THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Wednesday, August 23, 1995 TAG: 9508230632
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: C6 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY BOB ZELLER, STAFF WRITER
LENGTH: Medium: 69 lines
A day after finishing sixth in the GM 400 at Michigan International Speedway Sunday - his best finish in the No. 31 Hardee's Chevrolet - Ward Burton was fired by car owner Alan Dillard.
``It caught me a little by surprise,'' Burton said Tuesday on the weekly Winston Cup teleconference.
There were, to be sure, extenuating circumstances. Burton has been negotiating to drive Bill Davis' No. 22 Pontiac Grand Prix next year.
Burton said he didn't know for sure if his talks with Davis made the difference, but ``Alan told me he didn't think he could get a sponsor without a driver in the car who was going to stay.''
``Bill and I are talking now and there's a pretty good possibility we're going to reach an agreement today for the rest of this year and next year,'' Burton said. ``And (veteran mechanic) Buddy Parrott has assured me and Pontiac and General Motors he's going to be a consultant for our team.
``We haven't finalized it, but we're so far ahead that I've ordered a uniform, I can tell you that.''
PETREE'S PLANS: Andy Petree said Tuesday that he picked this week to announce his impending departure as Dale Earnhardt's crew chief because he wanted to give car owner Richard Childress plenty of time to replace him.
Petree is planning to leave Childress after the season ends to again become crew chief for car owner Leo Jackson, who will then sell him the team in three years.
``The reason it's announced so early is to give Richard and Dale time to react to it so they wouldn't be in a panic,'' Petree said Tuesday. ``This way gives them a little time to react to it.
``It's been one of my goals all along to own my own race team some day after achieving my goal of winning the championship as a crew chief.''
Now that he's won two titles, it's time to move on.
``This happened to come a little sooner than I expected,'' he said. ``I'm going to go with Leo as crew chief next year and the year after that. He's going to teach me how to be a car owner and I'm going to buy the team after that.
``We just had a little team meeting (Monday) and Richard and I told all the guys we're not going to let this get in the way of what we're doing this year. We're still focused and we're full steam ahead trying to win this championship and trying to win as many races as we can to the end of the season.''
Petree said he's satisfied with Jackson's current driver, rookie Robert Pressley. ``I know what kind of talent he's got,'' Petree said. ``I've raced against him. I think he's going to be one of the up and comers in this sport.''
LABONTE'S FEAT: In his first year with car owner Joe Gibbs and only his third in the Winston Cup series, Bobby Labonte has done what it took his brother Terry 16 years to do - win three races in a season.
Labonte and Gibbs are somewhat flabbergasted.
``Never won a race until this year and now I've won three,'' Labonte said. ``It's like, `Who would have thought?' It's a great feeling. I used to walk through the garage area and nobody knew who I was. Sometimes it gets kind of busy now, but I'd rather be busy than not busy.''
With a new driver, a new shop and the new Monte Carlo, ``we figured this season was going to be kind of a rebuilding thing,'' Gibbs said. ``We felt like, hey, we would probably struggle this year. But it's been a real exciting year.'' ILLUSTRATION: Ward Burton has been fired by Alan Dillard, but expects to drive
a Pontiac for Bill Davis next year.
by CNB