DAYTONA BEACH, Fla.—He’s off to a slick start! In his first race since signing a deal with WD-40 and Lava, Ward Burton wins big. At the Daytona 500 no less.

Coincidence? We like to think it was because he had the power of WD-40 and Lava on his side. The win is the fourth of Burton’s Winston Cup career and posts our driver atop the series’ points standings after the first race of the 2002 season.

"It's an awesome feeling, the accomplishment of the race team," Burton said. "Those guys kept telling me back at the shop that I wasn't going to be able to bring the car back home. They were right."

Burton will be making a whirlwind tour of appearances in New York this week before the series visits North Carolina Speedway ("The Rock") in Rockingham, N.C. this weekend. The Rock was the site of Burton’s first-ever victory in the series in 1995. Let’s cheer on our driver and make it two in a row!

WD-40 Company, with headquarters in San Diego, is a global consumer products company with brands that deliver above expectation performance at extremely good value to end users who buy in a variety of trade channels. WD-40 Company produces multi-purpose lubricants, WD-40_® and 3-IN-ONE_®, the Lava_® and Solvol_® brands of heavy-duty hand cleaners, and household products X-14_®, 2000 Flushes_® and Carpet Fresh_®. WD-40 Company markets its products in more than 160 countries worldwide, and recorded sales of $174.6 million in fiscal 2001.

Additional information about WD-40 Company may be obtained on the World Wide Web at www.wd40company.com.