Alex Barron
Barron at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway in 2006.
NationalityUnited States American
Born (1970-06-11) June 11, 1970
San Diego, California, U.S.
IRL IndyCar Series
Racing licence FIA Silver
Years active2001–2005, 2007
TeamsSam Schmidt Motorsports
Blair Racing
Penske Racing
Mo Nunn Racing
Team Cheever
CURB/Agajanian/Beck Motorsports
Starts62
Wins2
Poles0
Best finish5th in 2002
CART Championship Car
Years active1998–2001
TeamsAll American Racers
Penske Racing
Dale Coyne Racing
Arciero-Blair Racing
Starts34
Wins0
Poles0
Best finish26th in 2000
Previous series
1997
1996		Toyota Atlantic
U.S. National Formula Ford 2000
Championship titles
1997Toyota Atlantic Championship

Alex Barron (born June 11, 1970) is an American former race car driver. He began racing CART FedEx World Series Championship cars in 1998 and made his first Indy Racing League Northern Lights Series (now IndyCar Series) start in 2001.

The 1997 KOOL Toyota Atlantic Champion, moved across to the IRL, where he had trouble finding a regular drive and got his opportunities through injuries to other drivers. However, in 2006, he stepped down a level to race in the Champ Car Atlantic Championship, and then returned to IRL in 2007. After racing in the 2008 Rolex 24 at Daytona, Barron stopped racing at an international level.

Racing career

Early years

Barron was born in San Diego, California. In 1996, the opportunity for him to move up to US National Formula Ford 2000 came with the DSTP Team. This proved to be a steep learning curve from kart to open wheel race car, for the young racer. However, a podium, a fastest lap and six top ten finishes won him to chance to race in Toyota Atlantic the following season.[1]

Barron in his rookie season in the KOOL Toyota Atlantic series, surprised everyone, including his team, Lynx Racing by dominating and winning the 1997 championship, taking five victories along the way. With four pole positions, six fastest laps and nine top three finishes, he would also win the “Rookie of the Year” award.

Part of his prize for winning the Championship was a test with the Arciero-Wells Racing CART team. During his test, he was quickly matching the speed of their regular driver, Max Papis. Arciero-Wells were so impressed with him, they offered a testing contract. Following the retirement of Juan Manuel Fangio II, the All American Racers Team and their boss, Dan Gurney, wanted a young American driver who could develop with the team, and Barron got the call.

In just 24 races, 12 races in both the Formula Ford 2000 and Toyota Atlantic, Barron made the jump from racing karts to CART.

Indycars

Alex's time with Gurney and his AAR team was a troubled by an uncompetitive combination of the chassis (they used both Eagle and Reynard chassis), Toyota engines and Goodyear tyres. Midway through his second season (1999) with AAR, he was let go. Later that season, he was signed by Marlboro Team Penske to race in two 500 mile events. Once again he found himself in an uncompetitive combination, this time it was a Penske PC27B-99 with Mercedes engines and Goodyears.

It was not until the second half of 2000 season that Barron reappeared in CART, running with Dale Coyne Racing. The following season, he raced just the final two races for Arciero-Blair Racing. During these races, Alex led both, before retiring with problems the Ford Cosworth engines both times.

In 2002, Barron switched to the IRL, signing for Blair Racing, where he finish fourth in Indianapolis 500, co-winning the Rookie of the Year. Later that season, he would earn the first of his two IndyCar Series wins, the 2002 Firestone Indy 200 at Nashville Speedway. Sadly, Blair Racing would fold at the end of the season, leaving Barron without a full-time drive for 2003. In 2003, Barron drove for three teams. After replacing the injured Gil de Ferran for a one-off appearance for Marlboro Team Penske, he raced for Mo Nunn Racing, filling in for the injured Felipe Giaffone. It was with Mo Nunn that Barron scored his second IRL victory, in the 2003 Firestone Indy 400 at Michigan International Speedway. For the final three races of that season, Eddie Cheever hired Barron to drive for his Red Bull Cheever Racing outfit, instead of Buddy Rice. In his first race for Cheever, he gave the team their best finish of the season, seventh place at the Chicagoland Speedway.[2][3]

Mechanics working on Barron's car in the garage during a practice session for the 2007 Indianapolis 500

