Burton posts first top ten for NetZero.

It may only have been the second event of the 2004 NASCAR Nextel Cup season, NetZero Chevrolet driver Ward Burton has already put his name in the Haas CNC Racing record books.

A ninth-place finish in the event at North Carolina Speedway on Sunday scored Burton the highest finish ever for the Harrisburg-based team, but it was not all plain sailing for the series veteran, who had to contend with an ill-handling car during the race.

Forty-three cars showed up for qualifying for the Subway 400, which meant all the competitors would make the field for the event, and Burton's qualifying run around the 1.017-mile track secured him the 16th spot on the starting grid for Sunday's event.

When the green flag flew for the start of the race, Burton almost immediately communicated to crew chief Tony Furr that the NetZero car was tight in the corners, although that didn't stop him from moving closer to the front of the field. By the time the first caution flag waved on lap 40, Burton had moved into eleventh place, and Furr then called for air pressure adjustments to the new right front tyre during an ensuing pit stop on lap 41.

The changes helped the handling and Burton remained within sight of the leaders, while the experience of veteran Furr further paid off on lap 132. Burton had already made his move to drive down pit-road for a scheduled pit-stop when the caution flag flew. Furr quickly called his driver to continue to drive down pit-road and not stop - a heads-up move kept the team from losing a lap to the leaders, and allowed Burton to line up 15th in the restart.

Though Burton remained in the top 15 for most of the event, the NetZero Chevrolet became a handful during the mid-section of the race. Furr continued to make changes to the car and Burton quietly made his way into the top ten. On lap 314 of 393, he held down sixth place and was one of the fastest cars on the track, before the team's big break of the day came on lap 351.

As Burton sat in his pit-stall, another yellow flag flew. New right side tyres had already been bolted on the car but, instead of completing the planned four-tyre stop, Furr told him to head out of the pits. Unfortunately, the team went one lap down, but thanks to the 'Lucky Dog' rule NASCAR instituted last season - which gives the first car at least one lap down a lap back - the NetZero team was allowed to pass the pace car and return to the lead lap.

Burton then drove back down pit-road to complete the aborted pit-stop and restarted in ninth place, at the tail end of the longest line. Burton remained in that spot for the final laps and took the chequered flag in ninth place. In addition to giving the team its Cup best finish ever, the finish catapulted the team to ninth place in the point standings.

"We've still got some work to do in the pits, but it was a good day for us," Burton said, "We got lucky there a couple of times and those are the kinds of things that need to happen to make for a successful day sometimes. The guys worked hard all weekend and Tony made great calls in the pits. It was a good day for the NetZero Racing team."