Testing SpeedwayMedia.com

Tag: Ward Burton

  • NASCAR: History of Leap Day Racing

    NASCAR: History of Leap Day Racing

    Today marks Leap Day, February 29, where an extra day is included in the calendar every four years and occurs due to Earth taking 365 days and an extra six hours to orbit around the Sun. The gain of an extra day within the 365-day calendar ensures the calendar itself remains aligned with Earth revolving around the Sun.

    With Leap Day providing its share of historic events and birthdays throughout human history, the holiday date has also provided a handful of significant moments within NASCAR history.

    The first known NASCAR competition to occur on Leap Day dates to February 29, 1976, at North Carolina Motor Speedway, where the Cup Series’ Carolina 500 occurred. During the event, Richard Petty won for the first time of the season after claiming the checkered flag by two laps over runner-up Darrell Waltrip and dodging a late multi-car pileup that resulted in Bobby Allison flipping. The victory was redemption for Petty, who was involved in a wild final lap accident and finish with David Pearson two weeks earlier that resulted in Pearson managing to nurse his damaged No. 21 Wood Brothers Racing Mercury across the finish line in first place ahead of Petty, whose car was unable to restart.

    The 1976 victory at Rockingham’s North Carolina Motor Speedway would serve as Petty’s 178th of 200 overall Cup victories he would achieve, where he still stands as NASCAR’s “The King” with the most career victories all-time to coincide with his seven championships, which is tied for the most in the Cup Series history alongside Dale Earnhardt and Jimmie Johnson. Currently, Petty, who retired from NASCAR competition following the 1992 season, serves as a team ambassador for Legacy Motor Club, a team he formerly owned and is currently owned by Johnson and Maury Gallagher. The team was rebranded from Petty GMS Racing and Richard Petty Motorsports, both names that stood out over the last 14 years.

    Sixteen years later (1992), another Leap Day event at North Carolina Motor Speedway occurred. On this occasion, the Xfinity Series hosted the Goodwrench 200. During the event, Ward Burton scored his first Xfinity career win after leading the final 22 laps and beating Mark Martin by nine-tenths of a second. The Rockingham victory would serve as Burton’s first of four total victories he would achieve in his Xfinity career, with his latter three occurring in 1993. To date, Burton has made 161 career starts in the Xfinity Series, with his latest occurring in 2007. The South Boston, Virginia, native has also made a single start in the Craftsman Truck Series, which occurred in 2012 and marks his final national touring series career start, and 375 in the Cup Series, where he has achieved five victories, including the 2002 Daytona 500 and the 2001 Southern 500.

    In 2008, there were no NASCAR race day competitions that occurred on Leap Day. Instead, the Cup Series held a qualifying session for the upcoming UAW-Dodge 400 at Las Vegas Motor Speedway. During the qualifying session, hometown hero Kyle Busch, who was making his third career start driving the No. 18 M&M’s Toyota Camry for Joe Gibbs Racing, secured his first pole position of the season after posting a pole-winning lap at 182.325 mph in 29.613 seconds. During the main event two days later, Busch, who led twice for 56 laps, ended up in 11th place while Carl Edwards would fend off Dale Earnhardt Jr. in a two-lap dash to win for the ninth time in his career and second in recent weeks.

    Today, Edwards, who would proceed to win eight additional events and settle in the runner-up spot behind Jimmie Johnson in the 2008 final standings, is retired with 28 Cup career victories added to his resume after electing to step away from full-time competition following the 2016 season. Earnhardt Jr., who would end up in 12th place in the 2008 standings, also retired following the 2017 season as he stands at 26 Cup career victories, including two Daytona 500 titles. Meanwhile, Busch, who ended up in 10th place in the 2008 standings despite winning a total of eight races, is currently campaigning in his 20th season as a Cup Series competitor and second driving for Richard Childress Racing. He currently has achieved two Cup Series championships (2015 & 2019) and holds 230 victories across NASCAR’s top-three national touring series (65 in Craftsman Truck Series, 102 in Xfinity Series and 63 in Cup Series).

