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2001
- BLAIR RACING, two starts
Barron raced for Larry Blair and Blair Racing at the final races of
the CART season, Australia and Fontana. He did not disappoint with a
good finish after running at the front on the streets of Australia
and leading and finishing ninth on the superspeedway of Fontana.
Australia -- the Ford-powered Lola sponsored by Driving 101, started
26th, and ran as high as fifth. Fontana -- Barron raced from the
back of the field and led the race, ran in the top ten for over 90
laps; challenging at the front with brilliant speed, driving ability
and race strategy. After regular pit stops the #25 Barron was back
in the top-ten by lap 140 and stayed there for conclusion of the
race except during one final pit stop. Due to safety concerns from
the officials with the dimming light and poor race conditions, the
race was shortened first to 230 laps and then to 220 laps. Barron
was in 11th place and moving up but with four laps to go a caution
flag was flown and the race finished under yellow. The Lola-Ford
finished ninth.
2000
- CART / DALE COYNE RACING
The season began with Alex on the sidelines, but then he was called
by Dale Coyne to replace the injured Kurosawa behind the wheel of
the # 19 car, starting with the Vancouver race.
After a
few races, things really started to pick up. Both the team and Alex
worked hard at figuring out a good set up for the car. Australia was
to be a big turnaround. While catching the leader Adrian Fernandez
and going for the win, the engine blew up with 3 laps to go.
In
Fontana, the Sunday race did not start well. Loosing the injectors
on the turbo charger, Alex found himself 1 lap down 30 laps into the
race, but the event was rained out. On Monday the race resumed, and
with keen pit strategy the team got the lap back, and then gained
the lead on and off for a total of 10 laps. On the last restart,
going for the win once again the engine expired with 10 laps to go.
1999 - CART / AAR / PENSKE
In 1999, AAR was downsized to a one-car effort, with Alex left to do
the job of both developing the car and racing. As the team continued
to struggle, Alex and AAR parted ways mid-season. Then Alex got the
call from Roger Penske to test at Michigan. By all accounts the test
went well with the Penske/Goodyear/Mercedes package and it earned
Alex a seat in the #3 Penske car for Michigan and Fontana. While the
race package in Michigan was very competitive, the engine let go on
lap 120, ending the race for Alex. In Fontana, after a good start,
the car went loose, and the race was over for Alex on lap 20 after
contact with the wall.
1998 - CART / All-American Racers
Alex Barron's impressive 1997 achievements caught the attention of
Dan Gurney and in 1998 Alex made his Champ Car debut driving the #
36 for AAR. It was not going to be an easy initiation as the team
was struggling with the development of both the Toyota engine and
the Eagle chassis. Still he applied himself to the task in
impressive fashion, even leading the 1998 Vancouver for race for 12
laps, and earning the Racer Magazine award for Most Promising Road
Racer of the Year.
1997 - TOYOTA ATLANTIC
1997 was to be a banner year. Alex definitely made the most of the
opportunity, winning the coveted Toyota-Atlantic Series Championship
with 5 wins, 4 poles, 6 fastest laps, 9 podium finishes as well as
being crowned Rookie of the Year..
1996 - F2000
In 1996 the opportunity came to move up to Formula 2000 with the
DSTP Team. It proved to be a steep learning curve from kart to open
wheel racing. But a podium, a fastest lap and six top ten finishes
let him to a seat in the Lynx Racing Team for the 1997
Toyota-Atlantic season.
KARTS
Alex Barron got an early start at competition at age 9, when he
began racing karts. By the time he moved up the ladder, he had won a
truly impressive number of races and championships, including 3
National titles in 1995 and the US Gearbox Championship in 1997, the
same year he also won the Toyota-Atlantic Championship.
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DRIVER
ALEX
INTERVIEW