From Jayski.com:

Ward Burton looking to make comeback in 2007 UPDATE: Ward Burton will be at Daytona International Speedway on Friday as a part of a ceremony honoring the past 10 winners of the Daytona 500. He hopes his next trip to NASCAR's crown jewel will be as a driver. The 2002 Daytona 500 winner said Monday he is negotiating with two "established teams'' a return to the Nextel Cup Series that he hasn't been a part of since being fired by owner Gene Haas in 2004. One possibility is the #88 car of Robert Yates Racing that is open in 2007 because of Dale Jarrett's departure to the new Toyota team of Michael Waltrip Racing. "That would certainly be an opportunity if it came to fruition,'' Burton said. "It would pump me up. I'd be just excited as when I first made Cup in '94, maybe more so.' Burton would not confirm discussions with RYR, but indicated his talks have been with owners of multi-car organizations which have struggled recently. Burton said there have been no discussions with Toyota, which will field at least six cars under three owners in 2007. "One of the things we're working on is the sponsor,'' said Burton, which makes the #88 car more viable since its deal with UPS is up after this season. "I'm working on a couple of things to try to bring something home.''
Burton, 44, said there'd been negotiations about putting him in a car this weekend at Daytona that fell through at the last minute. He'd like to enter a couple of races before the end of this season to begin his comeback. Burton has spent much of the past year-and-a-half focusing on family and The Ward Burton Wildlife Foundation, which has a mission to "conserve America's land and wildlife through wise stewardship while educating children and adults about the natural resources that will shape America's future.'' Burton tried to mend a few bridges after his split with Haas, but that never happened. "There were phone calls, either hung up on or whatever,'' he said. "That's just the way they handled things.'' Burton is confident he can return to the top-10 form he had in 1999 and 2000, when he had a combined 33 top-10s for Bill Davis Racing with Tommy Baldwin Jr. as his crew chief. Baldwin Jr. now is Sadler's crew chief at RYR, which gives Burton another connection to that organization. "I wish I could tell you more,'' Burton said. "I can tell you I am talking to a sponsor as we speak and car owners as well. I've got my fingers crossed that one of these exciting deals will come true.''(more at NASCAR.com)(6-27-2006)
UPDATE: latest fro Lastcowboys.com: It’s been almost two months since I [Lastcowboys.com] dropped the Ward Burton to Robert Yates Racing rumor on all of you, and it continues to swirl around in the rumor mill. Have now been anonymously informed that this is a done deal. As said, this was anonymous, so have no way of substantiating it, unless Ward or someone in his camp would like to confirm or deny it personally. According to this anonymous source (as well as from Ward’s recent satellite radio interview), Ward’s silence or state of limbo is not due to the absence of a deal, but rather because he is waiting on the green light from both sponsor and team before he can make it official to the media and race fans.(LastCowboys.com)(6-29-2006)