    The third and latest NASCAR competition to occur on Leap Day was in 2020 at Auto Club Speedway in the Xfinity Series. During the year’s event, Harrison Burton, Ward Burton’s nephew who was campaigning in his first full-time Xfinity campaign and driving the No. 20 Toyota Supra for Joe Gibbs Racing, scored his first Xfinity victory in his 12th series start after he led twice for 40 laps and managed to retain the top spot during a restart with 19 laps remaining before fending off late challenges from teammate Riley Herbst and Austin Cindric. The Fontana victory would serve as the first of four victories accumulated for Burton throughout the 2020 Xfinity season, with the Huntersville, North Carolina, native securing a spot in the 2020 Xfinity Playoffs. Despite being eliminated from Playoff contention following the Round of 12, Burton, who won twice in the final four-scheduled events, proceeded to finish in eighth place in the final driver’s standings and secured the Rookie-of-the-Year title.

    Currently, Burton is campaigning in his third full-time season in the Cup Series for Wood Brothers Racing and as the driver of the No. 21 Ford Mustang Dark Horse. He has made 75 starts in NASCAR’s premier series and has racked up a single top-five result and four top-10 results.

    Prior to Harrison Burton’s first Xfinity victory, the Cup Series generated a dramatic moment earlier in the day when Clint Bowyer edged seven-time Cup Series champion Jimmie Johnson by 0.007 seconds to claim what would be his fourth and final Cup career pole position at Fontana. Bowyer’s pole-winning lap, overall, occurred at 179.614 mph in 40.086 seconds. During the main event, Bowyer, who led the first 10 laps, ended up in 23rd place and Johnson settled in seventh place while Johnson’s teammate, Alex Bowman, won for the second time in his career after leading a race-high 110 laps.

    Bowyer and Johnson have since retired from full-time NASCAR competition, which occurred following the 2020 season, while Bowman is currently campaigning in his ninth season in the Cup Series and seventh driving for Hendrick Motorsports.

    Photo by David Myers for SpeedwayMedia.com.

    For this season, there are no NASCAR-sanctioned events that are scheduled to occur on Leap Day, with the Craftsman Truck Series, Xfinity and Cup divisions set to run at Las Vegas Motor Speedway as part of a triple-header weekend between March 1-3. With Leap Day 2028 scheduled to occur on a Tuesday and with race day events primarily occurring on weekends, Leap Day 2032 is scheduled to occur on a Sunday, which leaves the futuristic possibility of another addition to NASCAR competition on Leap Day to be made.

  • The Silent Killer That Surrounds Us

    The Silent Killer That Surrounds Us

    On Jan. 22, 2003 NASCAR driver Rick Mast, then 45, announced that he was retiring from racing due to due to acute and chronic carbon monoxide poisoning from the race cars he occupied for over 15 years. He became the first NASCAR driver to announce that carbon monoxide was a contributing factor in his decision to retire from racing. According to an article in the New York Times, dated Feb. 2, 2003, Mast’s symptoms included being disoriented and falling ill for days at a time.

    According to the Mayo Clinic, “Carbon monoxide poisoning occurs when carbon monoxide builds up in your bloodstream. When too much carbon monoxide is in the air, your body replaces the oxygen in your red blood cells with carbon monoxide. This can lead to serious tissue damage or even death. Carbon monoxide is a colorless, odorless, tasteless gas produced by burning gas, wood, propane, charcoal or other fuel. Improperly ventilated appliances and engines, particularly in a tightly sealed or enclosed space, may allow carbon monoxide to accumulate to dangerous levels.”

    Carbon monoxide (CO) is a byproduct of just about everything that motorsports does. In race cars, much progress has been made to keep the drivers safer from carbon monoxide while they race.  It was very common in the 1990s and early 2000s for carbon monoxide to be a factor in a race.

    Reports from Michigan in 1991 indicated that Dale Earnhardt was ill after damage early in the race to his vehicle caused carbon monoxide to build up. In September of 1998, Ricky Rudd extended his annual Cup Series race win streak at Martinsville. At the race track, Rudd collapsed in Victory Lane and it was reported at the time that it was because his cooling system failed and it was almost 100 degrees at race time. However, carbon monoxide was also an issue.

