Q&A with Jeff Burton

In a series title-sponsored by Nextel (soon to be Sprint), Cingular driver Jeff Burton won his last Cup event April 15 at Texas in a race sponsored by Samsung while he was waiting for AT&T to be approved as his car's primary sponsor.

Only in America - and more specifically, only in NASCAR.

Any interview with Jeff Burton is likely to evolve into a debate, something the 40-year-old native Virginian enjoys. In the days since Dale Earnhardt's tragic crash on the last lap of the 2001 Daytona 500, Jeff Burton has emerged as a go-to guy when motorsports reporters are in need of thoughtful, honest impressions on a variety of topics. He also has become one of the sport's leading safety advocates since that dark February day in Daytona. Along with Brian Butler and John Melvin, Jeff Burton designed a head-surround system that is now being used by young racers across America. Of this, Jeff Burton says, he is most proud.

Two weeks before signing a long-term contract extension with car owner Richard Childress last month, Jeff Burton shared his opinions on a host of issues with SportsBusiness Journal correspondent and NASCAR Scene associate editor Kris Johnson.

Q: Can you imagine the confluence of sponsorships that surrounded your April win happening in any other sport?

A: As other sports go, certainly not. But other sports aren't as corporate-supported as ours. Our sport is a really unique situation.

With the exception of golf, every other major sport is a franchise situation. We're running a $150 to $180 million business. Our way of making that work is through corporate sponsorship. It's impossible for car owners to do this without it, which means that we're going to have conflicts from time to time.

Q: You have been very involved with Duke University and its children's hospital. As a big Duke basketball fan, have you and Coach K ever talked shop?

A: We've had conversations and compared our sports a little bit and talked about the things that are similar. We recruit just like they recruit, although we can pay people; they can't pay people. The pay scales are fairly similar across the garage area (for crewmen). We have to build an environment that people want to come to work at Richard Childress Racing for reasons that have nothing to do with pay, the same way Duke has to do that.

Q: Coach K's appearance in American Express ads caused a bit of a stir. Do you think that provided a recruiting advantage, and was it a conflict of interest?

A: You're asking the wrong person. My whole life revolves around corporate sponsorship and corporate involvement. I heard a little bit of fussing about it, but I never understood why anybody complained about it. The only people who complained about it were people who couldn't get a deal themselves; that's the way I look at it. He is the face of college basketball, as much as a lot of people don't want to admit that.

He's going to get more attention and more opportunities for corporate involvement than the others will because of that. That's the way it is. None of the other coaches or colleges complain when the local Chevrolet dealership wants to give a coach a car or when a coach can get a shoe deal, but they only complain when he got a bigger deal than they could get. That's nearsightedness - that's what that is.

Q: Not that any single person could replace Dale Earnhardt Sr. as the sport's spokesperson among competitors, but you have seemed to fill that void in many ways as a go-to guy in the garage when media seek a candid opinion. How big of a compliment is that to you?

A: It's a huge compliment. The reason why is I honestly believe the quality of my life professionally has been greatly enhanced because of the things that the generation before me did. When I leave this sport, I want to leave it believing I have done something that left it better than it was. I work exceptionally hard on safety stuff. I went to a Bandolero race a few years ago, 8- and 9-year-old kids racing, and every car had the head-surround system in it that Brian Butler, myself and John Melvin designed. Nobody had it until we went and did it.

Q: You have two more wins in your career than Dale Earnhardt Jr. does.

Sponsorship will never be a concern for Junior - granted, his situation is unique - but is it frustrating sometimes to see drivers garner sponsorship for their ability to push products rather than their driving talent?

A: There's no question that Junior is in a situation that's different than anybody else because of what his father was able to do, and, by the way, because of what he's been able to do. He has two things there that most people don't have, and because of that he's in a different position than every other driver in the series, including Jeff Gordon. But I don't hold that against him. I think he appreciates it, that he's worked hard for it and cares. That's just life. If you went and did a big background search on me, you'd find people that'd say, "Well, his daddy was rich, and he never had to work and blah, blah, blah." And I can tell you that they're right. My dad was wealthy. That did give me advantages other people didn't have. But you can ask the people that I've worked with about my work ethic, and they'll tell you it's as high as anybody they've ever been around.

Q: With corporate money the lifeblood of your sport, many fans complain about vanilla drivers and the lack of true characters. Is there room for real personalities in NASCAR anymore?

A: I get perturbed with that. I guess the question is, if you have to use profanity to have personality, then we don't need a personality. I can't ever remember being reprimanded by a sponsor because I made a comment. I think that whole thing has been grossly overexaggerated. Has Jeff Gordon changed from when he came in this sport?

Q: Having had so much success, he has the freedom to speak his mind. As does Junior because Budweiser allows him to, but many drivers don't have that luxury. Have you felt at all restricted?

A: I've always tried to express myself in a way that would matter, that would make a point, that would make an impact. Getting out and showing your ass isn't necessarily an effective way of getting something done. Are we different from where it was in the '50s? No question. Because nobody was watching. If me and my buddies go out and play golf, I'm going to say things to them that I'm not going to say on camera because it's not appropriate. I hate it when they say, "Because of television, they've lost their personalities." I look through the garage and I see Tony Stewart, there's Carl Edwards, there's me ... well, we can't talk about Matt Kenseth because he's a robot (laughs). I don't see where there's a lack or loss of personality, but there is an etiquette of things. There is a right way to do things.

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