By Amanda Groff ‘27
“We weren’t there trying to make a living…we raced because we wanted to have fun,” said Steven Barton, a former sprint car driver who shares his memories, moments, and experiences when it came to his short career of racing.
“It was a good racing community,” Barton stated. “Because you spent so much time at the racetrack together.”
Barton started his racing career at the age of 30 in the early to late 80’s. When it came to his favorite and least favorite moments, every step created a new memory for him to look back on. There will be moments in racing where it can’t always go smoothly like at Port Royal Speedway.
“I wheel hopped another car and flipped my car several times,” Barton said, explaining one of his worst moments on the track. Barton got sent to the hospital, ending up with a concussion, but was soon released and got back onto the race track.
After Barton’s first race he knew that he wanted to keep racing.
“It was a definite cool thing,” Barton announced. “It was a rush especially when the green flag dropped, and when you get to put your foot into it and just fly, it’s pretty cool.”
Throughout racing a lot of ups and downs will occur, but with a stable community and supporters, Barton was able to be lifted up and helped to become a better race car driver.
When it came to the community of racing, “we had a lot of people behind us,” Barton voiced. “We had a lot of sponsors who gave us money to help with the racing costs.”
Barton had his number one supporter which was his beloved wife.
He mentioned that “she was a very big fan…she was always by my side in my racing career.” Barton’s wife was always stoked about his racing. His wife was not so happy when he quit racing a couple years later.
“She wasn’t happy that I stopped,” added Barton. “She would have preferred I stayed racing, but she stayed along with me.”
Surprisingly, Barton was not a professional sprint car driver. Barton and even his fellow racing friends had a short lived racing career, non-professionally, but was proud of their progress and achievements.
“We were the first non-professional racers across the finish line, so we felt pretty good,” Barton expressed.
Throughout the big crowds and big races, Barton always stayed focused and stayed on track with his goals.
“You don’t get nervous on the track,” Barton claimed. “You just focus on the race.” He always made sure to focus on the main priority which was to finish the race and do the best he could. Barton had no time to focus on who was there in the stands and watching. “You don’t see the people, you focus on what you’re doing,” Barton asserted.
In the racing career it is always a good mindset to expect to lose and to not be the winner. Barton learned to lose gradually and not get too upset.
“There could only be one winner, so you might be upset with yourself that you didn’t do better, but no, I never got mad about not winning a race,” Barton admitted. “All you can do is just give your best shot.”
Even after Barton’s racing career he still holds onto the life of racing and is able to get a true understanding of the drivers today and spend his weekends at the race track still with his family.
“Now, at Clyde I go to watch Marty Brian,” Barton professed. Marty Brian is a Sprint Car driver at Clyde Martin Memorial Speedway who is the son of Barton’s old friends that he used to race with and made a lot of memories with. Barton explained how “once you’ve driven a race car you know and understand drivers, they have some of the same thought processes I had.”
Barton is able to share his own old memories and moments with new drivers on the track and relate to them. He also has grandchildren of his own who have grown into the racing life.
“I like to see them have a good time at the tracks,” Barton stated. “I like to see them have interest in different drivers, especially the Brian family.” Barton is able to keep in touch with racing along with his whole family which he finds very neat to witness for himself.
Barton raced for the memories and the moments that he could keep and hold onto forever from the racetrack when it came to the racing community, family, and fun. He will forever cherish the experiences of his former sprint car racing career. “It was a great experience,” Barton said. “I made a lot of lifelong friends.”