“I Became a Man”: Jeff Burton Reveals Jack Roush’s Uncompromising Nature Despite Giving Free Reign Over His Equipment

“We’ve had our eye on Jeff for some time. We’ve seen him mature into a solid competitor in the Winston Cup series,” Jack Roush said when he hired a 29-year-old Jeff Burton for his team back in 1996. Staying true to his image of making legends out of youngsters, Roush had picked a relatively inexperienced Cup Series driver to captain his #99 Ford Thunderbird. Only known to him then, Burton was one of the first strokes in the masterpiece Roush wanted to pain.

Almost a decade later in 2005, that move from Roush came full circle when the then Roush Racing became a 5-car ruthless machine that had all its entrants in the playoffs. More than two decades since he first got into the garage of Roush, Burton has now revealed what it was like working for the legend.

The impact Jack Roush’s working style had on NASCAR icon Jeff Burton

Starting his stint at Roush Racing alongside Mark Martin and Ted Musgrave, Jeff Burton ended up becoming the first driver apart from Mark Martin to win a race for the team. By the time his run at the team ended with the 2004 season, he had collected 21 victories including poles in the Coca-Cola 600 and Southern 500. In 2023, he was named one of the greatest 75 drivers of NASCAR. At the onset of this incredible journey, there was a very nurturing and yet, hard beginning.

Talking to Kenny Wallace on his YouTube show, Burton spoke about his professional relationship with Roush and the beginnings of the #99 team. Speaking about how Jack Roush gave free will for his crew to do whatever it was that they wanted, he also mentioned that they were in the end held accountable for it. In his words, “He [Jack Roush] let us run that race team. Hire who we wanted to hire, build the race cars how we wanted to build them without question.

“We had a budget for sure. We had a budget but he let us do it and he charged us with doing that. He would get out of your way and let you do it. When you screwed up he was there to help you the first time. The second time he was there to punish you.  I became a man working for Jack Roush.”

Burton’s entry to Roush Racing came along with the iconic crew chief Buddy Parrott’s. Continuing to talk about the chemistry in the #99 garage, detailed how he had ended up wanting Jack Roush’s job.

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The ruthless nature of Jack Roush that left Jeff Burton wanting his job

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The conversation about Jack Roush between Kenny Wallace and Jeff Burton began when the former talked about a quote by Roush. It went, according to Wallace, “Jeff wants my job. I’m just not ready to give it up.” The mention led Burton to reminisce on the times of old when Roush had given him and Buddy Parrott complete control of their team, he talked about the ruthlessness that was on the other end of it.

Remembering all the times that he was at loggerheads with the team owner, Burton narrated one particular incident. He said, “One time he walked me out of the front of the shop right next to Rusty’s shop in Morrisville. He walked me out of the front of the shop he walked on the sidewalk and he pointed at the sign in front of the building. He said, ‘What does that sign say?’ And I said, ‘It says Roush racing.’ And he said, ‘Yes it does. It does not say Jeff Burton Racing. It says Roush Racing. And as long as it says Roush Racing, I’m the final say.'”

Regardless of the strong words, Burton says that Roush always made it feel like it was his own team. Appreciative of the space that he gave to argue, Burton continued, “He would allow me to argue, to disagree. So yeah, there was a while I did want his job and he was smart enough to give me enough rope to let me run and then he would reign me in. It was just an amazing experience.”

Every driver who has driven for Jack Roush has at some point been in awe of his leadership. The Hall of Famer has an everlasting mark in NASCAR. The team that he laid the founding stone to, has today, 2 Cup Series championships, 4 Xfinity Series championships and 1 Truck Series championship. Outside the race track, Roush is one of America’s most successful automotive entrepreneurs. As Burton calls it, Roush’s tale is “an American success story.”

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