Jeff Burton on Talladega: Race Review Online exclusive

Jeff Burton’s opinion is one of the most respected in the NASCAR garage; when he speaks, others listen. I had the opportunity to interview the veteran RCR driver at Richmond in September, and one of the questions I asked him was about the nature of restrictor plate racing at Talladega Superspeedway. Burton supports restrictor plate racing as a necessary safety measure, although he made it clear he has mixed feelings. “No one’s ever going to be completely happy with anything. Plate racing is fun to do, but it’s exceptionally frustrating because you are in that big pack and one person makes a mistake, they take a lot of people with them. The only way to fix that is to separate the pack, and then the fans hate it. “I personally thought the bump drafting rules was a combination of all those things. It separated the pack a little bit because you like six two-car packs running together, and behind them four or five two-car packs running together, and behind them a few more. So that kind o...