The writing is on the back stretch wall: at his age, Ward Burton needs to consider Busch or trucks if he wants to continue racing.(NASCAR)

A year ago the phone rang, and an unmistakable voice was on the other end.

"Whatcha doin?" Ward Burton asked. This was completely out of the blue. Generally, writers track down drivers; seldom is it the other way around, especially during the holidays.

I assumed he just needed to hear a friendly voice, especially after his tenuous season, which included a breakup with Bill Davis after an eight-plus-year relationship, and a jump to Haas CNC Racing. Whatever the reason, I didn't mind filling in as Dial-a-Yente.

Driving the Haas CNC No. 0 car, Burton was 15th in points after the first five races of 2004. But his team declined steadily until Burton, down to 29th in points after race No. 34, at Phoenix, was released.

Burton worked with three crew chiefs, Tony Furr, Bill Ingle and Bootie Barker, during that period, but nothing helped. Burton became disenchanted with his team, and vice versa.

Rumblings of his departure surfaced as early as the first Pocono race in June, and I approached Burton about the situation. He confirmed that he had heard a similar buzz, so I wrote that Burton knew he was on the hot seat.

Burton was not happy.