John Edward “Ward” Burton III (born October 25, 1961) is an American former professional stock car racing driver. He has five career wins in the NASCAR Winston Cup Series, including the 2002 Daytona 500 and the 2001 Southern 500. A member of the Burton racing family, he is the older brother of fellow NASCAR driver and NASCAR on NBC broadcaster Jeff Burton, the father of current NASCAR Xfinity Series driver Jeb Burton, and the uncle of current NASCAR Cup Series driver Harrison Burton. He currently operates the Ward Burton Wildlife Foundation, a conservation and sportsmans’ organization.
| Achievements | 2002 Daytona 500 Winner 2001 Southern 500 Winner Led Busch Series in poles in 1993 |
|---|---|
| NASCAR Cup Series career | |
| 375 races run over 13 years | |
| Best finish | 9th (1999) |
| First race | 1994 Pontiac Excitement 400 (Richmond) |
| Last race | 2007 Subway 500 (Martinsville) |
| First win | 1995 AC Delco 400 (Rockingham) |
| Last win | 2002 New England 300 (Loudon) |
| Wins: 5 Top tens: 8 Poles: 7 | |
| NASCAR Xfinity Series career | |
| 161 races run over 10 years | |
| Best finish | 6th (1993) |
| First race | 1990 Pontiac 200 (Richmond) |
| Last race | 2007 Carfax 250 (Michigan) |
| First win | 1992 Goodwrench 200 (Rockingham) |
| Last win | 1993 Slick 50 300 (Atlanta) |
| Wins: 4 Top tens: 50 Poles: 7 | |
| NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series career | |
| 1 race run over 1 year | |
| Best finish | 59th (2012) |
| First race | 2012 NextEra Energy Resources 250 (Daytona) |
| Wins: 0 Top tens: 0 Poles: 0 | |
| Races | 375 | Average Finish | 22.38 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Wins | 5 | Average Start | 20.3 |
| Top 5 Finishes | 24 | Total Laps Led | 1,917 |
| Top 10 Finishes | 82 | Total Laps | 100,138 |
| Top 20 Finishes | 175 | % of Laps | 87.9% |
| Poles | 7 | DNF’s | 86 |