    Ward Burton had an issue in the motor coach lot prior to the Coca-Cola 600 at the Charlotte Motor Speedway. After the race, Burton said, “It went from one end of the spectrum to the other all day. The motorhome compound is so tight here that I got a little carbon monoxide poisoning last night and that kind of played against me. I wasn’t 100 percent in the car late in the race. I hope Humpy and them will do something about that because that’s not right. We were all over the place. The generator fumes were coming up under the bus and I started to get a hell of a headache. The buses are so close together it’s like you can hardly open the doors.”

    From 1999 to 2010 the Center for Disease control noted that there were 5,149 deaths from carbon monoxide poisoning in non-fire circumstances. In the NASCAR world, the biggest carbon monoxide issues are not in the race cars or garage areas but in the camping and living areas, where deaths have been reported in the past. So take so, me time and review the portable CO buying guide to protect yourself and others from accidental poisoning.

    I recall an incident at the Charlotte Motor Speedway in May 2002 when two campers died from carbon monoxide poisoning due to them trying to heat their tent with a charcoal grill during a record cold snap. As recent as 2013, a camper died when his RV had a leaky exhaust causing carbon monoxide to build up at the Talladega Superspeedway.

    The author has personal experience with carbon monoxide poisoning. In 1987 his fraternity house furnace malfunctioned when it was -20 degrees. Having been trained in the US Marine Corps about the symptoms of carbon monoxide poisoning, the fire department was called and they used special equipment along with a carbon monoxide respirator to inspect the house.  A disaster was averted when local officials deemed the house unsuitable for living quarters until the furnace was fixed.

    As the NASCAR season is underway and the weather has been somewhat unpredictable up and down the east coast, generator safety is paramount. Generators are a source of electricity for RVs, travel trailers, pop-up campers, and tent campers. One thing I’ve personally witnessed is the variety of ways generator owners try to protect their investment in a generator. They will build wooden boxes with covers but those don’t necessarily consider the proper and safe operation of the generator.

    One product that any generator owner should consider is the GenTent (http://www.gentent.com/).

    “Regardless of the numerous published warnings, consumers continue to operate portable generators in unsafe manners which prove to result in serious injuries and deaths every year,” said Mark Carpenter, CEO, Founder, GenTent Safety Canopies. “GenTent’s Top 10 Portable Generator Safety Tips list is a playbook for the proper use of portable generators and it enables owners to experience safe generator use year-round.”

    The folks from GenTent have created a product that allows generators to be operated safely in any kind of weather. More importantly, it allows the ventilation of carbon monoxide outside the tented area. The website is a plethora of information regarding safely operating a generator.

    As people load up their campers and head to the track, it’s important to remind everyone that carbon monoxide is an odorless gas and can kill in minutes. Take a few moments to check over your generator and correct any issues with its operation. It could mean the difference between life and death.

  • Jeb and Ward Burton Emotional Over New Truck Ride and Sponsor

    Jeb and Ward Burton Emotional Over New Truck Ride and Sponsor

    Jeb Burton, his father Ward, representatives of his new sponsor Estes Express Lines and his new team ThorSport Racing were all on hand at the Monster Mile this morning to share the news of their partnership in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series.

    And while father and son are ecstatic with the new opportunity, both admit that the road to this moment has been filled with turmoil and great emotion.

    “I can tell you, from January when the rug was pulled out from under us until now, that was the most devastated I have ever been in my whole life,” Ward Burton said. “Those were weeks and the only time in my life when I could not find anything positive.”

    “It was like this, if you had a child who was sick with cancer and the medicine was there to fix his medical problems but you either did not have the means to do it or the way to do it and you couldn’t save him,” Burton continued. “That’s how I felt.”

    “Jeb has gone through a lot,” Burton said. “We were here in 2012 and had a five-race deal and we worked and worked and worked.”

    “And then we came back in 2013 and then that got pulled out from under us after they had initiated a 2014 contract and even made payments,” Burton continued. “So, you can imagine that Jeb has been through a lot of inner turmoil.”

    “But the way I look at it, it’s going to grow his inner character and when he does have relationships like this, he’s going to work it hard and make it successful and he’s going to appreciate it so much.”

    Jeb Burton was indeed most appreciative as he talked about his new opportunity with Estes and ThorSport Racing. The 21 year old acknowledged that not only would he be racing full-time in the Truck Series for 2014 but also with options for the future as well.

