Ward Burton told Sirius Speedway (MRN/Sirius Satellite Radio) Monday that there is still an outside chance that he might team-up with Robert Yates Racing in the future, but he now believes the team is looking elsewhere for a driver. “Teams need economic support to race,” he said. “If Robert Yates Racing aligned itself with someone like me — an older driver — they could lose an opportunity elsewhere that they don’t know about yet. It takes a concerted effort by the driver, the team and its marketing department to make a sponsorship deal happen, and I guess I don’t feel like that concerted effort has been made. Nothing against Robert and Doug Yates. They’re in a situation that they haven’t been in before, and it’s foreign to them.” Burton said there is a possibility that this weekend’s one-off ride with Morgan-McClure Racing could turn into something more long-term, but stressed that talks are still at a very early stage.(Sirius Speedway)(10-17-2006)
UPDATE: Ward Burton, a five-time Nextel Cup winner who hasn’t raced since the fall of 2004 at Phoenix, will return this weekend at Martinsville Speedway. Burton will drive the #4 Chevy for Morgan-McClure Motorsports through the end of the season and is a candidate to drive the car full-time next year.(Atlanta Journal-Constitution)(10-20-2006)
UPDATE 2 – Ward NOT signed to run more races with #4, but could be; #4 has sponsor for 2007: Ward Burton hasn’t been offered a deal for next season to drive the #4 Chevrolet that he will drive in Sunday’s race, but he is the front-runner. “We’re looking awfully hard at him,” said car owner Larry McClure. “From the looks of the tremendous popularity of Ward here, it’s hard to discount what he’s worth.” McClure said he’s agreed to a sponsorship deal for the #4 next season and is trying to get a deal to start a second team.(NASCAR.com)(10-22-2006)