In 2004 and 2005 he drove for Eddie Cheever's Red Bull Cheever Racing. Red Bull sponsorship of the team ended for 2006, leaving Alex unable to remain with the team - he instead took a step backward, returning to the Champ Car Atlantic Championship for 2006 with Polestar Racing Group where he finished 14th in points. Early that year he raced twice for alongside Michael McDowell for Playboy/Uniden Racing, with a best finish of sixth in the Rolex 24 At Daytona, the pair aided by Memo Gidley. Greg Beck signed him to run races part-time in the IndyCar Series for the 2007 season for CURB/Agajanian/Beck Motorsports. He competed in three races, including the Indy 500. Barron would return to Daytona for the 2008 Rolex 24, with Southard Motorsport, only to retire from the race. He would not race internationally again.[2][4]

He now runs a kart business.[5]

Racing record

Career highlights

Season Series Position Team Car
1996 United States Formula Ford 2000 National Championship[6][7] 8th DSTP Team Van Diemen RF96
1997 KOOL Toyota Atlantic Championship [8][9] 1st Lynx Racing Ralt-Toyota RT41
1998 CART FedEx Championship Series [10][11] 27th All American Racers Eagle-Toyota 987
Reynard-Toyota 98i
1999 CART FedEx Championship Series [12][13] 27th All American Racers
Marlboro Team Penske		 Eagle-Toyota 997
Penske-Mercedes PC27B-99
2000 CART FedEx Championship Series [14][15] 26th Dale Coyne Racing Lola-Ford B2K/00
2001 CART FedEx Championship Series [16][17] 29th Arciero-Blair Racing Lola-Ford B2K/00
Indy Racing Northern Light Series [18][19] 44th Sam Schmidt Motorsports Dallara-Oldsmobile IR1
2002 Indy Racing League [20][21] 5th Blair Racing Dallara-Chevrolet IR2
2003 IndyCar Series [22][23] 17th Team Penske
Mo Nunn Racing
Red Bull Cheever Racing		 G-Force-Toyota GF09
Dallara-Chevrolet IR2
2004 IndyCar Series [24][25] 12th Red Bull Cheever Racing Dallara-Chevrolet IR2
2005 IndyCar Series [26][27] 11th Red Bull Cheever Racing Dallara-Toyota IR5
2006 Yokohama Presents the Champ Car
Atlantic Championship Powered by Mazda [28][29]		 14th Polestar Racing Swift-Toyota 0.16a
Rolex Sports Car Series [30][31] 78th Playboy/Uniden Racing Crawford-Ford DP03
2007 IndyCar Series [32][33] 22nd CURB/Agajanian/Beck Motorsports Dallara-Honda IR4
2008 Rolex Sports Car Series [34][35] 59th Southard Motorsports Riley-Lexus Mk XI
2017 F2000 Championship Series[36] NC Polestar Van Diemen / Zetec
2018 F1600 Championship Series[37][38] NC Van Diemen Ford
2019 Blancpain GT World Challenge America 36th K2R Motorsport Porsche 911 GT3 R (2019)
IMSA Prototype Challenge 27th K2R Motorsport Ligier JS P3

Complete 24 Hours of Daytona results

Year Team Co-Drivers Car Class Laps Pos. Class
Pos.
2006 United States Playboy/Uniden Racing United States Memo Gidley
United States Michael McDowell		 Crawford-Ford DP03 DP 716 6th 6th
2008 United States Southard Motorsport United States Shane Lewis
United States Bill Lester
United States Ted Christopher		 Riley-Lexus Mk XI DP 527 DNF DNF

American open wheel racing results

(key)

CART

Year Team Chassis Engine 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 Rank Points Ref
1998 All American Racers Reynard 98i Toyota RV8C V8t MIA
18		 MOT
24		 LBH
14		 NZR
DNQ		 RIO
12		 STL
14		 MIL
DNQ		 DET
20		 POR
14		 CLE
15		 TOR
28		 MIS
15		 27th 2 [39]
Eagle 987 Toyota RV8D V8t MDO
16		 ROA
24		 VAN
19		 LS
20		 HOU
12		 SRF
19		 FON
13
1999 All American Racers Eagle 997 Toyota RV8D V8t MIA
15		 MOT
17		 LBH
23		 NZR
9		 RIO
23		 STL
16		 MIL
14		 POR CLE ROA TOR 27th 4 [40]
Team Penske Penske PC-27 Mercedes-Benz IC108E V8t MIS
18		 DET MDO CHI VAN LS HOU SRF FON
24
2000 Dale Coyne Racing Lola B2K/00 Ford XF V8t MIA LBH RIO MOT NZR MIL DET POR CLE TOR MIS CHI MDO ROA VAN
13		 LS
21		 STL
17		 HOU
12		 SRF
14		 FON
8		 26th 6 [41]
2001 Arciero-Blair Racing Lola B2K/00 Ford XF V8t MTY LBH TXS NZR MOT MIL DET POR CLE TOR MIS CHI MDO ROA VAN LAU ROC HOU LS SRF
13		 FON
9		 29th 4 [42]

