Ward close to being named #4 driver in 2007: After a long hiatus, Ward
Burton is slated to be the full-time driver of the #4 next year. "We
haven't completely signed the deal, but we've agreed on one," team
owner Larry McClure said. "So it looks like he'll have a good shot at
being back in the car next year." Burton's last gig as a full-time
driver ended here at Phoenix back in 2004 when he broke a rear end
about two-thirds of the way through the event and finished a
disappointing 40th in Gene Haas' #0 [now #66] Chevy. To the
consternation of his fans, Burton fell off the NASCAR landscape for a
time after that. Offers came Burton's way for rides that would have
been less than competitive, and he has admitted in the past that
perhaps he was a little too picky when he turned them down. When
McClure and driver Scott Wimmer agreed to part ways this fall, an
outcry from Burton's fans was answered. McClure put the Virginia
native behind the wheel of the #4 Chevy for a one-off race at Burton's
hometown track in Martinsville in October. Burton started 35th in the
Subway 500 and ran respectably all afternoon. Simply staying on the
lead lap is an accomplishment on the half-mile Virginia bullring, and
Burton kept the Chevy on the same circuit as the leaders to go the
full 500-lap distance and finish 26th. Todd Bodine already was slated
to start in the #4 car at Atlanta the following week, so Burton's
rabid fans had to wait a little while longer to see if he would
return. He did just that at Texas Motor Speedway, qualifying in the
back of the pack in 37th and finishing one lap off the pace in 25th.
Burton's fan base is a big part of the reason why the team is about to
put him behind the wheel for the 2007 season.(Yahoo Sports)(11-11-2006)