Dick Barton | Ron Nielson | The Crew
DICK BARTON
Part One: In
the Beginning
Dick Barton began his racing career in
go-karts at the age of 12. His father, Clarence, and his
mother, Oleta, served as his pit crew. Barton was Western
New York kart champion in 1969 at the age of 15. He continued
racing karts until graduating from  Falconer
Central School in 1972. Dick's first taste of automobile
racing came the following summer. His uncle, Rod Barton,
a competitor in Stateline and Eriez Speedway's open-wheeled
Sportsman cars, gave Dick the opportunity to run heat
races in Rod's #9.
In 1974, Uncle Rod helped Dick build
a Sportsman racer of his own. From that year through 1980,
Dick successfully campaigned self-owned Sportsman cars
collecting 13 feature wins. Barton sold all of his equipment
in 1981 and took over the driving duties of a Sportsman
car owned by a group of fellows who called themselves
Race Team 14. From '81 through '84, Barton and Race Team
14 recorded nine feature wins and captured the 1983 Stateline
Speedway Sportsman Championship.
Part Two: 14B
Late Models
Following the 1984 season, Stateline
and Eriez Speedways, which had operated as a two-track
circuit since 1961, were sold to separate individuals.
The new owners of Stateline abolished the Sportsman division
and Eriez followed suit. As a result, Race Team 14 entered
the Late Model ranks in 1985. During his rookie year in
the LMs, Dick earned 6 feature wins plus the Eriez LM
Track Championship.
A monster year followed in 1986. Barton
scored 14 feature wins including victories at Sharon Speedway
in Hartford, OH and McKean County Fairgrounds in Smethport,
PA. Dick claimed point titles at both Stateline and Eriez
Speedways. He also earned the Calvacade Late Model Championship
awarded annually by "Racing News" columnist
Walt Wimer to the top LM driver in the extended Western
Pennsylvania area.
In 1987, Dick defended his track championship
at Stateline. (Eriez was sold again and held just three
events in '87.) He scored 7 feature wins including a checkered
flag at Speedway 7 in Conneaut, OH.
Barton and Race Team 14 earned two track
crowns in 1988: Sharon and Eriez Speedways. He visited
victory lane 8 times including the $4000 to win Budweiser
100 at Stateline on July 4th.
In 1989, Dick repeated as Sharon Speedway
champ. He won three features and recorded 37 top 10 finishes
including a 6th in the Dirt Track World Championship at
Pennsboro, WV.
1990 was another big year for the Race
Team 14 gang. Dick claimed track titles at both Stateline
and Eriez as well as the combined S/E Circuit crown that
had been revived when Stateline ownership gained control
of Eriez. Barton's #14B graced victory lane 7 times including
twice at Lernerville Speedway in Sarver, PA. Among the
highlights of '90 were a third place finish in the Pittsburgher
100 at Pennsylvania Motor Speedway and a third quick qualifying
time at the DTWC at Pennsboro.
 Race
Team 14 completed their most ambitious schedule in 1991.
Sixty-six starts produced 8 feature wins and 54 top 10
finishes. Barton's victory in the $10,000 to win, STARS
sanctioned, NAPA 100, July 4th, at Stateline was the largest
pay day of his career. Barton repeated as Stateline and
S/E Circuit Champ. He finished second in the Lernerville
points and third at Eriez. S/E promotor Fritz Seamens
named Barton as his Driver of the Year.
Despite scoring 7 feature wins and 35
top 10 results in 47 starts, 1992 was an "off"
year for Dick and his team. A second place finish in the
Lernerville points, plus wins at Conneaut, OH and Delevan,
NY were season highlights. In December of '92, Race Team
14 was disbanded due to a lack of funding and all assets
were sold.
Part Three: The Bolt Place 28B
During the early months of 1993, Barton
joined forces with Meadville, PA businessman Ron Nielson
to form a new team that included the former crew members
of Race Team 14. Nielson's potent black Fords, sponsored
by The Bolt Place, were numbered 28 in honor of the late
NASCAR driver Davey Allison. In their initial outing together,
Barton and Nielson captured the $2000 Springfest at Hagerstown,
MD. It was an omen of things to come. All told, the Nielson
Team recorded 17 feature wins and 15 runner-up finishes
in 60 starts. Dick won 15 consecutive King of the Hill
match races at Stateline. He won the $7000 Redneck 100
at Stateline on July 12th. Dick won six straight features
at three different tracks in July and strung together
four more in August. Barton won the pole position for
the Hillbilly 100 at Pennsboro and led the Pittsburgher
100 before a faulty magneto ended his run. He achieved
the Stateline and S/E Circuit Titles. Seamens again named
Barton S/E Driver of the Year. Lernerville Speedway gave
him its Sportsmanship Award after his third consecutive
runner-up finish in the season's points chase. Barton
was the top ranked dirt driver in Walt Wimer's Western
PA "Calvacade" poll and the second ranked driver
in the entire Northeast in Will White's prestigious "Northeast
Dirt" late model standings.
