Ward Burton spent five hours Monday at Virginia Tech where he ate with mechanical engineering faculty members, mingled with students and visited memorials dedicated to the victims of last week’s shootings. Burton came to campus from his Halifax home Monday morning with wife, Tabitha, and 14-year-old son, Jeb, who has aspirations of becoming a Tech student.
‘We just wanted to come show our support,’ said Burton, who was invited by a friend in the Virginia Tech Alumni Association. Burton said the tragedy has had a significant impact on the NASCAR community because of the number of Tech engineering alumni who work on Cup teams.
‘I’m a Virginian and I know that Virginia Tech has had influence from urban to rural all over the state of Virginia,’ said Burton, who donates annually to the university. ‘It’s just a far-reaching institution that does so many great things for the state of Virginia.’
Burton is in talks with car owner Larry McClure about displaying the Tech colors at races later this season.
‘It’s just sad that there are people that are discontented in the world and there are people that are that angry in the world that they take it out at innocent people,’ Burton said. ‘Everybody is going to rally around this institution and it’s going to rise way above this tragedy and even be more powerful and make more of a difference than it ever did before.’
- Ward Burton and Eric McClure to wear Virginia Tech helmets at Richmond
- Morgan-McClure shows support for Virginia Tech at Phoenix
- NASCAR to honor victims of Virginia Tech tragedy
- Ward returns for Martinsville!
- NASCAR donates $160,000 to Virginia Tech memorial fund
Ward Burton is a class act. God Bless himand his family and the students, faculty, friends of Va. Tech
I think it would be great if alot of the drivers would donate items to a racing auction and the money would go to a fund of some kind for the Virginia Tech students. Some kind of way to show the Nascar family supports the school and thier struggle to get back to normal.