| Ward Burton erased the misery Sunday of his terrible campaign since the season opening Daytona 500 by scoring a stunning victory in the New England 300 at New Hampshire International Speedway.
Burton took the lead in Turn 1 with 10 laps remaining when Matt Kenseth suffered a deflating tire and raced off to defeat Jeff Green by 3.230 seconds for his fifth career victory.
Along with Kenseth and Elliott Sadler, Dale Jarrett looked like he had a strong shot at the win in the last 50 laps before his Ford faded to third at the finish. However, Jarrett's car failed the post-race height inspection by a 1/8th inch and a NASCAR spokesperson said penalties would probably be issued Monday, while the position would stand.
Despite fears of being unable to pass to a single-groove layout and a combination of a deteriorating track surface and rubber buildup, the top three finishers all started no better than 30th.
Burton started 31st and admitted he had little hope of bettering his previous best finish of eighth in 1999 on account.
Then, Kenseth -- who led a race-high 77 laps -- had his trouble.
More
| 
