, but the sport might benefit if from 38 weeks we find a way to do the year in 32 or 31 weeks. Make it closer together. Consolidating the year makes sense and to me would be more intense.”
On the sport becoming more diverse:
“The sport needs to be open to all and I’ve been a part of this sport for a long time. We have compassionate people that care. On a competition standpoint, we have people that will do anything to take a win, but on a compassionate standpoint, they’ll do anything to help. I’ve always been proud to be a member of the NASCAR family and when the chips are down, that garage is always going to do the right thing.”
