Burton Feeling Guilt After Highway Accident

Ward Burton learned the hard way, and now he’s offering his fans a bit of advice: Don’t drive drowsy.

The NASCAR Nextel Cup star fell asleep at the wheel of his Chevrolet Suburban while driving along a North Carolina highway. The sport utility vehicle swerved off the road at about 60 mph, hit a guardrail, flipped several times, then went down an embankment.

The accident last Monday left Burton with a bruise on his face from the air bag -- and a bit embarrassed.

“A couple of miles before I crashed, I had a couple of warnings that I was sleepy, but I kept driving,” Burton said in a message to his fans on his Web site. “As soon as the vehicle came to a stop from the wreck, I felt very guilty and irresponsible, thinking about what I had done and what I had put my family through.

“If nothing else, I hope you will learn from me and stop for a cup of coffee or a walk when you feel sleepy driving. I had the warning and didn’t pay attention, and am just lucky that I’m OK.”

Burton said it took a while for anyone to stop to help and he called his wife, Tabitha, to come get him.

“While I was waiting for the emergency vehicles, I started cleaning up the debris from where I had hit the guardrail so that it wouldn’t cause somebody else to wreck,” Burton said.

Just to be sure there were no other injuries, Burton stopped at a hospital where he was examined and released.

Burton plans to race today in Martinsville, Va.

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NASCAR boss Brian France recently said he wanted the stock-car sanctioning organization to start hiring people with hands-on experience at the team level to help in its cost-cutting efforts.

It didn’t take long to begin the effort, with former owner-driver Brett Bodine the newest NASCAR hire.

Bodine, 45, who holds a degree in mechanical engineering, joins NASCAR’s research and development staff as special project engineer.

NASCAR president Mike Helton said Bodine’s first assigned project is the “Car of the Future.” Bodine will work with Gary Nelson, NASCAR’s managing director of research and development, at the Concord, N.C., facility.

“He’s been such a steadfast member of the Cup garage over the years, and he’s done it all,” Helton said. “Brett has built race cars, he’s worked on race cars and he’s driven race cars.

“He brings a new perspective that we’re glad to tap into.”

Bodine competed in NASCAR for nearly 20 years, winning one Cup race (1990 at North Wilkesboro) and five poles in 480 career starts. He drove full time for his own team from 1996-00 and on a limited schedule in 2003.

His older brother, Geoffrey, and younger brother, Todd, also are veteran NASCAR drivers.

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BAM Racing owner Beth Ann Morgenthau says the team will run German driver Klaus Graf in up to seven Nextel Cup races this season as teammate to full-time driver Ken Schrader.

Graf, trained in the highly technical world of European road racing, will get his first taste of NASCAR competition June 27 on the road course in Sonoma, Calif.

The 32-year-old Graf, who will be the first German-born driver to compete in NASCAR’s top series, has been racing in the Porsche Michelin and Porsche Carrera Supercup series after a stint as test driver for McLaren. Graf raced sports car prototype from 1999-01.

“My dream all my life is to compete among the best in motorsports,” Graf said. “I am thrilled with this opportunity.”

Morgenthau said her team has planned to add a second car from the time it entered the Cup series in 2002.

“Bringing in a driver with the talents of Klaus Graf is the next step,” Morgenthau said. “We’re very excited with him joining us and with the future this presents all of us.”

Graf tested with BAM at Virginia International Raceway and Kentucky Speedway, and finished third April 9 in an ARCA race -- his first on an oval -- at Nashville.

“This guy can flat-out drive a stock car,” said BAM general manager Eddie Jones. “When we first went to Virginia to test on the road course, I was really impressed with what I saw. The question was can he drive an oval, too?”

Scott Eggleston, Schrader’s crew chief, said Graf answered that question at Nashville, where he led late in the race. “After the test at Kentucky, I was completely convinced he has what it takes. After the ARCA race at Nashville, I think everybody else in motorsports is convinced he has what it takes,” Eggleston said.

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Kurt Busch, Matt Kenseth, Dale Earnhardt Jr. and Jeff Gordon have each posted top 10 finishes in five of the first seven races this season. Busch is leading the season points going into Martinsville, with Kenseth second, Earnhardt third and Gordon all the way down in ninth, thanks to a 41st-place finish last month in Darlington.