CONCORD, N.C. -- It didn't take Ward Burton long to find a new job. He was hired Thursday to drive the No. 0 Pontiac for Haas CNC Racing.

Burton and Bill Davis Racing said Wednesday that Burton would get out of the No. 22 Dodge after next week's race at Martinsville, Va.

Burton will then get into his new ride for the final four races of this season and all of next year.

"This looked like to me the team that wanted me the most,'' Burton said. "A team that I could be a part of its growth from the ground up and a team with the best opportunity for growth in the future.''

Jason Leffler has been driving the No. 0 since August, but will move to a Busch series team Haas will field next season.

"Jason will have a tremendous resource in Ward's experience, and Ward is committed to helping Jason in any way he can,'' car owner Gene Haas said. "Our long term goal would be to have Jason and Ward running together as teammates in the Nextel Cup series.''

Burton has scored five victories for Davis, including wins in the Daytona 500 and Southern 500. But their results have dropped off the past year, and Burton has just three top 10 finishes this season and is 20th in the standings. Busch series driver Scott Wimmer is replacing him.

"We worked really hard and we made a successful program and formed a successful program for our sponsors and we won races,'' Burton said. "At the same time ... sometimes, its time to move on and that's where I am today.''

Deal at last
Dale Earnhardt Jr. said Thursday he has finally ironed out the details on a new five-year deal to continue driving the No. 8 Chevrolet for his late father's team.

Earnhardt has been driving for Dale Earnhardt Inc. since 1998, although he never had an official contract. He said in January he and his stepmother, Teresa, had reached a new deal, then said this summer he never signed it.

The two sides had been in negotiations ever since, and announced on his web site Thursday that a deal had been reached.

"Dale and I built this organization with a long term plan in place,'' Teresa said. "Dale Jr. has always been an intricate part of that plan and this agreement represents our commitment to one another in reaching the goal of winning championships.''

Earnhardt is currently third in the Winston Cup standings and has 17 top 10 finishes this season.

This if his first official contract with the team.

"We had a hand shake and that was sufficient,'' Earnhardt said. "But in today's business world, you need written agreements and now we have one. It was an interesting process that was very educational.''

Starting young
Bill Elliott was keeping a close eye on the weather Thursday, but not out of concern for his own racing schedule.

Chase Elliott, his 7-year-old son, is scheduled to make his racing debut Friday night in a go-karting event in Blue Ridge, Ga. The weather calls for rain, which would wash out Chase's first race.

"He is so excited,'' Elliott said. "We were going to test the kart Tuesday night and he came home from school and put his uniform right on even though we weren't going to the track until 7:30. He was so funny to watch, I laughed so much I almost cried.''

Chase is a familiar fixture in the Winston Cup garage, proudly wearing a replica Dodge uniform while he accompanies his father through driver introductions.

Elliott said his only son had been trying to get behind a wheel for some time, but first needed his mother's permission.

"I have always said it was between him and his mom,'' Elliott said. "She finally gave in, now we'll see what he can do. I told him he's going to have to be good at it, good enough to move on to the next levels, because he can't just fall back on what I can give him.''

Helping the economy
Moving the UAW-GM Quality 500 from its usual Sunday running to a Saturday night show has boosted ticket sales at Lowe's Motor Speedway by 15 percent.

The increase has helped lead to a $21 million increase in the event's economic impact on Mecklenburg, Cabarrus and Iredell counties over 1999, to $106.8 million for a three-county region, according to a UNC Charlotte professor.

Track president Humpy Wheeler attributed the jump in ticket sales to the move to an evening race. About 163,000 people are expected at the race.

"If you look at sport in general -- college football, outside sports -- you find that attendance is just better at night,'' Wheeler said.

Silver lining?
Winston Cup rookie Larry Foyt got good news and bad news at the same time this week.

Foyt, 26, was named one of Cosmopolitan magazine's "Hottest Bachelors'' this week, but wasn't in the mood to celebrate because of lingering pain from a wreck two weeks ago at Talladega.

He tested the No. 14 Dodge this week in Martinsville, Va., but was too sore and got out of the car. So he was examined by a doctor Thursday and was advised to get out of the car and rest.

Foyt has a broken left wrist and a bruised kidney, which must heal before he can race again. He will not race until Oct. 26 in Atlanta and has been replaced in the car by Mark Green.

As for the "Hottest Bachelor'' honor, Foyt is pictured in the November issue of Cosmo, representing the state of North Carolina.