Jeffrey Tyler Burton (born June 29, 1967), nicknamed "the Mayor", is an American former professional stock car racing driver and current racing commentator. He is a member of the Burton racing family. He scored 21 career victories in the NASCAR Cup Series, including two Coca-Cola 600s in 1999 and 2001 and the 1999 Southern 500. He currently serves as a color commentator for NBC Sports, having joined them upon their return to their coverage of NASCAR. His son Harrison competes in the NASCAR Cup Series and nephew Jeb Burton currently competes in the NASCAR Xfinity Series, while his brother Ward Burton has also raced in the Cup Series.
Early career
Burton was exposed to racing at an early age. After their father introduced Burton and his brothers to go-kart racing, Burton later moved up to late model stock cars and late models, driving at South Boston Speedway.
NASCAR career
Early career
Burton began driving a several races in the Busch Series in 1988 in car number 69 owned by his father John Burton. He competed in the full season for Busch Series Rookie of the Year in 1989 in the No. 12 Burton Autosports Pontiac. In 1990, he drove the No. 12 Armour Lower Salt Bacon-sponsored Buick for Sam Ard, where he won his first career race. Burton and Ard later went to court over financial losses suffered throughout the year. He moved to J&J Racing's No. 99 Armour / Food Lion-sponsored Chevrolet in 1991 for one year before moving on to FILMAR Racing owned by Filbert Martocci where he would drive an Oldsmobile sponsored by TIC Financial Systems in 1992, and a Ford sponsored by Baby Ruth in 1993. Burton would later make his first Winston Cup start in 1993 in car No. 0 owned by Martocci.
FILMAR Racing
Burton ran his first Winston Cup race in 1993 in the No. 0 TIC Financial-sponsored Ford Thunderbird for Fil Martocci.
Stavola Brothers Racing
1994 was Burton's rookie year in the Winston Cup Series, driving the No. 8 Raybestos-sponsored Ford for Stavola Brothers Racing. After five races, he reached a season-high 14th-place finish in the overall standings, but by the end of the year, he dropped to 24th after being disqualified at the Miller Genuine Draft 400 for illegal holes drilled on the roll cage, a safety violation. He earned a season-high fourth-place finish on the way to earning 1994 NASCAR Rookie of the Year. He was one of a record-high 10 rookies eligible for the award that year, besting a class that included future Cup stars Joe Nemechek, Jeremy Mayfield, John Andretti, and older brother Ward. The next year, in 1995, Burton had one Top 5, along with a ninth-place finish. He also missed three races and finished 32nd in points.
Roush Racing
In 1996, Burton signed with Roush Racing, where he began driving the No. 99 Exide Batteries-sponsored Ford Thunderbird. He finished 13th overall in the season points standings despite failing to qualify for the Purolator 500 in March as a new team (provisionals in the first four races were based on 1995 points, and Burton's team did not have points from 1995). His career hit a peak from 1997 to 2000, as he ranked in the top five in points for all four seasons. He achieved his first career win in 1997 in the Interstate Batteries 500 at Texas Motor Speedway (the inaugural NASCAR race at the track), and would go on to win 14 more races during the four-year run. In 1998, the team switched to the new Ford Taurus. In 1999, Burton won a career-high six races, including the Jiffy Lube 300 for a third straight year, and clinched two of the series' four majors: the Coca-Cola 600 and the 50th Annual Southern 500, both of which earned him the No Bull 5 $1 million bonus, which would lead to a fifth-place finish in points. In addition, after winning at Darlington in March, he would lead the point standings for the next five races. His best points finish was in third in 2000, just 294 points behind champion Bobby Labonte. On September 17, 2000, Burton led every lap of the Dura Lube 300 at New Hampshire International Speedway, in unique circumstances (this race was the only Loudon race to use a restrictor plate, imposed for safety reasons after the deaths of Adam Petty and Kenny Irwin Jr. earlier in the year at the track). From 1997 to 2000, Burton won an event at NHIS every year.