Under the hood: Barry Baker
Vogel, Greg
Team Associated Factory Team TC3
5 QUESTIONS
DRIVER: Barry Baker
AGE: 32
LAST BIG WIN: 2002 Reedy Race, 2002 ROAR Nats
SPONSORS: Team Associated, Reedy, LRP, Airtronics, Pro-Line, Protoform, BRP, IRS, MIP, Hot Rod Hobbies and Stevos Products
When I’m not racing, 1: chill with friends; play golf and billiards.
RC CAR ACTION: Looks as though you’re getting up there in age, Barry. In a few more years, you’ll be racing in the masters class [35 and over]. Do you think you’ll be able to keep up with the latest generation of racers In a few more years?
BARRY BAKER: I’ll probably have better odds in the masters class, but by that time, Joel Johnson and a few other really fast drivers will in the same class. too. No; I think I have a few more good years left in me.
RCCA: Are you superstitious? Do you have any rituals that you perform to get you ready for a big race?
BB: Not really-unless you consider it a superstition to have the same person in charge of placing my car on the starting grid. Kyle Skidmore, who was my pitman at the ROAR Electric On-Road Nats, definitely brought me luck. Come to think of it, Jeff Brown placed my car on the starting grid every single heat at the Reedy TC Race. I got pretty lucky there. too! All kidding aside, I know plenty of racers who follow some sort of ritual, but that isn’t me.
RCCA: Here’s the scenario- It’s the A3 Main. Your teammate, Billy Easton, has the pole position, and your car is sitting on the slot right behind Billy’s. You won the first Main, and Billy won the second, which means that the overall championship Is riding on the conclusion of this race. What’s your race strategy?
BB: Knowing that no other team could win the race, I would do everything in my power to cross the finish line first. If, for some reason, I made an aggressive pass and took Billy out, I would pull over to the side and let him regain the lead. I’m sure that Billy would do the same for me If the tables were turned. The good thing about this scenario Is that Team Associated would win regardless of which team driver took home the trophy. That’s always the number-one objective.
RCCA: How do you like working for Team Associated? Has being an employee influenced your recent success at the track?
BB: I was once just a sponsored racer, and now I’m an employee of Team Associated. It makes me very happy that our engineers and designers take my input so seriously -for instance, some of the front suspension changes that we’ve made. The TO was great before, but now it has proven unstoppable on the track. We also have an awesome race team. With Billy Easton, Mark Pavidis, Mike Blackstock and our most recent driver to join the team. Travis Amezcua [AKA “Peanut”], we’ve built a strong base that allows us to combine our talents. Yes, working for Team Associated has had a big influence on my success at the track.
RCCA: What do you like best about racing?
BS: RC racing has provided me with thousands of acquaintances whom I can count on at any time. I can travel anywhere in the world, and there will be true friends there who will open their homes to me. Friendships are what I truly like best about RC racing.
Copyright Air Age Publishing Nov 2002
Provided by ProQuest Information and Learning Company. All rights Reserved
