Jeff Burton diary

Forget Waldo; where's the No. 31 Chevy driver this week?

During preparations for the Coca-Cola 600 on Sunday at Lowe's Motor Speedweay, driver Jeff Burton is providing a daily diary through Saturday.

• Thursday, May 25
SAFETY FIRST

Most people know I'm very proactive when it comes to safety. I tend to lead the charge in the garage when it comes to the topic. Heck, this season I am even sponsored by State Farm Insurance. I know you've seen the commercials.

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There's been a lot of talk this past month about the new track surface at Lowe's Motor Speedway and the extremely hard tire compound Goodyear decided to bring to the track. For the record, I think Goodyear made the right call. We had a situation in the race here last fall with a lot of teams blowing out right-front tires. It was pretty much a disaster.

Goodyear decided to bring a tire which is ultra-safe to make sure we didn't have any problems. It's a great tire and very durable. The tire is probably harder and stiffer than what we really need but I give them credit for sticking for to their guns. I can live with that and I know we're not going to see anywhere near the tire problems we saw last fall. When you come to a track that has recently been repaved, like Lowe's Motor Speedway has, the racetrack typically offers a lot of grip. Goodyear is doing the right thing.

In addition to the new tire compound, NASCAR implemented the 14-gallon fuel cell for the Coca-Cola 600. The idea is to make the fuel run shorter so the tires last through the extent of the green flag run. In all honesty, with this tire we probably don't need the smaller fuel cell. Goodyear has come with an extremely conservative tire and NASCAR has come with a conservative fuel cell. One of the two would have worked out fine but if you are going to err, err on the side of caution.

• Wednesday, May 24
WORKING IT OUT -- NASCAR STYLE

This morning I got up and went to the YMCA for my normal workout but today's session included a little added motivation. I had a journalist and photographer from Sports Illustrated documenting my workout for a special segment in what I consider the bible for sports aficionados. I've been featured in the magazine before but this was certainly not a request I thought I would ever receive from SI. I read SI a lot and this segment is normally reserved for football players and once in a while they'll follow a baseball player.

Honestly, I was kind of honored to do it. The long-standing debate about drivers being true athletes has received a few hard hits lately. Especially considering how some of my colleagues have thrown the baseball lately. Hopefully, we can combat some of those stereotypes in today's installment.

I've been on a regimented work out program for a number of years but, toward the end of the 2005, I realized I wasn't doing wasn't enough. I decided to rededicate myself and I hired a new trainer to whip me into shape.

The NASCAR season is extremely long and it takes a toll on a driver's body. The races during the summer months can be especially brutal. Because of that, my goal was to get stronger both physically and mentally.

My team does everything in their power to make sure my car as good as it can be. I want to make sure I'm doing the same for them so I can perform up to the level of the car's capabilities.

Not every driver in our series is in top physical condition and I'm not saying they need to be to be successful in this sport. But, I needed to be certain that at the end of the Brickyard 400 in August I would be in the best shape I could to not give up any positions or points to my competitors. That's what I expect of my team so that is what they can expect of me.

• Tuesday, May 23
CLIMBING BACK

I haven't looked forward to the Coca-Cola 600 for a few years now. It's not because I don't love racing at Lowe's Motor Speedway, it's because I haven't been as competitive as I would have liked to be over the last few years.

Richard Childress Racing was once one of the most powerful teams in NASCAR. Following the death of Dale Earnhardt in 2001, things didn't go as well and the performance wasn't up to snuff. Toward the end of 2005 and heading into the offseason, everyone at RCR put in a tremendous amount of time and effort to get this organization backing shape.

This season the overall performance at RCR has been far better than last year and I'm very happy with the direction we are heading. Our intermediate-track program, which was our weak point last season, has made huge gains this year.

Not only have our results seen a significant improvement but our overall performance has seen gains as well. With a few minor exceptions our qualifying effort has improved and all of our pit crews have really stepped up this year.

RCR doesn't like to lose and that starts at the top. Richard Childress has a desire to be the leader in the garage and I'm really proud to be driving for RCR. We are doing everything we can to get this organization back to the top, where it belongs.

• Monday, May 22
BACK TO THE GRIND

Other than the usual 'What is Ward doing?' question, one of the most popular questions I answer from fans is what I do during the week while I'm not at the racetrack. Well, here's a little inside look at my weekday schedule as a NASCAR driver:

Monday, May 22
• Work out with my trainer.
• Head up to Richard Childress Racing for the weekly competition meeting. Every RCR driver and crew chief, both Cup and Busch, are in this meeting to discuss the previous race, strategies and plans for the upcoming race weekend.
• Tape Cingular's race review and preview -- a weekly feature we shoot at the shop every Monday following the competition meeting to give their subscribers an inside look at our team.
• Inside Nextel Cup -- This week I will continue my role as a fill-in host on the popular program on SPEED.

Tuesday, May 23
• Work out with my trainer.
• A day for me! This is my free day this week so I will most likely catch up on some errands, work on my son's quarter-midget, do some laundry and possibly cook dinner. It's really just a day for me to be able to spend some time with my wife Kim and our children Paige and Harrison.

Wednesday, May 24
• Work out with my trainer. Today's work out will include a journalist and photographer from Sports Illustrated for feature in the magazine.
• Shoot a video to highlight the expansion of Cingular's new high-speed 3G wireless broadband network.
• Shoot a greeting video to play at State Farm's national agent meeting.
• Autograph appearance at a Charlotte area Cingular store grand opening.

Thursday, May 25
• Work out with my trainer.
• NBC/TNT Racing Preseason Shoot. This is where they get all those great shots they use for pre-race shows and commercial breaks.
• Back to the track for double duty. This week I will be racing the No. 31 Cingular Chevy in the Cup Series and the No. 29 Holiday Inn Chevy in the Busch Series. Practice and qualifying for both series is scheduled for Thursday which will make for a really busy day.

Friday, May 26
• Work out with my trainer.
• No on-track activities for Busch or Cup cars.
• 7 p.m. guest on SPEED's Trackside program at Speed Street in Downtown Charlotte.
• 8 p.m. question and answer session on the Coca-Cola stage.