He heard the words "Ryan, no! Ryan, no!" quite frequently. The phrase quickly became a nickname for the 17-year-old junior-to-be at Bixby High School.

Nowadays, Burke seldom hears "no." The word has been substituted with "go." That's what the late model driver has learned to do at I-70 Speedway in Odessa, Mo. In April Burke made the jump from micros to late models thanks to USST super truck driver Rod Cordon.

"I first met Rod at JRP Speedway and I went to Odessa to watch late models race," said Burke, whose father Tom backs his motorsports endeavors. "I saw Rod at Odessa and he asked me if I wanted to try his late model. I test drove the car and he said if I did good, I could race it that night."

Apparently, young Burke was impressive enough to compete since he finished seventh in the 16-car feature during his first experience in a big machine.

Cordon sold the car to Burke's father and a beautiful racing marriage is currently in the honeymoon stage.

"I've raced the late model three times,"said Burke. "The first time I finished seventh, the second time I finished seventh and the third time people kept blowing up transmissions all over the track and I went to the pits. I didn't want to ruin the car."

Despite his tender years, Burke has years of experience behind the wheel. At age 7, his father bought him a go-kart and then got himself one. The elder Burke had the fastest kart and when he saw his son could beat him, it was on to Can-Am's at JRP Speedway. Ryno won the title in his second season.

"Then I went to quarter-midgets and we traveled from California to Columbus, Ohio," Burke said. "I came back to micro sprints at JRP for about three years and now I'm racing a late model. My dad's the crew chief and Rod helps set up the car (a Ford Taurus).

"I'm loving it. Racing a late model is a lot faster than my old car and it's more competitive and better driving. I was pretty scared (going from a micro to a late model). I was just thinking I wanted to keep it in control and give it time until I got the hang of it. I know I still need practice, but I'm getting better."

Burke said he still needs to work on entering the corners and preventing the car from drifting out when exiting. That's where seat time enters the picture.

Burke's goal for the remainder of the season is learning the ropes. Next year he wants to compete for the I-70 Speedway championship. The support of his father, a former GT-2 driver at Hallett Motor Racing Circuit, and the crew work of older brother Chris will help.

"Hopefully, I can get into NASCAR somehow," Burke said. "I want to travel with the late models and meet people and make some racing contacts. I want to stay in late models for three or four years and then the next step will be the Busch Series."

Before Burke can fly, he must learn to walk. And that means winning his first late model feature race. He said it could happen by the end of this season. In any event, it's a cinch he won't be hearing "Ryan, no!" again anytime soon.