IndyCar Series

Year Team Chassis No. Engine 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 Rank Points Ref
2001 Sam Schmidt Motorsports Dallara IR-01 99 Oldsmobile Aurora V8 PHX HMS ATL INDY TXS PPI RIR KAN NSH KTY STL
21		 CHI TX2 44th 9 [43]
2002 Blair Racing Dallara IR-02 44 Chevrolet Indy V8 HMS
8		 PHX
23		 FON
12		 NZR
6		 INDY
4		 TXS
10		 PPI
10		 RIR
10		 KAN
8		 NSH
1		 MCH
12		 KTY
9		 STL
3		 CHI
12		 TX2
5		 5th 366 [44]
2003 Penske Racing G-Force GF09 6 Toyota Indy V8 HMS PHX MOT
17		 17th 216 [45]
Mo Nunn Racing 20 INDY
6		 TXS PPI RIR KAN
21 NSH
5		 MCH
1		 STL
16		 KTY
20		 NZR
15
Team Cheever Dallara IR-03 52 Chevrolet Indy V8 CHI
7		 FON
10		 TX2
20
2004 Cheever Racing Dallara IR-04 51 HMS
16		 PHX
4		 MOT
12		 INDY
12		 TXS
3		 RIR
22		 KAN
10		 NSH
17		 MIL
7		 MCH
11		 KTY
11		 PPI
10		 NZR
12		 CHI
12		 FON
18		 TX2
14		 12th 310 [46]
2005 Team Cheever Dallara IR-05 Toyota Indy V8 HMS
8		 PHX
13		 STP
10		 MOT
19		 INDY
13		 TXS
14		 RIR
6		 KAN
13		 NSH
15		 MIL
8		 MCH
11		 KTY
4		 PPI
18		 SNM
3		 CHI
21		 WGL
17		 FON
14		 11th 329 [47]
2007 CURB/Agajanian/Beck Motorsports Dallara IR-05 98 Honda HI7R V8 HMS
19		 STP MOT KAN
16		 INDY
15		 MIL TXS IOW RIR WGL NSH MDO MCH KTY SNM DET CHI 22nd 41 [48]
Years Teams Races Poles Wins Podiums
(non-win)		 Top 10s
(non-podium)		 Indianapolis 500
wins		 Championships
6 6 62 0 2 3 22 0 0

Indianapolis 500

Year Chassis Engine Start Finish Team
2002 Dallara IR-02 Chevrolet Indy V8 26 4 Blair Racing
2003 G-Force GF09 Toyota Indy V8 25 6 Mo Nunn Racing
2004 Dallara IR-04 Chevrolet Indy V8 24 12 Team Cheever
2005 Dallara IR-05 Toyota Indy V8 22 13 Team Cheever
2007 Dallara IR-05 Honda HI7R V8 26 15 CURB/Agajanian/Beck Motorsports

