NASCAR icon Jeff Burton’s legacy lives on in NFL Draft as Bengals pick sports his 99 gear

During this week's NFL draft, Demetrius Knight Jr. was seen sporting a Jeff Burton-inspired t-shirt as he got the call to be a part of the Cincinnati Bengals team. The football player is seen wearing a white t-shirt that features Burton and his #99 car on it, which he drove during his time in the NASCAR Cup Series from 1996 to 2004.

The video of Knight Jr. receiving the call was shared on X (formerly Twitter), which was then picked up by Burton's former team. The team called out the merchandise and congratulated the new NFL player.

Roush-Fenway Keselowski Racing, which was just Roush Racing when Burton was a part of the team, and under who he drove the #99 car, quote-tweeted the video on their account, pointing out the t-shirt.

"We see that shirt 🔥 congrats Demetrius!" the team wrote.

Burton himself also reacted to the appearance of his gear on the draft pick.

"Let’s go!!!!!!" he wrote on X.

During his tenure with the Roush team, Jeff Burton secured 17 of his 21 career race wins, along with 87 Top-fives, and 42 Top 10 finishes. In 2000, Burton got the closest in his career to securing a Cup Series title, when he finished the season in third place in the drivers' standings.

In 2005, the Cup Series driver would start the portion of his career where he piloted the #31 car for Richard Childress Racing. Burton would be behind the wheel of the #31 car for most of his race starts, having been on the grid when the green flag was waved in the driver's seat of the RCR vehicle 324 times. He would secure the remaining four wins of his career with them, along with 43 Top-fives, and 104 Top 10s.

2013 marked his final full-time season with the RCR team and racing in the Cup Series. The following year, Burton would make four starts in total, two for Michael Waltrip Racing and two for Stewart-Haas Racing. 2014 marked Jeff Burton's final year racing in NASCAR.

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Jeff Burton reacts to Hall of Fame nomination

Earlier this week, it was announced that Jeff Burton is a part of the list of nominees who are in contention to become a part of the NASCAR Hall of Fame's class of 2026. Burton took to his X account after the news broke to share his feelings about being looked at for the prestigious spot.

"An amazing honor to be considered."

Along with Jeff Burton, former NASCAR Cup Series driver Kurt Busch, and former NASCAR Xfinity Series driver Greg Biffle are also on the list of nominees for a spot in the Hall of Fame. Voting will take place on May 20 to select the final nominees to be inducted.