#73 Limited Sportsman 04, 06, 09 Sportsman Division Champions Thompson International Speedway Thompson Connecticut

- 8/19/10

2010 Results & Points - 7/16/10  2009 Results & Point 2008 Results & Points                                         2006 Results & Points                                         2005 Results & Points 2004 Results & Points Schedules  Thompson Press Releases Track Weather Links Team  Leadfoot's Bio Crew  Sponsors The Drive Band Taber TV-Get on the Car Be in the Ad's Nat's Racing Engines Rayline Racing Bodies The Joie of Seating Liberty Hill Home Inspections of New London Becoming a Sponsor        (Contact Larry) Photos Scott Nickel Photos (SmugMug) Leadfoot's Photos Photos of Thompson Speedway Photos By Cliff Moon Merchandise T-Shirts Pens Contact barnettracing@comcast.net To Order   Email Us      -Driver: Larry      -Web Master: Jon   Comments

Web Update August 19th 2010 Sorry for the delay on updates, Not only have I not received any write-ups from LB, but I'm also currently across the country on my Honeymoon.  Luckily I brought my laptop so I can update this where ever I have internet.  And well LB finally sent me an update.   http://blogs.courant.com/autoracing/2010/08/the-big-50-larry-barnett-recor.html#more   .FINALLY!!!!!! We finally got the 50th win at Thompson Speedway.  Crazy day / week.  Started the day scurrying to catch a plane in Charlotte, after Spotting for Dale Quarterly on Wednesday night at Bristol Tennessee.  Got home at 12:30. . Good race tonight, and with a few others running into trouble the last two races, we now have a 38 point lead over Scott Sundeen. More details about this crazy week soon. Larry   Web Update July 7th 2010   The mid season heat up is here! On the track, and off the track.  Temps broke 100 degrees yesterday!  The points race between our team and the 55 team is heating up as well.  Very different styles.  We trail by a mere 10 points right now.   Team news:  A new round of Barnett Racing Team Apparel is now ready.  A vast combination of different designs are available now.  We are having them digitally printed by Coastal Image Tees.  Designs/ artwork are by Denise Bass, Taber TV, and Coastal Image Tees.  Good stuff.  White, gray, yellow, and tan shirts are now ready.  Write us, or see us at the track. We hope to have shirts available on line shortly as well.  Most Tees are $15.  Long Sleeve shirts are $20. . Crew Members Jonny and Amy will be getting Married on August 7th.  (PS, we could use an extra hand or two while they are away!) . Mike Holdridge has been without his engine for a few weeks for his MRS Modified, so I have been without my job as his spotter.  He hopes to be back in action shortly. . Both Kim and I were spotters for Dale Quarterly at Lime Rock Park when he drove to victory in the whelen modified race(July 3rd).  A bit crazy??hell yes, but that guy can drive on a road course!  I have spotted before for Dale at Dover and Loudon also.  Real nice guy, and could be working with him again this year.  We also helped some for Driver Jeff Anton in the #30 car during the K&N Pro Series race.  It was my first time working with the 52 mod team and the 30 K&N team.  Good People.  Everyone should go check out Lime Rock Park, it is a beautiful place.  I really hope that I can drive there in something someday.  Hell…I would even drag the 73 car there to make some laps! (can I??) Quote of the day from car owner of the 52 modified (Wayne Darling). “Dale will either bring you back a steering wheel, or a good finish”. So true…..I have heard many a funny story about Dale. . Race Reports:   In general we are getting better each week.  Our open Rules engine built by Nat’s racing engines has been performing well.  We plan to make some adjustments to it soon, and hope to be even better.   July 1st. We finished second to the 55 team.  We had easily caught up to the 38 car, but could not find any running room to get around him.  After about 5 laps of being held up…the 55 car caught us.  I gave him a lane….and he quickly dispensed of the 38 car.  I got by him also just before the checkers fell.   June 24th. This event went 20 laps without a caution.  I had broken from the pack and was running very well.  I had just caught up the 64 car when the checkers were displayed.  Would have been a great challenge to pass him possibly.  The 64 car had been setting a fast pace from his pole position, how much were they holding back? Who knows!? . June 17th The losing streak was finally broken!  A good run for our team.  Started 6th.  Got the lead and ran to the checkers.  Several cautions had re-grouped the field.  Passed the #1 car to get the win.  They were running well.  Win #49 at Thompson Speedway and #59 over-all.   June 3rd Link to Heat race In Car Video     May 20th We installed our Nat’s racing engine (open rules version, not the crate engine) for this event.  We were running very well, but were spun by Joe Coates on Lap 4.  There was no cautions, and had to try to catch up from half a lap behind the pack.  Finished 8th.   May 27th We won our heat race.  In Car Video  Then were running decent in the 50 lap feature until a mechanical problem (drive train burning up) slowed us some.  We finished 3rd.  Finally got to race cleanly with a few guys tonight (Scott Sundeen, Joe Arena, Palen, Gleason…. That was much more fun then last week)   Next few weeks outlook.  Now that I hope to be working less OT, I look forward to being a bit better prepared when we arrive at the track.  Funny that to me and my team, going 3 weeks without a win seems like an eternity. Hope to stop that “losing streak” very soon.   Cheers Larry   Ice Breaker Race Report: Fast Times and slow times!  End result was a 3rd place finish.  Certainly a solid finish, but not as good as we thought it might turn out. My sister used to play a game with her kids when they were young.  Happy- sad- silly- mad.  