References

  1. ↑ "Driver". Archived from the original on 2008-05-14. Retrieved 2014-10-23.
  2. 1 2 "Driver Story | Red Bull Cheever Racing Team". Archived from the original on 2014-10-23. Retrieved 2014-10-23.
  3. ↑ "Race Results". Racing-Reference.info. Retrieved 14 November 2021.
  4. ↑ "Photos of Alex Barron's cars". Racingsportscars.com. Retrieved November 14, 2021.
  5. ↑ "Alex Barron". Oldracingcars.com.
  6. ↑ "1996 SCCA/USAC United States Formula Ford 2000 National Championship". Champcarstats.com. Retrieved 14 November 2021.
  7. ↑ "United States Formula Ford 2000 National Championship 1996 standings | Driver Database". Driverdb.com. Retrieved 14 November 2021.
  8. ↑ "1997 KOOL Toyota Atlantic Championship". Champcarstats.com. Retrieved 14 November 2021.
  9. ↑ "KOOL Toyota Atlantic Championship 1997 standings | Driver Database". Driverdb.com. Retrieved 14 November 2021.
  10. ↑ "1998 CART FedEx Champ Car World Series". Champcarstats.com. Retrieved 14 November 2021.
  11. ↑ "CART FedEx Champ Car World Series 1998 standings". Driver db.com.
  12. ↑ "1999 CART FedEx Champ Car World Series". Champcarstats.com. Retrieved 14 November 2021.
  13. ↑ "CART FedEx Champ Car World Series 1999 standings | Driver Database". Driverdb.com.
  14. ↑ "2000 CART FedEx Champ Car World Series". Champcarstats.com. Retrieved 14 November 2021.
  15. ↑ "CART FedEx Champ Car World Series 2000 standings | Driver Database". Driverdb.com.
  16. ↑ "2001 CART FedEx Champ Car World Series". Champcarstats.com. Retrieved 14 November 2021.
  17. ↑ "CART FedEx Championship Series 2001 standings | Driver Database". Driverdb.com.
  18. ↑ "Standings". Racing-reference.info.
  19. ↑ "Indy Racing Northern Light Series 2001 standings | Driver Database". Driverdb.com. Retrieved 14 November 2021.
  20. ↑ "Standings". Racing-reference.info.
  21. ↑ "Indy Racing League 2002 standings | Driver Database". Driverdb.com. Retrieved 14 November 2021.
  22. ↑ "Standings". Racing-reference.info.
  23. ↑ "IRL IndyCar Series 2003 standings | Driver Database". Driverdb.com. Retrieved 14 November 2021.
  24. ↑ "Standings". Racing-reference.info.
  25. ↑ "IRL IndyCar Series 2004 standings | Driver Database". Driverdb.com. Retrieved 14 November 2021.
  26. ↑ "Standings". Racing-reference.info.
  27. ↑ "IRL IndyCar Series 2005 standings | Driver Database". Driverdb.com. Retrieved 14 November 2021.
  28. ↑ "2006 Yokohama Presents the Champ Car Atlantic Championship Powered by Mazda". Champcarstats.com. Retrieved 14 November 2021.
  29. ↑ "Yokohama Presents the Champ Car Atlantic Championship Powered by Mazda 2006 standings | Driver Database". Driverdb.com.
  30. ↑ "Archived copy" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2012-06-17. Retrieved 2013-10-08.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  31. ↑ "Grand American Rolex Series - DP 2006 standings | Driver Database". Archived from the original on 2014-07-17. Retrieved 2015-12-03.
  32. ↑ "Standings". Racing-reference.info.
  33. ↑ "IndyCar Series 2007 standings | Driver Database". Driverdb.com.
  34. ↑ "Archived copy" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2012-06-17. Retrieved 2014-10-23.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  35. ↑ "Grand American Rolex Series - DP 2008 standings". Driverdb.com. Retrieved November 14, 2021.
  36. ↑ "Formula2000 : Practice 1 / 27 April 2017 : Virginia International Raceway" (PDF). Assets-global.website-files.com. Retrieved November 14, 2021.
  37. ↑ "F1600 Championship Series 2018 standings | Driver Database". Driverdb.com.
  38. ↑ "Formula1600 : Practice 1 / 1 June 2018 : Virginia International Raceway" (PDF). Assets-global.website-files.com. Retrieved November 14, 2021.
  39. ↑ "Alex Barron – 1998 CART Results". Racing-Reference. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. Retrieved August 15, 2023.
  40. ↑ "Alex Barron – 1999 CART Results". Racing-Reference. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. Retrieved August 15, 2023.
  41. ↑ "Alex Barron – 2000 CART Results". Racing-Reference. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. Retrieved August 15, 2023.
  42. ↑ "Alex Barron – 2001 CART Results". Racing-Reference. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. Retrieved August 15, 2023.
  43. ↑ "Alex Barron – 2001 Indy Racing Northern Lights Series Results". Racing-Reference. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. Retrieved August 1, 2023.
  44. ↑ "Alex Barron – 2002 Indy Racing League Results". Racing-Reference. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. Retrieved August 1, 2023.
  45. ↑ "Alex Barron – 2003 IndyCar Series Results". Racing-Reference. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. Retrieved August 1, 2023.
  46. ↑ "Alex Barron – 2004 IndyCar Series Results". Racing-Reference. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. Retrieved August 1, 2023.
  47. ↑ "Alex Barron – 2005 IndyCar Series Results". Racing-Reference. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. Retrieved August 1, 2023.
  48. ↑ "Alex Barron – 2007 IndyCar Series Results". Racing-Reference. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. Retrieved August 1, 2023.
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