    “It’s a really big deal for me and my family to be with Estes Express Lines,” Jeb Burton, driver of the No. No. 13 Estes Toyota Truck for ThorSport Racing said. “It means a lot to me and I look forward to the future with them.”

    “Each time I get behind the wheel, I’m not only representing the Burton family and ThorSport Racing, now I have the privilege of representing everyone at Estes, which means a team of almost 15,000 employees including more than 6,000 truck drivers.”

    In addition to Estes and ThorSports, both Jeb and Ward Burton were emotional when talking about the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series, seeing the Series as giving many young drivers the chance to make their mark. In fact, Burton has already made his mark in the Series, having competed in all four Truck races this year, producing two top-10 finishes and ranking eighth in the Series standings.

    “Thank God for the Truck Series,” Ward Burton said. “Without the Camping World Truck Series, a lot of kids like Jeb wouldn’t have the opportunity either.”

    “It’s such a small window for a driver to get a ride and then win races,” Burton continued. “So, the whole dynamic has changed and if it had been like this when I was coming up, I would have never had a chance. It would have never happened for me.”

    “I didn’t have financial backing to bring with me,” Burton said. “And now, there are a few exceptions, but most for most of the kids don’t have it that way either. The economy and the way businesses have made financial decisions about the sport has just changed so much.”

    Jeb Burton was also emotional as he talked about what he hoped to bring not only to the race track but also to his new Estes family.

    “Last year I had a really good year and we had some good results,” Jeb Burton said. “Hopefully our results will pick up and we will get a win.”

    “I’m really excited to meet all the Estes drivers, bring them to the race track and entertain them every week because I want to make them all NASCAR fans.”

    But for both Ward and Jeb Burton, emotions spilled over as they acknowledged the new opportunity that would kick off at Dover International Speedway this weekend.

    “Everything happens for a reason and I felt that our deal was that way,” Jeb Burton said. “I just keep trying to be patient and get better and improve.”

    “Jeb and I both cried at our announcement with ThorSport and Estes on Tuesday,” Ward Burton said. “I don’t know any other way that I can tell you how much that means to both of us.”

    “Luckily every now and then you meet some people who you have something in common with you and your hard work pays off.”

  • Ward and Jeb Burton Continue a Family Tradition of Racing

    Ward and Jeb Burton Continue a Family Tradition of Racing

    Photo Credit: Tanya Hall

    Ward Burton has always had a special relationship with “The Rock.” His first win in the Cup Series was in 1995 at Rockingham Speedway. He has a total of nine top ten finishes at the track in the Cup Series and also scored his first Nationwide Series win there in 1992. At the time, his wife was pregnant with their son, Jeb.

    Burton retired in 2007 but this past weekend, Ward was back with his son Jeb at the historic track. Jeb made his second Camping World Truck Series start Sunday at the speedway. During the race he fought his way back from a 27th starting position to score an eleventh place finish.

    I talked with Ward and Jeb Burton Saturday morning to gain some insight into how the two worked together as a team. It was obvious from the start that Jeb respects his father’s driving expertise. He even watched some tapes of his Dad racing at Rockingham Speedway in preparation for his race at the track.

    Jeb admits that most of the time he feels like “the best way to learn is just to do it myself.” But he’s also smart enough to take advantage of his Dad’s experience. “When I was running late models and my car wasn’t where it needed to be, I would put Dad in it to see what he thought. He would get it running right and make me look good.”

    Ward is heavily involved in his son’s career and often also gives him advice during the race. Sometimes the two agree and sometimes Jeb’s crew chief Trip Bruce has to act as mediator.

    “When we’re running good everything is fine,” Jeb says.

    However, when they are having a bad day, his Dad can get a little intense. Jeb is quick to point out that “it’s only because he wants me to run well.”

    Jeb is scheduled to run the next three races in the Camping World Truck Series. The goal is to run as many races as he can but for now, sponsorship is limited.

    When I asked what he felt he needed to improve upon, the answer was simple. “I need more seat time. I need to be in a racecar every week.”

    He also feels that it’s important to test, especially on the larger tracks where he has no experience. Another important factor is “understanding the vehicle and working with the crew chief. If you can get that chemistry right, it makes everything easier.”