Each kid had to tell what had brought out each emotion that day. So here goes my icebreaker report version. Happy: We arrived early on Saturday. Plenty of time to have breakfast at the clubhouse.  Ran practice.  All smiles as we ran all alone in the cold air, recording our fastest 5 laps ever. Sad: A bit sad that my friend Todd Ceravolo was not going to be racing his Sunoco Mod, so I was without a spotter job in addition to my own driving. Silly: The Mystic Missile team was so fast, hard not to be almost silly.  I have worked with Bobby Santos and the Mystic Missile team (separately) in the past, so I was confident that it would be a potent combination.  They got their first of many wins together. Mad: Both the heat race, and the feature, I had rear bumpers that seemed to go wherever I wanted to go.  Slow moving traffic, at a pace far slower than what we had practiced at.  Seven tenths per lap slower then Saturday am.  Icebreaker weekend is usually all about who can go fastest.  This was very different, and I wasn’t ready for that.   We hope to be ready for anything by May 20th. Larry 2-24-10 Pre Season Update Yes, we will be back, running for another championship, starting with the Icebreaker on April 11th. I have been busy busy busy.  So much for a restful off season!  For those who may have questions about my Millstone Job????  No worries, my dept. is short handed, so I have been working lots of overtime.  My job is safe for quite some time. The car is not quite ready now(see note about overtime etc.), but it certainly will be ready by Icebreaker weekend!  The car’s chassis projects are mostly done.  We are currently bolting all the body parts back into place (not much was needing to be replaced).  Nat’s racing engines is nearly done with both of our engines.   The crate engine?  Only 22 races on it, so mostly just an inspection done.  It is good to go for another full season, if we choose to run it.  So far it appears that no-one else has decided to purchase a crate engine.  Funny how that is.  It is said by some to have a huge advantage, it is cheaper to run, yet no-one else wants one???   Open rules motor?  If Nat finishes up some repairs / improvements to our engine, it will go into the car.  We only used the engine one race last year.  Our distributor broke that week, so we pulled the engine out as a precaution.  Not sure which engine we will use the most, I like how cheap it is to race with the crate engine.  I like how much time it could save (if rules stayed the same anyways).  I am tired of being different than everyone else, and hearing the constant bickering etc.  Time will tell I guess. Other news:   I will be spotting for Mike Holdridge for the Modified Racing Series in 2010.  I will Help out Todd Ceravolo some, but his Thompson plans may be scaled back.  It will be strange if I only have one car to worry about on race nights at Thompson. The Whelen Mods?  No duties just yet, but never know who will show up with out enough help.  Last year I helped out Tony Ferrante for an event.  Bobby Santos will be in the 4 car this year, I am a big fan.  May help out with the Mystic Missile some too.  I could work with Dale Quarterly, or Joe Brady’s team again also!   2010 Crew? Jonny, Jimmy, Amy and Wayne will all be helping again this year!  Great to have their support again.  We could always use another hand or two, but we are in pretty good shape.  Any good driver knows that a great team around him is more important than the metal parts around him.   Moving up? Maybe???? But why it has to be called moving up I am not certain.  Mostly it would just be a new challenge if we could use a different type of car.  Yes, I would love to drive a modified, but unless I make a deal to drive someone else’s a few times, it will not be this season.  My race budget cannot support a full time modified ride at this time.  Maybe someday. I will see some of you this weekend at Waterford’s opener.  Then more of you at Thompson on April 3rd (most likely), then everyone else at Thompson April 10th and 11th.   PS. I expect to be getting some more race team apparel soon.  I hope to get some new items for both fans and crew members! Shirts? Hats? Pens? Coozies?  Not certain yet.   I can’t wait to get back to the race tracks! Larry   Other events going on soon: Saturday the 27th there will be a benefit pasta dinner at the Oakdale Firehouse from 4 til 8pm for the Family of Joe Martin.  Joe Passed away recently, and left behind two young children.  $10 dollar tickets available at the door. My brother David and his son Jake will be running the Boston Marathon (April 19th) again to raise money for cancer research.  Details can be found at www.RunDFMC.org/2010/davidb or to Jakeb   Click to Enlarge Sponsor John Simlick/Coldwell Banker has gained increased business recognition as a direct result of his involvement with our team.  He has sold several houses as a direct result of his sponsoring our team!  We also hope his sore knees are not a result of his many trips dashing down to victory lane with us! Click to Enlarge The following business helped us purchase nearly 300 team shirts in the 2006 calendar year: Pauls TV of Groton CT Sound Medical Associates of Ledyard John Simlick, Coldwell Banker Realty of Ledyard Liberty Hill Home Inspections of New London Dr. Robert Barnett, Gales Ferry Chiropractic Thanks to the support from these businesses, we have been able to wear the shirts as race team uniforms, give some away to young fans, use as contest prizes, and sell many to raise some pennies to help maintain our performance on the track. With all these shirts out there…our car, and these businesses names have been dashing all over southern new England! We still have some of the T-shirts, long sleeve T shirts, golf style shirts, and sweatshirts available. Priced from $10 through $20. Any problems viewing the Website E-mail Webmaster