Getty Jeff Burton (left) & Chase Elliott (right) were added to the list of NASCAR's Greatest Drivers.
NASCAR has expanded its list of Greatest Drivers with two more names. The first is 2020 Cup Series champion Chase Elliott, and the second is “The Mayor,” Jeff Burton.
NASCAR announced the news during the Geico 500 weekend at Talladega Superspeedway. Elliott was the first of the weekend to join the ever-expanding list after an announcement on Friday, April 21. He then went out and won the first stage of the Geico 500 before finishing 12th overall.
‘@JeffBurton was named one of @NASCAR‘s 75 best drivers in history…
But not before his son, @HBurtonRacing, pulled a prank.
Burton then learned that he had been added during the pace laps of the Cup Series race on Sunday, April 23. His son, Harrison Burton, delivered the news from behind the wheel of the No. 21 Wood Brothers Ford Mustang. NBC Sports play-by-play man Rick Allen then presented Burton with the gift box that goes out to everyone on the list of Greatest Drivers.
The 2020 Champ Joins His Father
GettyChase Elliott (right) and Bill Elliott (left) pose with the Bill France Cup.
The younger Elliott is the second member of the family to join the prestigious NASCAR list. He follows Bill Elliott, who was part of the original 50 Greatest Drivers list that debuted in 1998.
Like Awesome Bill From Dawsonville, Elliott has one Cup Series championship. He captured this during the 2020 season finale after a late battle with Joey Logano. Bill’s championship took place in the 1988 season when he beat Rusty Wallace by a mere 24 points.
Elliott has the same number of Cup Series championship trophies as his father, but he still has some work to do to track him down in another category. Bill won 44 times during his Cup Series career, which includes six Crown Jewels. He won the Daytona 500 twice (1985, 1987), the Southern 500 three times (1985, 1988, 1994), and the Brickyard 400 once (2002).
Elliott has 18 wins in his full-time Cup Series career, which started with the 2016 season. He has won twice at NASCAR’s biggest track, Talladega Superspeedway, and he has celebrated seven times at a variety of road courses. However, he has yet to capture a Crown Jewel race.
Where Elliott has the advantage is the Xfinity Series. Bill only made 44 starts while focusing on the Cup Series, and he won one race — Watkins Glen International in 1993. The younger Elliott ran two full seasons for JR Motorsports, captured the championship in 2014, and he won five races between 2014-2016.
Burton Has Made an Impact Both On & off the Track
GettyJeff Burton (left) works with the Drivers Advisory Council.
As a driver, Burton was one of the more entertaining to watch during his full-time Cup Series career. He had a fiery personality, he drove for standout team owners, and he delivered 21 wins at the top level of NASCAR. Burton added 27 more in what is now the Xfinity Series.
17 of Burton’s wins were for Jack Roush. He first won at Texas Motor Speedway in 1997, and then he went on to capture such tracks as New Hampshire Motor Speedway, Martinsville Speedway, and Darlington Raceway among many others. This run in the No. 99 includes two Coca-Cola 600 victories (1999, 2001).
Burton’s final four wins all took place with Richard Childress Racing. He took the No. 31 Chevrolet to Victory Lane at Dover Motor Speedway, Texas Motor Speedway, Bristol Motor Speedway, and Charlotte Motor Speedway.
Apart from his role as a driver, Burton has continued to make an impact on the sport. He is part of the NBC Sports broadcast team, so he spends hundreds of hours educating fans about NASCAR.
Burton also works as part of the Drivers Advisory Council, which strives to improve the areas of safety in motorsports, grow and enhance the sport, and maximize the opportunities for drivers to achieve success both on and off the track. Burton is the director of this council, and he works alongside such drivers as Kurt Busch, Denny Hamlin, Daniel Suarez, Austin Dillon, Corey LaJoie, Joey Logano, and Kyle Petty.