    As we ended the interview so Jeb could get ready for practice, I asked him what he would consider a good finish at the conclusion of this race. He quickly said “a top 12.” After the race ended Sunday afternoon, I congratulated Jeb on meeting his goal. But like a true racer, he wasn’t satisfied with his finish, believing he could have done more.

    Jeb is currently scheduled to run the next three races in the Camping World Truck Series. While he works on getting more sponsorship, Jeb will continue to run late models.

    Now it was time to hear the other side of the story as I sat down with Jeb’s dad, Ward Burton.

    I asked Ward if he had encouraged or discouraged his son when it came to racing.

    “I didn’t really do either,” he told me. “He came to me about wanting to start racing motorcycles. I had given him go-karts and all that when he was a lot younger but he pretty much made the decision that it was something he wanted to do. He got into motorcycles real quick, went to go-karts and pretty much progressed from there.”

    The biggest challenge for Ward is learning how to be on the sidelines.

    “Oh, definitely I’ve had to learn all over again. You’ve got the danger factor and you’ve got the not in control factor. You’re trying to learn how to communicate. Instead of doing, it’s how to do. It’s quite different. Having a father and son relationship while it’s going on, like any father-son relationship, can certainly add some complications,” he said, laughing.

    “I did it to my Dad; my Dad probably did it to his Dad,” Ward continued. “You know when your Mom or Dad says something to you, you don’t take it the same way as when somebody else says it to you even if it’s said the same or meant the same. Sometimes it’s hard to take something that is meant as constructive criticism, constructively.”

    Communications can also be tricky when it’s a father on one side and a son on the receiving end of those communications. Ward tries to let the crew chief handle that side of things.

    “I try my best but sometimes it’s not possible. That is definitely the best way. It took me a while to learn that and I’m still learning. At the same time, if I see something going on with anybody on the team including Jeb, I’m not going to sit back without trying to be helpful.”

    Jeb’s career is a work in progress and something that Ward works on every day. He believes in his son and what they can accomplish together.

    “I’ve been working vigorously, along with others, to find opportunities for Jeb. He’s got a window in which I can possibly be productive and help him. That window is not forever. I can’t solely make it happen.”

    His commitment is unwavering.

    “I know that if I get the opportunity with a company I don’t feel like anybody can do a better job for that company on and off the track than Jeb and I can. I honestly believe that. But I have to have the doors open to prove it to them.”

    “We certainly appreciate State Water Heaters and they’ve gotten us to this point. They’ll be an associate for the rest of the year. But I want to be racing with Jeb after Dover.”

    Ward and Jeb Burton make a formidable team and are determined to add another chapter to the Burton legacy in NASCAR.

  • Jeb Burton: Famous Last Name But Just A Regular Guy

    Jeb Burton: Famous Last Name But Just A Regular Guy

    [media-credit name=”Photo Credit: Jeb Burton Racing Facebook Page” align=”alignright” width=”245″][/media-credit]As the son of Daytona 500 winner Ward Burton and nephew of NASCAR Cup driver Jeff Burton, the teenager Jeb Burton most certainly bears that famous last name. But in spite of that, the young up and coming racer says he is “just a regular guy.”

    “I have a full-time job at a transmission shop,” Burton said. “It’s 30 hours a week but it’s still a pretty good job.”

    “I work like most everybody does, getting up and going to it every Monday morning and being stressed just like they are.”

    Burton also says he is pretty much of a ‘regular guy’ when it comes to his hobbies and what he likes to do when he is away from the hustle and bustle of the transmission shop.

    “I like to hunt and fish and go to the lake,” Burton said. “That’s what I do when I’m not working.”

    This weekend, however, the young man will be trading in his ‘regular guy’ status to follow in the footsteps of his famous racing family names.

    In fact, Jeb Burton will be making his NASCAR Camping World Truck Series debut, piloting the No. 27 State Water Heaters Chevrolet for Hillman Racing, in the Kroger 250 at Martinsville Speedway on March 31st.

    “I’m really excited,” Burton said. “I just want to go out there and keep my nose clean at Martinsville and hopefully come out with a top ten finish.”

    “I don’t want to tear anything up so I don’t cost us any money,” Burton continued. “And I want to finish top-10 or top-12 every race and not tear things up.”

