PERSONAL PROFILE
	Spouse: Tabitha Kids: Sarah, Jeb Hometown: South Boston, VA Birthdate: October 25, 1961 Personal Vehicle: Dodge Ram Hobbies: Wildlife conservation, Hunting

The older of two racing brothers, Ward Burton will have more to worry about in 2001 -- his eight year in the series -- than his younger brother beating him on the race track.

The elder Burton battled to the very end of the 2000 season and finally posted his second straight top-10 points finish in the No. 22 Caterpillar Pontiac fielded by Bill Davis Racing.

Although he dropped back one spot from his career best ninth, Burton made all 34 races, finally got back into Victory Lane and scored four top-5 and 17 top-10 finishes while cementing his stout relationship with crew chief Tommy Baldwin. He did all that while struggling through the problems created by the addition of a second Winston Cup team, for Dave Blaney; and a switch to the Dodge Intrepid for 2001.

How good was his season? Burton also managed to end up ninth in the lap leader list, pacing the field 24 times in 10 races. He scored his second career victory with a triumph in the mall.com 400 at Darlington on March 19 and started the season with eight top-10 finishes in the season's first 13 races and was second in points at that stage of the campaign.

The team stumbled in the second half of the season, however, slumping through a stretch of four finishes worse than 30th in the final nine races before rebounding to end up third at Atlanta in the season finale. While his top-5 total tailed off from 1999, his top-10 log was a career best.

For the third straight season he endured only four DNFs, after averaging nearly nine a year over the first four years of his career. Burton qualified exceptionally well once again in 2000, starting in the top-10 15 times over the season, despite failing to win a Bud Pole for the fifth consecutive year.

Burton, a native of Danville, Va., began racing karts at age 8. He later drove Street Stock and Late Model Stock Cars on Virginia short tracks, mainly his home track of South Boston Speedway. He was voted most popular driver there in 1989.

In 1990 he joined the Busch Series, posting three top-10 finishes. In 1994 he competed for rookie of the year, finishing behind his younger brother Jeff, who also drives in the Winston Cup Series. In six 2000 Busch Series starts he scored three top-5 finishes and led the California race late before crashing.

Burton and wife Tabitha are the parents of two children, daughter Sarah and son Jeb. He graduated from Hargrave Military Academy, where he was a First Lieutenant and ranked first on the school's rifle team.

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. He learned much of his love of the outdoors from his grandfather, Ed, with whom he spent many hours in the woods while he was a boy. Burton has a World War II vintage Jeep and is restoring an old log cabin to its original condition.