The Burtons

Some kids dream of being doctors or lawyers or firemen. Jeff Burton didn't fall into that category.

"I always wanted to be a race car driver," said Burton. "I didn't know if I was ever going to race in Winston Cup, but ever since I was a young boy, I wanted to drive race cars."

Thanks to Jeff's dad, John, and his brother, Ward, who is nearly six years older than him, both the siblings' dreams came true.

"Our father, John, did some go-kart racing, and when Ward was eight years old he got him involved with go-kart racing," said Jeff. "And, my dad is the kind of guy who always goes full-force toward something; and the next thing I knew we had four go-karts for us to race and we were off and running."

Fittingly, Ward set the family pace -- initially.

He continued to race on the Virginia Karting Association circuit until he was 16. From there, he progressed up the ladder at South Boston (Va.) Speedway competing in Mini Stocks, Street Stocks and Late Model class cars.

However, by the time Jeff turned eight, he began making headlines of his own.

Twice he was the Virginia State Go-Kart Champion and was a runner-up four other times.

He then joined Ward at South Boston Speedway, and by 1986 he won six Late Model races.

Just two years later, Jeff won seven of 21 Late Model races at South Boston and was voted the series most popular driver.

Jeff's stellar performance at South Boston in 1988 led his dad to enter him in five NASCAR Budweiser Late Model Sportsman Series races that same year. (The Budweiser Late Model Sportsman Series changed its name to the NASCAR Busch Grand National Series in 1998.)

In 1989, his first full season in the Late Model Sportsman Series, Jeff drove for his father again and had two top-five finishes en route to coming in 13th in the points standings.

That same year, Ward was the top attraction at South Boston Speedway, winning three events and claiming the series most popular driver honor.

By 1990, the Burton brothers found themselves vying for the same checkered flags in the Budweiser Late Model Sportsman Series.

Jeff was driving a Sam Ard-owned machine, while Ward was behind the wheel of his father's car.

Jeff came in 15th in points that year -- six places better than Ward.

The following season, Jeff kept the upper hand, garnering a 12th-place spot in the points compared to 18th for Ward.

Still, Ward never quit the battle and in 1992 he was eighth and Jeff was ninth. In 1993, he was sixth and Jeff was 14th.

Jeff's consistency earned him a one-race Winston Cup deal with owner Filbert Martocci in 1993 at New Hampshire, where he placed 37th.

By 1994, both of the Burton brothers were swimming full time in Winston Cup waters -- Jeff as the driver for the Stavola Brothers and Ward for A.G. Dillard.

"We are very fortunate to both be able to race at this level and we get to spend a lot more time together at the race track then we would if we had other professions," said Ward.

"But, racing against your brother complicates things just a bit. You try extra hard not to have anything happen while you're racing each other. We wrecked each other a long time ago when we raced at the local track, and the wrath from our dad was enough to make sure it never happened again. There isn't extra pressure from him, but I want to beat him just like I want to beat anybody else on the track."

Jeff echoed Ward.

"It is pretty interesting that two brothers from the small town of South Boston, Va., both made it to Winston Cup," said Jeff. "It has brought us a lot closer together and gave us a better understanding of each other. I like racing with my brother every weekend, but I don't enjoy racing against him."

Jeff's success at the Cup level came a little quicker than Ward's.

After landing a ride with perennial Cup power Jack Roush in 1996, Jeff immediately became a title contender.

He was 13th in points in his first season with Roush and since that campaign he has been no worse than fifth in the final standings.

In fact since 1997, Jeff has won 15 Cup races and finished third in the points in 2000.

Although Ward was the first Burton to win a Cup race (Rockingham, 1995), it seemed as if he were getting lost in Jeff's shadow.

That changed -- somewhat -- when Ward had a breakout season in 1999 coming in ninth in the points for owner Bill Davis.

Ward did get plenty of notoriety in 1999, but mainly because he finished second to Jeff in races at Rockingham, N.C., Las Vegas and Darlington, S.C.

"Just about everyone with a sibling in the same sport or profession can relate to what Jeff and I went through in 1999," said Ward.

"It would have been difficult to finish second three times to anyone, not just your brother... We are both very competitive and we both want each other to succeed. At the same time, we want to beat each other and everyone else on the track too. It would have been equally as frustrating if it had been anybody else."

Jeff had a similar take on what took place in 1999.

"Winning is a hell of a lot of fun," he said. "But, it was tough knowing those victories came at the expense of your brother winning. I know I got tired of hearing all the talk when I was going to let Ward win and I am damn sure Ward got tired of it as well."

In 2000, Jeff added four more Cup wins to his resume, and more importantly Ward finally won again -- taking the checkered flag March 19 at Darlington, S.C., in the Mall.com 400.

"I was very happy for Ward when he won at Darlington," said Jeff. "I know he was getting very frustrated and that was just a big win for his team for a lot of reasons."

Unfortunately for both Jeff and Ward, 2001 wasn't a victory parade for either of them.

"This season has been frustrating for all of us," said Jeff, whose team has struggled mightily so far this year. "We came into this season believing we could compete for a championship, lead laps and wins races, but things just haven't worked out.

"There are two things you could do when things are going this bad, you can flip out or you can work that much harder to fix the problem and that is what we have done. It has been a lot of fun to be a part of a team that has this kind of work ethic. We have fixed a lot of things since the beginning of the season and now we just need to concentrate on getting better speed. Speed makes good things happen and we need to get to that point again."

Ward, who was 10th in the 2000 points, has also had his share of adversity this year for a variety of reasons. Topping the list is the fact that his team switched from Pontiacs to Dodges.

"It has been an adjustment," said Ward. "We had to basically start all over. There were a lot of unknowns with the chassis, the motors and the handling package. We aren't sure which has affected the handling more, the new body or the new tire.

"But, both have contributed to the adjustments this year. We have had some real decent runs and we've learned a lot about the handling in the past month, so we are looking forward to some more good runs from the Dodge."

Ward's fortunes improved greatly in 2002 when he captured the prestigious Daytona 500. He followed that up with a victory at New Hampshire in July. Still, great fits of inconsistency relegated Ward to a 25th-place finish in the standings.

In 2002, Despite a year of unprecedented success for his Roush Racing team, Jeff Burton shared in very little of that success. For the first time since 1997, Burton was shut out of Victory Lane. He finished 12th in the Winston Cup standings, his worst finish since he was 13th in 1996.

Despite the time constraints that racing puts on Jeff and Ward's lives, they both do have interests outside of cars.

"South Boston, Va., was only about one hour and ten minutes from Durham, N.C., and my dad had season tickets to Duke basketball games," said Jeff. "So, I grew up a Duke fan and over the years I have become an even bigger fan of the program because of the way it has been run."

Ward, meanwhile, spends a lot of his spare time outdoors.

"I developed my love of the outdoors from my grandfather (Ed) and my father," said Ward. "My grandfather was an active outdoorsman and we spent a lot of time together in the woods duck hunting or deer hunting or just raking in the natural beauty of the wildlife.

"Those are memories that I will treasure for a lifetime. I am trying to instill those same passions in my own kids. That is why I developed the Ward Burton Wildlife Foundation. To make sure that there is land left for my children's generation to enjoy like I have been able to."