The NASCAR veteran Ward Burton may have stepped away from competition a couple of years ago, but he has kept himself busy since retiring. He recently opened up about his new career path. 

Burton competed in the NASCAR Winston Cup Series beginning in 1994. He went on to win five times in the Cup Series, including his 2002 Daytona 500 victory. He stepped back from racing in 2012, and ever since, he has been busy with his nonprofit, Ward Burton Wildlife Foundation. 

During his recent appearance on the Door Bumper Clear podcast on July 7, Burton opened up about what his day looks like post-retirement. 

"Man, I work all the time. That's what I was taught to do," He said. 

When questioned by the podcast co-host, Tommy Baldwin, if he gets paid for the work he does, came his reply.

"No, I don't get paid much at all," Burton said. "That's what I was brought up to do as a kid. I was trained to do it in a construction company with my granddad and dad. And I've been fortunate enough to build on some things, particularly my conservation efforts, and I'm kind of driven by it."

The 2002 Daytona 500 winner further added that he wakes up with a clear plan in his mind. 

"I'm 100% driven by it. And I know exactly what I'm going to do every morning. When I wake up, and I wake up before the sun gets up, work out in the gym, and boom, I'm gone."

After making 375 Cup Series starts and 162 combined starts in the Xfinity and Truck Series, in the 2007 season, his final NASCAR Cup Series season concluded.

However, much before retirement, Ward founded the Wildlife Foundation in 1996. The organization is mostly focused on saving rural and forest lands near its home in Virginia. However, the idea has now expanded overseas. 

While Burton has retired, he keeps reliving the memories

Ward Burton looks back on the 2002 NASCAR Bristol night race 

During an event held to promote the Bass Pro Shops Night Race at Bristol Motor Speedway in 2025, Burton looked back on his memories at the track. He has raced at the track 24 times throughout his NASCAR career. 

However, out of those 24 races, there is one that stands out the most, which is the infamous race at Bristol Motor Speedway in 2002. During the race, he was frustrated after Dale Jr wrecked him. He threw his heat shields from his racing shoes.

The heat shields hit the car of Dale Earnhardt Jr. During the event in 2025, he spoke about what made him frustrated that night.

"He stuck his nose in there like he had position, and he didn’t," he said. (via Times News). "He made a mistake, and just he wrecked me. Years later, after him looking at it, he realized what he did and said he was sorry. At the time, I had a lot riding on that race with my team and my sponsors. I was done wrong, and wanted to express that dissatisfaction."

However, years later, the two drivers have made up and even sat down and looked back on the incident during one of Dale Jr Download episodes. 

Share your thoughts on Burton's new career path with Ward Burton Wildlife Foundation.

Read more on the Daytona Racing Digest.

Written by

Chionia Libania Colaco

Edited by

Soheli Tarafdar