Ward Burton said Wednesday that he is in the closing stages of finalizing a full-time deal for 2004, but that he preferred to defer most of his comments to the appropriate time for that announcement.(NASCAR.com), rumors have him a candidate in the #30 RCR AOL Chevy, the #9 or #19 Evernham Dodges.(10-8-2003) UPDATE: He’s been rumored to be heading to Richard Childress Racing, but a source told us Wednesday night that he definitely will not be in that car next year. His final destination — and he does have a signed contract — could be a surprise.( FoxSports.com )(10-9-2003) UPDATE 2: and a new rumor…..to the #0 NetZero Pontiac. Current driver Jason Leffler may be running for the Haas team full time in the Busch Series in 2004 instead of the Cup car, with Burton in the #0.(10-9-2003) UPDATE 3: Sources at Haas CNC Racing tell Sporting News that Ward Burton has signed on to drive the No. 0 Net Zero Pontiac in NASCAR’s Nextel Cup Series for 2004. Burton, 40, could be driving the car as soon as Phoenix. The 10-year veteran has six poles and four wins including the 2002 Daytona 500. Jason Leffler, who has been behind the wheel since August, is expected to run the full Busch Series schedule and selected Cup events next year. In eight starts this season, Leffler’s best finish was 25th at Dover.(10-9-2003) UPDATE 4: NetZero HiSpeed and Haas CNC Racing announced today that NASCAR veteran Ward Burton will be behind the wheel of the #0 NetZero HiSpeed Pontiac during the 2004 Nextel Cup Series season. “This is a great opportunity for me to bring my experience to an up and coming, young team,” stated Burton. “I’ve watched the team grow and progress in its first year and it’s definitely come a long way in a short time. Gene Haas runs a first-class organization, NetZero HiSpeed is a great sponsor and Tony Furr is an outstanding crew chief. I feel like we can take this team to the next level together and I’m thrilled to be a part of it. There’s no end to the possibilities for this race team.” “We’re thrilled to have someone of Ward’s caliber joining our team. It says a lot for our race team,” said Haas, owner of Haas CNC Racing. “The experience that he brings is something that will help us in so many ways. I just can’t say enough about how excited we are about our future. We’ve had a lot of great people come on board our organization this year and we’ve made steady progress in our efforts to be successful. Ward Burton is the icing on our cake.” In a related move, Haas CNC Racing and NetZero will expand their partnership for 2004, with NetZero joining the team’s new Busch Series program for current NetZero driver Jason Leffler as an associate sponsor for all 2004 events and primary sponsor of the effort for three races. “We’ve been really impressed with Jason’s performance so far, and look forward to being with him and Haas CNC Racing in the Busch Series next year as they compete for race wins and the championship,” said Woods. “Jason is going to be a force to be reckoned with in the Busch Series next year, and the experience he gains there will certainly help when he returns full time to the Nextel Cup Series in the future.” “The combination of Ward Burton and Jason Leffler is going to be a tremendous boost to our entire program,” said Haas. “Jason will have a tremendous resource in Ward’s experience, and Ward is committed to helping Jason in any way he can. Our long term goal would be to have Jason and Ward running together as teammates in the Nextel Cup Series, and I’m confident that in the not too distant future, that’s exactly what we’ll do.”(NetZero Racing PR)(10-9-2003)
