Ward to run the #4 at Martinsville:

[BobbyFord]

Ward Burton will return to the Nextel Cup Series for the Subway 500 at Martinsville Speedway, attempting to make his first series start in almost two years. He will be driving the #4 Lucas Oil Chevy for Morgan McClure Racing out of Abingdon, VA. "He's expressed a lot of interest in driving," said Chris Carrier, crew chief for the Morgan-McClure team. "He's a Virginia driver and we're a Virginia team. That makes for a great combination at Martinsville." One of Burton's seven NEXTEL Cup poles came at Martinsville (1997) as did one of his four Busch Series victories (1993). Burton and the team hope to test at Motor Mile Speedway in Radford this week to help prepare for the SUBWAY 500. Ticket prices for the SUBWAY 500 range from $42 to $77. Tickets for the Kroger 200 are $35 in advance and $40 the day of the event. Kroger 200 tickets for children ages 6 to 12 are $5.(Martinsville Speedway PR)(10-15-2006)

 

[buckaroo]

Glad to see Ward giving it another shot, but wish it could be with a better team. He has, in the past said that he's had offers to drive a Cup car, but that those offers were from lower tiered teams and he wanted a ride that was top notch. Looks like he's rethought that idea, which I think is a good idea. The owners know a good driver when they see one and if he puts on a good show, even if he doesn't have a great finish, he just might jog someone else's memory that he's a former Daytona 500 winner. Of course, Derrick Cope is also a former 500 winner, so I guess just having that behind your name doesn't really mean all that much as far as owners are concerned.

Good for Ward, now I hope he does well.

 

[Patrick9999]

Wards a good guy and pretty good driver but I think he may need a reality check.

At his age and with the trend to hire younger drivers, he may want to take what he can get.

 

[MRM]

That's what I said almost 2 years ago. No time like the present.