NASCAR SPRINT CUP SERIES
MEDIA DAY
DAYTONA INTERNATIONAL SPEEDWAY
TEAM CHEVY DRIVER PRESS CONFERENCE TRANSCRIPT
FEBRUARY 14, 2013
 
JEFF BURTON, NO. 31 CATERPILLAR CHEVROLET SS, met with the media and discussed baseline testing and other topics.
 
NASCAR TOLD US THEY SUGGESTED TO THE DRIVERS THAT THEY MIGHT WANT TO GET A BASELINE IMPACT TEST, WHICH COULD BE MANDATORY IN 2014. ARE YOU PLANNING ON DOING THAT? “I haven’t done it yet. I’m investigating it and getting all the information that I feel like I need to get. Trying to get educated on it. I think it is a good idea. But, the fundamentals of it are a good idea. I want to know the specifics of it. I haven’t done it yet, but I have started doing research on it. I just want to know all the facts before I commit to doing it.”
 
WHAT WOULD CAUSE YOU TO HESITATE DOING IT? “The interpretation to the results I think is everybody’s concern. I think nobody wants to drive in a condition they shouldn’t drive it, but I think we all feel like we are our own best judge to determine if we should drive or not, from an ability standpoint. So the interpretation of the results I think is the biggest concern, I don’t want to speak for anybody else, but I think that is the biggest concern. I don’t think anybody in here wants to drive in a condition that puts somebody else in danger, or puts themselves in larger danger. That part of it is good. But how they implement it; how it is judged; how it is scored – all those things – are to me, specifics that I want to understand.”
 
YOU WANT TO BE CONFIDENT THAT IF THEY ARE GOING TO SIT YOU, THEY HAVE A GOOD REASON TO DO SO. “Yes, and I think that I don’t have this belief in that NASCAR wants to sit a driver down just for the fun of it. I don’t think that they would do something except only in the incident that there is no other choice. But then again, it is a mechanism that could be used to make a decision. I want to understand exactly how it is used. I’m gathering that data. I’m not opposed to doing it. I was to understand how it all works before I commit to doing it.”
 
DO YOU THINK RICKY STENHOUSE, JR. AND DANICA PATRICK CAN RACE EACH OTHER JUST LIKE YOU WOULD ANYONE ELSE? “I think that’s a valid point. I think they are both racers. I have people that I race with that I have relationships with. Not that kind of a relationship, but I think an awful lot of. I race them, and they race me. We find a way to make that work. They will to. I think the biggest issue is what happens if they break-up. That’s probably the biggest issue. But, listen, I just don’t see it being an issue. It may be something to talk about, but it’s not an issue.
 
“I think it is a little naïve to say it is no different, because it is different. A male/female relationship is different than two buddies. It just is. So it is naïve to say it is the same thing. But I think that doesn’t mean it can’t be done. That they can’t go race. But it is different than two buddies racing against each other.”