Ward Burton made his debut in the No. 4 Morgan-McClure Chevrolet at Martinsville in October 2006. Credit: Autostock

Burton ready to race again and have some fun

Former 500 champ knows he faces uphill battle in '07 Cup return

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. -- Ward Burton's won the Daytona 500, but after two years away from Cup racing, he's accepted the fact his career is virtually back to ground zero.

On Monday morning before the final round of Jackson Hewitt Preseason Thunder got under way at Daytona International Speedway, Burton, 45, said he had all the energy it would take to get Morgan-McClure Motorsports back to its former high level.

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In the 1990s, Morgan-McClure won Daytona 500s with drivers Ernie Irvan (1991) and in consecutive years with Sterling Marlin (1994-1995).

But last year, MMM missed its first Daytona 500 since its first, in 1984. Based on testing, there will be no less than 60 cars attempting to make this year's 43-car field for the "Great American Race."

If he's successful Burton, who won the 2002 Daytona 500 for Bill Davis, said his feeling would be akin to a flashback to 1995.

"My rookie year [1994], we had a wreck at the start/finish line in the first [qualifying race] and that was the only 500 I wasn't able to make," Burton said. "When we came back here in '95, after the [qualifying race] I felt like I already knew what it was to win the 500 because we made that race."

Burton acknowledged this is a different era, with different ground rules. The biggest is the fact that the top 35 owners from 2006 are automatically in the 500's field. As a past champion, Dale Jarrett has a guaranteed spot as well.

"The locked-in 35 [in owner points] is the biggest issue," Burton said. "I think right now, with basically seven spots available, if we can make [the Daytona 500] that same feeling [from 1995] is going to be there again with the State Water Heater effort."

Attaining a primary sponsor was the team's first step on the road back, Burton said. Team owner Larry McClure said Monday he continues to vigorously pursue a marketing partner to enable him to field a second team.

And Burton said each additional advance for the single-car team based in Abingdon, Va., would be a continuation of the positive experience they first felt in the fall at Martinsville, where Burton debuted with the team after McClure called him.

The latest chapter starts in Daytona, where Burton first raced in the Busch Series, in 1992, finishing third behind Dale Earnhardt and Irvan.

	Ward Burton won the Daytona 500 in 2002 for Bill Davis Racing. Credit: Rusty Jarrett/Getty Images
	Inside the Numbers Burton's Career Cup Stats Races 389 Wins 5 Top 5s 24 Top 10s 82 Avg. Start 20.1 Avg. Finish 21.8 NASCAR TodayWard Burton knows the task ahead will not be easy Sign up for TrackPass now BUY THE NEXTEL i836

"I think it's going to be tougher and there are a lot of things against us," Burton said of this season's 500. "The thing that is [a plus] for us is that we've both done it before.

"We're excited about it. Obviously, with Morgan-McClure Motorsports we've got an uphill battle ahead of us. The guys have been working really hard and hopefully their hard work is going to pay off for us.

"It certainly is somewhat of a mountain to climb. But as I walked into the track this morning, it's got so much history to it, and I can remember my first time being here as a child.

"Now I'm back here again and it's a little bit familiar territory and somewhat unfamiliar. It's exciting and it's such a challenge. The scenery has changed a bunch with all the uplifting of the infield here, and it's neat to be back in the game."

Burton said that, far from losing his edge, his time off had only increased his desire to race again.

"Shoot, I guess we all can get rusty, in some way or another," Burton said, though he didn't sound convinced. "I know when I got back in a car for the first time [at a test in the fall at Motor Mile Speedway in Radford, Va.] it was a lot of fun.

"My first instinct was, 'Where the hell have I been?' Because it just felt that natural. I think the sport's changed, but it's still driving."

As Burton gets ready to attack this uphill challenge, he realizes he will have to make some adjustments.

"The thing that has changed is the amount of support a driver needs. It used to be that you could have good equipment with a chemistry between a crew chief and a driver, and if the driver could tell the crew chief what [the car] was doing, the crew chief could up and change it and make it fast with those ingredients.

"Those days are about gone. Now we have multiple engineers and the aerodynamics that are so important -- and someone like me sitting in the car would not know [what today's changes do to the car's performance].

"So the technology and the little things that make these cars go and make all racecars go today takes a lot of different type of support, so the grassroots efforts of what got us here, for the most part, has ceased to exist."