Joey Atterbury
I’ve been looking forward to racing at Barber since I heard how amazing it was from several friends and competitors. When I arrived at the track early Wednesday morning for the test day I couldn’t believe my eyes. I love tracks such as VIR, Mid-Ohio and Road America, but Barber Motorsports Park is truly the top step on this list. Everything from the entry road to the paddock is perfect, then your eyes wander to the perfectly manicured grass and amazing art that fills the entire facility. I couldn’t wait to get on track!
Wednesday’s test day included several on track sessions. The #6.2 Camaro needed a bit of help to run smoothly around the tight and twisty track here in Alabama, but Mitchum Motorsports did a fantastic job and we were able to consistently drop time and become more competitive as the day went on. We ended the day with smiles all around as we set our fast lap of the day in our last session. Time to nut & bolt the car and get ready for the race weekend mayhem!
A huge thunderstorm had moved into Birmingham early Thursday morning and there was heavy rain through lunchtime. As everyone was hiding inside we were patiently waiting to see how the track was drying with the sunshine that was slowly coming through the rain clouds. My teammate Devin Cates did a quick reconnaissance lap and confirmed the track was not dry enough so we let the competition dry the track for us. It was a smart decision by the team as several cars ended up spinning and causing a mess while we waited for our time to shine.
The yellow flags came and went and it was finally dry enough to send Devinout. He got comfortable in the car quickly and consistently picked up time throughout the run. Throughout the entire day, we continued to fine tune the car setup knowing that qualifying was the next morning
Perfect conditions were upon us for the last practice session of the weekend, it was a cool sunny morning and the facility showed its true beauty Friday morning. I was able to set our fastest lap of the weekend in Practice 3 and ended P12 in the session. Then it was time to get Devin ready for qualifying just a short hour or so later. Devin took to the track in the 2010 Riley Tech Camaro for his first qualifying session of the season and turned his fastest lap of the weekend. We would be starting 27th overall –, dang those Mustangs and M3’s are fast!
Race day was upon us and we had our work cut out for us, starting P27 we had to work through the field to earn a good finish. Devin kept the car clean throughout his stint in the car and brought it to me in 23rd position. I knew that we had a car that would be strong in the middle of the stint and that’s exactly where I pushed it. Through several yellow flags and hazardous wrecks I was able to overtake and work my way up to a respectable 10th place before the checker flew and the Barber 200 had come to a close.
This was my first Top10 finish in Grand-Am and I couldn’t be happier. Mitchum Motorsports did a fantastic job in getting the car up to speed and Devin Cates did what he needed to do and gave me a clean car to finish the race strong. With this being only my 3rd Grand-Am race I am completely amazed at how far we have come with this new Camaro while competing against the best teams in North America. I look forward to Round 4 at Virginia International Raceway, a track that I have some more experience at having competed there last year in the VW TDI Cup.
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