BILLY BARTON CAPTURES FIRST CAREER ARA VICTORY

for immediate release
October 6, 2001



NEWPORT, TENNESSEE -- Billy Barton, a limited-schedule racer from Corbin, 
Kentucky, captured his first career American Racing Association (ARA) 
victory at Newport Speedway on Saturday night, October 6.  Barton started 
on the outside of the front row and survived nine caution flags to win the 
Newport 125 ARA Southern Thunder Late Model feature.

"I'm stunned," Barton said following the race.  "But, we deserved 
this.  Thank the Good Lord and Good Luck.  This was my third start at 
Newport this year.  We were leading the other two when we got taken 
out.  We didn't have anything for the 99 (Stephen Leicht) but nobody else 
could touch us."

Fourteen year-old Stephen Leicht, from Asheville, NC, set the fastest time 
in qualifying and won the Olympic Power Pole Award with a blistering 
12.772-second lap on the 4/10th-mile high banks.  He started on the point 
and dominated the race until lap 106 when he tangled with the lapped car of 
Gary Helton, from Sevierville, TN.

"I was taking it easy, trying to be careful," Leicht said.  "Helton was a 
lap down, but coming fast.  So, we were going to let him go by - get his 
lap back."

The two cars bumped and spun.  Although wrinkled, both returned.  Leicht 
restarted ninth, the last car on the lead lap.  Helton was the last car one 
lap down.

With Leicht charging through the field in the closing laps, leader Barton 
was working hard to hold off Jeff Gore, of Powder Springs, GA.  Gore looked 
inside on each corner but never got beside Barton in the closing laps.

"My spotter, Sonny McDuffie, coached me throughout the race and helped me 
save my tires," Gore said after the race.  "We've smelled victory a lot - 
been close this year.  Maybe we'll get that win, soon."

The first five under the checkered flag were Barton, Gore, Leicht, Michael 
Lance of Dacula, GA, and Pat Brewer of Seymour, TN.  Paul Kelley from 
Snellville, GA, the ARA Southern Thunder points leader coming into the 
Newport 125, was involved in a turn two, lap one accident.

"We went down into the first turn and cars went everywhere," Kelley, the 
second-fastest qualifier said.  "They just kept hitting me.  It bent the 
front clip about an inch."

Although Kelley returned to the track, his 19th place finish was costly in 
the championship points race.  Leicht gain some ground.  Michael Lance 
gained more after avoiding serious contact in the first caution.

"That first lap, they all stacked up.  I got shoved into Kelley, but 
managed to get on through," Lance said.  "I used most of the race to save 
my tires for the last 25 laps.  But, we needed longer runs to get going and 
all of these cautions didn't help.  My car tightened up on the last caution 
and I didn't have enough laps left to get back up to speed."

Unofficially, Kelley still leads the ARA Southern Thunder Late Model Series 
points over Leicht and Lance.  The top three are now separated by less than 
16 points as the series heads into the World Crown 200 at Peach State 
Speedway on October 28, 2001.

The ARA Kool seal Challenge Series makes their first stop at Newport 
Speedway with the $5000 to-win Thunder in the Mountains 250 on Saturday 
night, October 13.


===

UNOFFICIAL FINISH
AMERICAN RACING ASSOCIATION
SOUTHERN THUNDER LATE MODELS
NEWPORT 125
NEWPORT SPEEDWAY
NEWPORT, TENNESSEE
OCTOBER 6, 2001

Finish,Start,Car#,Driver,Hometown,CarMake,Laps

1,2,33,Billy Barton,Corbin KY,Chevrolet,125
2,5,5,Jeff Gore,Powder Springs GA,Chevrolet,125
3,1,99,Stephen Leicht,Asheville NC,Chevrolet,125
4,9,04,Michael Lance,Dacula GA,Chevrolet,125
5,4,34,Pat Brewer,Seymour TN,Chevrolet,125
6,13,104,Buddy Ball,Cosby TN,Chevrolet,125
7,6,4,Marc Brenner,Birmingham AL,Chevrolet,125
8,12,15,Dwayne Buggay,Marietta GA,Ford,125
9,17,54,Brian Farley,Tuscaloosa AL,Chevrolet,125
10,11,98,Russell Fleeman,Dacula GA,Chevrolet,124
11,8,44,Gary Helton,Sevierville TN,Chevrolet,124
12,16,54x,Kevin McCurry,Candler NC,Chevrolet,124
13,14,4x,Wayne Webb,Cosby TN,Chevrolet,123
14,15,12,Burt Cable,Maryville TN,Pontiac,122
15,10,9,David Flynn,Seymour TN,Chevrolet,122
16,18,1,Junior Franks,Asheville NC,Chevrolet,121
17,20,92,John Lovett,McDonough GA,Dodge,121
18,21,85,Kevin Perry,Jefferson GA,Chevrolet,120
19,7,24,Paul Kelley,Snellville GA,Chevrolet,118
20,19,98w,Eric Centers,Corbin KY,Chevrolet,dnf
21,3,15x,Jeff Myers,Weaverville NC,Chevrolet,dnf

Olympic Power Pole Award:  Stephen Leicht - 12.772 seconds