    “Anything can happen when you don’t tear stuff up and run well.”

    In this instance, Burton’s famous last name definitely helped in putting his Truck racing deal together. After much investigation, Jeb and his father settled on a deal to race for Mike Hillman with veteran crew chief Trip Bruce and State Water Heaters on the hood of the race truck.

    “My dad went down to Charlotte to look at ARCA teams and some K&N East teams and realized that it didn’t cost much more to run trucks,” Burton said. “So, we went after our sponsor State Water Heaters. They’ve been helping Dad for the last couple of years and they seem really interested.”

    “We got with Mike Hillman and he was parting with Bob Germain and had a bunch of good equipment and thought it would be good for us to come with him,” Burton continued. “I started working with him, worked with him for a few days, and we’re all communicating well.”

    Burton is also communicating well with Trip Bruce, probably one of the most important member of the team as the youngster’s new crew chief. Burton is also looking forward to Bruce’s sharing his veteran knowledge of the sport, having crew chiefed for other drivers such as Johnny Benson and Kasey Kahne.

    “Me and Trip get along good,” Burton said. “We’ve only been to the race track twice together so we probably need to get a little better with that.”

    “It just takes time for him to find out what I want in the car and the adjustments he needs to make to make me go fast,” Burton continued. “I think me and Trip will work well together.”

    In spite of his ‘regular guy’ status, has the young driver learned any lessons from the other famous race car drivers with the same last name? Or does having that famous name sometimes become more of a hindrance than a help?

    “Dad gives me his input and help,” Burton said. “But me and Dad don’t see eye to eye on some things sometimes. So, he kind of stays out of it.”

    “I watch the races every Sunday and I see not only what my uncle does but what other people are doing, making mistakes and what they’re doing that is good,” Burton continued. “I just try to soak all that in.”

    “I’m sure Jeff and my Dad will talk to me a lot this week,” Burton continued. “I know they’re both probably excited about it for me.”

    Burton acknowledged that he has another mentor, to whom he often turns on and off the track. And this mentor will be in his ear for his Martinsville Truck debut.

    “I’ve got a good buddy who is my crew chief in my late model car and me and him get along great,” Burton said. “There is good chemistry there.”

    “He’s probably going to spot for me because he’s my spotter in my late model car,” Burton continued. “He keeps me calm on the radio.”

    “He believes in me and I believe in him,” Burton said. “When you have somebody that’s spotting for you and you don’t know him well, they make think you’re just not driving well. He knows I’m driving the wheels off it.”

    “That’s another reason I like him so much,” Burton continued. “He knows I can get it done and he believes in me.”

    “That’s a big part of this sport.”

    Burton also acknowledged that his late model racing experience will serve him well as he prepares for his Truck Series debut.

    “Definitely late models have prepared me best for Trucks,” Burton said. “I tried ARCA and ran one race and on the first lap I got wrecked going down the back straightaway. That wasn’t a very good race.”

    “The late models have definitely trained me,” Burton continued. “It’s a tough division to run in and win races. There’s a lot of good drivers.”

    Burton will most certainly be experiencing plenty of good drivers as he kicks off his Truck season with his new team at a track that is right in his back yard. In spite of that, however, the young driver is not claiming any home field advantage.

    “I think every race is a home race because it’s on national television,” Burton said. “I’m not going to think about that kind of pressure.”

    “I just need to work on getting the truck handling right and then the rest will fall into place.”

    While Burton has his focus completely on this weekend’s racing, he is also hoping that he can parlay a good run into racing more than just the next few that he has been promised. Currently, Burton is scheduled to compete in five races after Martinsville, including Rockingham, Kansas, Charlotte, Dover and Texas.

    “We’ve just got the next five right now and then we have to find some more opportunities with sponsors,” Burton said. “I think State Water Heaters, once they see us run well, they’ll probably continue sponsoring us.”

    And as with all young racers today, whether with famous racing last names or just ‘regular guys’, Burton took the opportunity to pitch all of his social media ties, as well as thank his fans.

    “You all can follow me on my Facebook racing page,” Burton said. “Or you can follow me on Twitter @JebBurtonRacing.”

    “If it weren’t for the fans following me, I wouldn’t get to do what I love to do,” Burton said.