darlingtonraceway.com 200 - Stanton Barrett Notes

Barrett, Returns to Roots of Racing Aspirations

Huntersville, NC (March 12, 2002) – Stanton Barrett, and his OdoBan Racing Team, are hoping to build on their strong eighth-place finish in Las Vegas when they tackle Darlington Raceway this weekend in the darlingtonraceway.com 200. For Barrett the historic 1.336-mile oval holds a special importance.

“Darlington is the track where I realized that I wanted to be a race car driver,” admits Barrett. “My dad took me there back in the early 80’s when he was testing for the Skoal Bandit Racing Team. At the end of the day my dad and I rode around the track on our bicycles. I was about nine at that time. When I was riding through those bankings as fast as I could on my bike, I realized I had to do this when I grew up.”

Barrett goes to Darlington this weekend more than he was in 1982. This time Barrett has his 3,300 lb. OdoBan Ford Taurus instead of a BMX bike, and a 358 cubic inch V8 instead of pedals. But the challenge is no less difficult than trying to hold his bike to the bankings of the race track as a child.

“Other drivers don’t like Darlington so I do,” explains Barrett, who claimed his best NASCAR Busch Series finish in 40 starts two weekends ago. “It’s aggressive, and unforgiving. You have to be on your toes and race the race track. You also have to keep from getting discouraged when your times fall off in a long run.”

Barrett will drive chassis JR-69 this weekend at Darlington, a race car which has two top-five finishes in 2002, one each at Kansas and Atlanta. However, more impressive than his car’s track record may be his team’s record at Darlington. Roush Racing has won the past three NASCAR Busch Series events at Darlington, including a 1-2 finish by Roush teammates Jeff Burton and Greg Biffle last spring.

“We are looking at the long run and trying to build a solid foundation in the points,” said Barrett. “A win for the No. 60 OdoBan Ford at Darlington is not out of the question, but we are simply focused on staying out of trouble and finishing on the lead lap. Everything else will come.”

After an off weekend, Barrett returns to action in the darlingtonraceway.com 200, beginning at 12:30 p.m. EST. The event will be broadcast live on MRN and telecast live on FX.

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