Ward Burton began racing go-karts at the age of eight. In fact, he raced on the Virginia Karting Association circuit until the age of 16.
In 10th grade, Burton began attending the Hargrave Military Academy, became first lieutenant and ranked first on the school's rifle team before moving on to Elon College, where he studied for two years. After college, Burton lived in a log cabin and survived off the land, hunting, trapping and fishing for his food.
Burton eventually returned to racing, moving up to mini-stocks and street stocksat his hometown speedway in South Boston, Va. before moving on to late models in 1986. Three years later, Burton won most popular driver honors at the track.
In 1990, Burton moved up to the Busch Series. In 23 starts, Burton earned three top-10 finishes and finished second to Joe Nemechek in the rookie of the year race.
Outside of racing, Burton is involved with wildlife and environmental conservation and has created the Ward Burton Wildlife Foundation, which purchases parcels of land in an effort to conserve and protect wildlife habitats. The foundation works closely with other wildlife organizations to help with these causes.
