Ward Burton
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| Born: | October 25, 1961 (age 45) | |
| Birthplace: |  South Boston, Virginia |
|
| Awards: | 2002 Daytona 500 Winner | |
| NASCAR NEXTEL Cup Statistics | ||
| Car #, Team | #4 - Morgan-McClure Motorsports | |
| 2001 NEXTEL Cup Position: | 54th | |
| Best Cup Position: | 9th - 1999 | |
| First Race: | 1994 Pontiac Exceitement 400 (Richmond) | |
| First Win: | 1995 AC-Delco 400 (Rockingham) | |
| Last Win: | 2002 New England 300 (Loudon) | |
| Wins | Top Tens | Poles |
| 5 | 82 | 7 |
| NASCAR Busch Series Statistics | ||
| Car #, Team | #27 - Brewco Motorsports | |
| 2001 NBS Position: | 70th | |
| Best NBS Position: | 6th - 1993 | |
| First Race: | 1990 Pontiac 200 (Richmond) | |
| First Win: | 1992 Goodwrench 200 (Rockingham) | |
| Last Win: | 1993 Slick 50 300 (Atlanta) | |
| Wins | Top Tens | Poles |
| 4 | 49 | 7 |
| All stats current as of December 24, 2006. | ||
Ward Burton (born October 25, 1961) is an American NASCAR auto racer. He is scheduled to drive full time for Morgan-McClure Motorsports in the famed number 4 car with State Water Heaters recently announced as a sponsor.
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[edit] Early career
Ward graduated from Hargrave Military Academy. He also attended Elon College for 2.5 years.
Ward is the older brother of NASCAR driver Jeff Burton. The brothers were strong competitors at their hometown track: South Boston Speedway (SoBo).
[edit] Busch career
Ward began his NASCAR Busch Series career in the 1990 season and competed full-time for four seasons. In his first season he had 23 starts with three Top-10 finishes, ending the season in 21st place. His results improved steadily over the next three years. For his second season, he had 29 starts with two Top-5 finishes and ten Top-10 finishes, completing the season in 18th place.
Ward's third season in 1992 brought his first win on February 29 at Rockingham in the number 27 Gwaltney car owned by Alan Dillard. He completed the season in 8th place overall with one win, three Top-5 finishes and 10 Top-10 finishes.
His final full-time season in 1993 brought three more wins, nine Top-5 and ten Top-10 finishes, ending up in 6th place in the final points standings.
On January 2, 2007 Brewco Motorsports Inc. announced Ward Burton will drive the No. 27 Kleenex® Ford Fusion in the NASCAR Busch Series in 2007. Burton will drive 20 races for Brewco and Kleenex® Racing, beginning with the Daytona 300 at Daytona International Speedway.
[edit] Cup career
He moved up to Winston Cup in 1994. He ran 26 of 31 races in the #31 Hardee's Chevy for Alan Dillard, Jr.
He returned to the #31 ride in 1995. He moved to the #22 Bill Davis Racing MBNA Pontiac after 21 races where he became more successful. The new combination scored a fourth place finish in their second race. Ward won the AC-Delco 400 at Rockingham in the third last race of the season.
The next several years would show slow improvement from 33rd to 16th in the final points standings.
Caterpillar became the new primary sponsor for the car in 1999. 1999 began the peak of Burton's career. He finished ninth in the final points standings with 16 Top 10 finishes in 34 races.
In 2000 he won the Mall.com 400 at Darlington Speedway and had 17 Top 10 finishes to finish 10th in the final points standings. This was his last win in a Pontiac, as BDR switched to Dodges the following season.
In 2001 he won the Mountain Dew Southern 500 at Darlington Speedway and had 10 Top 10 finishes to finish 14th in the final points standings. The win was Dodge's second in its return to NASCAR (Dodge would go on to win 4 races- Sterling Marlin, who'd won previously at Michigan, won the fall race at Lowe's Motor Speedway and Bill Elliott won the season's third to last race at Homestead-Miami Speedway).
In 2002 he began the season by winning the prestigious Daytona 500. He also won the New England 300 at Loudon, New Hampshire. The rest of his season didn't go as well, and he finished 25th in the final points standings.
2003 was a season of poorer finishes. He only had 4 Top 10 finishes, and he left Bill Davis Racing with five races left in the season to begin driving the #0 NetZero car for owner Gene Haas. He finished the season 21st in the final points standings.
In 2004 Burton raced the #0 car to 3 Top 10 finishes. He was released from the team with two races left in the season.
During his racing career, Burton worked with performance scientist and consultant Dr. Jacques Dallare, on physical and mental testing and to improve conditioning.
Burton returned to the NEXTEL Cup series late in the 2006 season, driving the #4 Lucas Oil Chevrolet for Morgan-McClure Motorsports. His first race was the Subway 500 on October 22nd, 2006 at Martinsville Speedway. He started in 35th place and finished 26th, the last car on the lead lap. In his next driving opportunity, on November 5th, 2006 at Texas Motor Speedway, he started in 37th place and finished 25th. On December 12, 2006 Ward signed with Morgan-McClure Motorsports to drive the #4 car full-time in 2007. They also announced that they had a new, full-time sponsor; State Water Heaters.
[edit] Accent
Ward Burton has been a source of humor and criticism due to his thick southern accent, which occasionally makes it very difficult to understand what he is trying to say. Though most NASCAR drivers have a southern accent, Burton's can be more difficult to comprehend than most. By Contrast, his younger brother and fellow driver, Jeff Burton, speaks much more clearly. Jeff once said that Ward "grew up on the south side of the house", and therefore has a thicker accent.
[edit] Virginia Board of Game and Inland Fisheries
On November 1, 2005 then Virginia Governor Mark R. Warner appointed Burton to the Virginia Board of Game and Inland Fisheries.
As a resident of Halifax County, VA, Ward assumed the seat on the board for Virginia's 5th Congressional District that was formerly held by C. Wilson McNeely, IV, who resigned after six years of service.
Ward, an avid sportsman and conservationist, is the founder and president of The Ward Burton Wildlife Foundation, and he has been a spokesperson for Virginia's 34 state parks since 2003.
[edit] History
| Year | # | Sponsor | Make | Team |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1994-95 | 31 | Hardee's | Chevrolet Lumina / Chevrolet Monte Carlo | A.D. Dillard Motorsports |
| 1996-98 | 22 | MBNA | Pontiac Grand Prix | Bill Davis Racing |
| 1999-2000 | 22 | Caterpillar | Pontiac Grand Prix | Bill Davis Racing |
| 2001-2003 | 22 | Caterpillar | Dodge Intrepid | Bill Davis Racing |
| 2004 | 0 | Netzero | Chevrolet Monte Carlo | Haas CNC Racing |
| 2006 | 4 | Lucas Oil Products | Chevrolet Monte Carlo | Morgan-McClure Motorsports |
| 2007-present | 4 | State Water Heaters | Chevrolet Monte Carlo | Morgan-McClure Motorsports |
[edit] References
- The Unauthorized NASCAR Fan Guide 1998-99, by Bill Fleischman and Al Pearce (1999)
- wardburton.com
[edit] External links
- Official web site
- Drivers statistics at racing-reference.info
- The Ward Burton Wildlife Foundation
- Ward Burton's thoughts on Earth Day 2006
- Ward Burton Fan Website
| Preceded by Michael Waltrip |
Daytona 500 Winner 2002 |
Succeeded by Michael Waltrip |
