Years after firing in their cars through the paved race tracks of America, the icons Dale Earnhardt Jr and Jeff Burton retired to the media boxes of NBC. Though they were no longer racing regularly, such was their love for the sport that they had to be near a race track and feel the heat of engines to get through the day. While there is little for them to worry about job security now as the biggest icons of racing, this situation wasn’t always prevalent.

Appearing alongside former racer Kenny Wallace, Jeff Burton engaged in a deep conversation about his early life and revealed some little-known intricacies about his career path. While his words are of his own life, they do reflect strongly on the nature of NASCAR that deeply inflicts every driver who attempts to scale its heights.

Burton reveals the weakness that got him fired from many teams

Jeff Burton’s big break in NASCAR came when he was signed on to the team of Jack Roush in 1996. He was still fresh from his award-winning rookie year in 1994 and still had a long way to go before he made a lasting name for himself. But before all the mainstream racing in the top tier, Burton too had a long and tedious path to drive on. He opened up to Wallace, talking about how this path had helped him evolve into a more effective person.

Burton said, “What happened to me early in my career was I let people some people run over me. I let some people that I drove for run over me and I was the guy that was going to make everybody happy and was going to not cause trouble. That wasn’t working out. That was going to get me fired. Matter of fact, it did get me fired.“

Starting his career off in go-karts, Jeff Burton moved to late model racing for years before getting his Cup Series start with FILMAR Racing. Through his journey, he drove for many teams including Stavola Brothers Racing and J&J Racing. Continuing to expand on how he powered through this low point, he said, “I let some people run over me not just with decisions but with other things as well. And I finally said enough. If I’m going to have success or failure, at least I’m going to have some say in it.”

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This strong decision from Jeff Burton was what was going to lead him down greener pastures. And as time would have it, Burton’s realization and decision came in perfect conjunction as he signed for Jack Roush.

The massive leadership impact that Jack Roush had on Jeff Burton

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The 81-year-old Jack Roush has always been praised by his drivers for his extraordinary leadership skills. When Jeff Burton signed on to Roush Racing as a 29-year-old, he was coming out with the clarity that he wasn’t going to let people run his life anymore. Fortunately, Roush was a much better leader than the previous leaders whom Burton had met in his life.

Acknowledging Roush’s profound contribution, Burton said, “When I got to Jack, it just all unleashed because he was willing to let me do that [Have control over his life]. I was in a place in my life where I was ready to do it and had enough of doing it the other way.”

Talking about how much of an impact Roush’s character had on him, he mentioned, “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.” What Roush had done was let Burton run his ship in the #99 team. Letting the crew do whatever they thought was right was Roush’s way of management. However, he did hold them accountable for misses when the shop closed.

Maybe if Jack Roush hadn’t come Jeff Burton’s way we wouldn’t have an icon with 21 Cup Series wins that included the Southern 500 and Coca-Cola 600. Maybe we wouldn’t have been hearing him call races alongside Dale Jr, Steve Letarte, and Rick Allen. Perhaps Junior himself wouldn’t have got a co-owner for his CARS Tour. Burton’s words provide a glimpse at the need for strength both on and off the track. Not every youngster who comes up the ranks could get a Jack Roush in their path. Thankfully, Burton did.

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