Ward Burton will be strapping back into a Nextel Cup car full-time in 2007. Credit: Autostock

Ward Burton, Morgan-McClure team up in '07

A note on Morgan-McClure's Web site says it all:

"MMM signs Ward Burton! Information coming soon."

Below that is a note saying the team is now taking orders for Ward Burton merchandise.

Ward Burton

According to a report in the Richmond Times-Dispatch, team owner Larry McClure signed Burton to a one-year deal Tuesday to drive the No. 4 Chevrolet in the 2007 Nextel Cup Series.

Terms were not disclosed.

Burton, who hasn't had a full-time Cup ride since 2004, made three starts for Morgan-McClure in 2006, finishing 26th at Martinsville, 25th at Texas and 28th at Phoenix.

That -- and a new sponsor in State Water Heaters -- was apparently enough to convince McClure to add Burton for the upcoming season.

"We've still got some things we all are going to be doing as a team that we have to do to [right] the ship," Burton told the Times-Dispatch. "But Larry and Tim [Morgan] and all the people here are really good, sound people, and the kind of people I've been wanting to be around."

Burton has made 359 starts since his debut on March 6, 1994, at Richmond. He has five wins -- including the 2002 Daytona 500 and the 2001 Southern 500 -- 24 top-five finishes and 82 top-10s.

He has two top-10 points finishes, ninth and 10th in the 1999-2000 seasons. Burton has not run a full season since 2004, when he was released by Haas CNC as driver of the No. 0 car.