Burton won't look for revenge on Earnhardt Jr.

DARLINGTON, S.C. -- Defending Mountain Dew Southern 500 champion Ward Burton said Friday that he did not expect to exact any revenge on fellow NASCAR Winston Cup driver Dale Earnhardt Jr. -- either this weekend or any time in the future.

	Dale Earnhardt Jr.

Burton was leading Earnhardt Jr. in last Saturday's Sharpie 500 at Bristol when Junior's No. 8 Chevrolet made contact with the rear bumper of Burton's No. 22 Dodge. The accident eliminated Burton from the event.

"Last weekend was last weekend and I'm real focused on this weekend," Burton said. "We're trained in this country to seek justice (and) I've had a lot of time to think about it all week and that single word -- justice -- comes to mind every single time.

"Y'all know as well as I do if I go seek justice Sunday, what's going to happen to the 22 car, so I've got to try to leave what's happened last weekend in the past."

As of Friday afternoon, when the Winston Cup garage closed due to rain, Burton and Earnhardt Jr. had not yet spoken about the incident, Earnhardt Jr.'s spokesman said.

Following the Bristol event, Earnhardt Jr. tested his Busch Series car at Richmond International Raceway and later in the week had numerous personal appearances to make, spokesman Jade Gurss said.

	Ward Burton is the defending Southern 500 champion. Credit: Autostock

Burton was fined $5,000 on Thursday by NASCAR for "actions detrimental to stock car racing" for going out on the racetrack at Bristol and flinging his heel's heat shields at Earnhardt Jr.'s car as it passed by under caution.

"I'll give you an example of something that happened with Dale's daddy back at Talladega a few years ago," Burton said. "I instigated a big crash. It was my fault (and) they went through an 18- or 20-car crash.

"I was on the phone Sunday night to (Earnhardt's car owner) Richard Childress and called Dale on Tuesday and acknowledged it was my fault and also to see how he was doing.

"I have not heard from Dale (Jr.) and I feel like it's his place to open up the dialogue on that. I have not had the opportunity to speak to Dale, but I don't know that Dale won't seek me out when he has the opportunity and we'll discuss it and go from there."

The incident was one of several that prompted drivers to express their anger with vivid gestures and words. However, drivers Elliott Sadler, Hut Stricklin and Jimmie Johnson all stayed below the line at the track's lower limit to make their points.

VIDEO CLIPS Burton is not pleased with Junior after being spun at Bristol. Play video • Other Bristol Videos

Burton -- an avid outdoorsman -- said his biggest regret was that he used the word "shooting" something through Junior's car's window, when he actually meant, "throwing" something. He was none too thrilled over the entire incident.

"Obviously I had some pretty high emotions," Burton said. "In life it doesn't matter if you're a race car driver or doing anything else, the experiences you have -- obviously we learn by them and wish we could go back and handle them differently.

"If you could go back and have time to reflect on it ...I would undo all those things, but I can't. Definitely what I did Saturday night by walking up in the racetrack (was wrong).

"NASCAR needs to stop me and anybody else from doing that. As much as they have done to try to make us safe -- that would have been horrible for me or anybody else to get up there and get run over. That was dumb on my part.

"Dale will have to handle it the way his conscience tells him to handle it."