Bi-Lo 200 - Stanton Barrett Notes

Hollywood, Cleveland Join For Amazing Experience
DCT Motorsports brings success together From all over United States

SPARTANBURG, S.C. – Hollywood and Cleveland don’t come together too often, but NASCAR racing has always had a way of putting strange bedfellows together.

Stanton Barrett, the award-winning Hollywood stunt man who has become one of the best-known figures among NASCAR drivers, will be behind the wheel of DCT Motorsports’ #36 Chevrolet this weekend in Darlington (S.C.) Raceway’s Darlington 200 NASCAR Busch Series race. DCT Motorsports is owned by John McGill and Carl Natale, two Cleveland, Ohio, businessmen - the first full-time owners from Cleveland that NASCAR’s top three divisions have ever seen.

“It is a little different, a Hollywood stunt man driving a car owned by two guys from Cleveland and running a race in Darlington, South Carolina,” laughed McGill.

McGill nodded towards crew chief Ricky Pearson, the championship leader of DCT Motorsports’ competitive efforts. Pearson is the son of legendary driver David Pearson, considered the most knowledgeable Darlington driver of all time.

“Our marketing platform is based on giving full value to sponsors, and utilizing the many business-to-business contacts we haven,” he said. “Our plan all along has been to develop the sport’s most cost-efficient, sponsor-friendly marketing setup. We have accomplished that, and DCT Motorsports gives corporate sponsors a means of fully utilizing sports marketing without breaking the bank.”

Barrett is playing a large role in that effort. The California native joined the team last week at Atlanta Motor Speedway, and will run a large number of races with fellow DCT driver Travis Geisler, a young, promising up-and-comer from the Pittsburgh, Pa., area.

“The contacts and relationships Stanton has in Hollywood and with the movie and television industry bring a lot to the table for a sponsor,” McGill said. “The relationships we have within the construction industry bring a lot too. Couple that with the fact our team is growing, running better every week and the future is looking incredibly bright on the track, this is a tremendous arrangement for corporate sponsors.

“DCT Motorsports can do all of that and still do things economically,” McGill added. “We’re not looking to take a huge sum of money from somebody right off the bat but, rather, to give them a good, solid program where they see a really good return on their marketing investment. Our goal is to make sponsorship a winning proposition for the sponsor. If we do that, the racing will take care of itself because we’ll have the funding to do it right.”

The team is planning a full schedule in 2005, another step up from its inaugural five races in 2003 and 23 events this year.

“Stanton’s experience, not just as a driver but as someone who has worked on his own cars, will help take our team to the next level,” said owner John McGill. “Working with Ricky (Pearson, crew chief), who is a proven winning talent, will give us a combination for the boost we need.

Barrett had headed his own Stanton Barrett Racing this season, which has competed on the NASCAR Busch Series but also in selected NASCAR Nextel Cup Series events. Barrett, 31, has been driving since he was 16 years old, and has competed on the highest levels of NASCAR racing. He is a native of Bishop, Calif., and is well known not just in motorsports but also in Hollywood, where he is an award-winning stunt man who has appeared in over 120 movies, as well as television shows and commercials.