Proving that '93 was no fluke, the Nielson/Barton
combo came roaring back in 1994 with 13 feature wins and
three track titles. Four wins at Stateline helped propel
Dick to his sixth track championship. Similarly, five
wins led hm to another Eriez championship. The combined
S/E Circuit crown caused Barton to, once again, be declared
S/E Driver of the Year. Other '94 highlights were three
wins at Lernerville, a victory in Hagerstown's Race of
Champions, and a third place standing in White's "Northeast
Dirt" rankings.
A slow starting 1995 season produced
just 6 feature wins for Ron Nielson Racing, but its hallmark
consistency remained. Thirty-two top 3 finishes in 65
starts resulted in another successful year that was crowned
by Barton's sixth Eriez Track Championship and fifth S/E Circuit Championship. Feature wins at four tracks:
Stateline, Eriez, Lernerville, and Ace High, and a third
place finish in the Pittsburgher 100 were among the shining
points of '95.
The Barton/Nielson combo dominated the
local racing circuit in 1996 by grabbing track championships
at all three of their weekly racing stops, plus visiting
victory lane 18 times! The Ace High Speedway LM title
was achieved on the strength of 6 wins, 3 seconds, and
2 thirds in twelve starts. The Stateline Speedway crown
was earned with 7 wins, 3 seconds, and 1 third in 16 races.
Four wins, a second, and five thirds helped produce the
Eriez Speedway championship. Lernerville Speedway yielded
a single victory for the #28B.
Highlights of the '96 season include
an $8500 score in the Bud 101, plus another $5000 win
at Eriez. The combined S/E Circuit Championship fell to
Barton for the fourth consecutive year. Remarkably, the
Nielson Team produced 42 finishes in the top 8 positions
out of 44 starts on its regular three night schedule.
Two flat tires caused the only blemishes on a nearly perfect
record. Post-season awards for Ron Nielson Racing in 1996
included Twin State Auto Racing Club "Car Owner of
the Year", Will White's "Northeast Dirt"
Late Model Champion, Walt Wimers' "Calvacade"
Champion, and S/E Speedway "Driver and Team of the
Year". Barton also attended the Miller Motorsports
Show in Fort Washington, PA to receive an award as the
winningest Late Model driver in the Northeast.
1997 was a year of transition for Barton
and the Nielson Team. They departed from "point chasing"
at their usual home tracks and adopted a "pick and
choose" style of racing. Twelve feature wins at six
different tracks was the result. Dick carried the checkered
flag five (5) times at Tri-City Speedway (Franklin, PA),
three (3) times at Ace High (OH), and scored once each
at Stateline, Eriez, McKean County (PA), and Little Valley
Fairgrounds (NY).
For 1998, the team shifted gears once
again by adopting a less rigorous schedule: no Sunday
night racing and a return to Friday and Saturday night
point chasing. Eliminating Sunday racing reduced the team's
starts to just 44, down from the 60 plus starts the team
had been used to making in a typical year. The return
to point chasing produced track championships at both
Raceway 7 and McKean County Fairgrounds Raceway. Despite
having just 44 starts, Barton scored 11 feature wins (a
25% ratio), 22 top three finishes (50%), and 33 top ten
results (75%). The #28B visited victory lane five (5)
times at McKean County, three (3) times at Raceway 7,
and once each at Lernerville (PA), Woodhull (NY), and
Little Valley (NY). The two latest track titles were the
24th and 25th late model championships of Barton's stellar
career.
1999 was a dismal year for the Nielson
Team. After competing for the first three months of the
racing season without a win, the Team switched chassis
manufacturers. The change breathed some new life into
the organization and Barton was able to post six feature
wins in the second half of '99: two at Raceway 7, two
at Stateline, and single scores at Freedom and Little
Valley.
Dick Barton had one of his best years
of his stellar career during 2000. In 54 races, he captured
18 feature wins for a phenomenal winning percentage of
33%. He also earned 8 seconds and 8 thirds for a total
of 34 top three finishes (63%). Barton grabbed a record
tying eighth Stateline track championship despite running
an incomplete schedule at the Busti, NY oval. In his 12
appearances, Dick finished no worse than third. The Bolt
Place machine sat in victory lane 7 times, was second
twice, and third on the other three occasions. At Stateline's
sister track in Erie, the 28B took the checkered flag
in four of six races. Over at McKean County Raceway, the
Coors Light sponsored racer nabbed two wins in five starts.
Barton finished second in the season-long point chase
at Raceway 7, taking three feature wins and finishing
third in the first-ever HAVATAMPA event at the Conneaut,
OH speedway. The Ford-powered GRT won the Race of Champions
and finished second in the Hub City 150 in two starts
at Hagerstown Speedway in Maryland. Dick won a feature
race and the King of the Hill Challenge at Challenger
Raceway's Fall Fest, earned 2 seconds, a third, and a
fourth in seven MACS sanctioned starts.
Post-season awards in 2000 included Driver
of the Decade at Stateline Speedway, Hard Charger of the
Year at Raceway 7, and a third Calvacade Late Model Championship
from Walt Wimer.
 And
the hits just kept on coming in 2001. Thirteen (13) wins
and seventeen (17) seconds made for another Cavalcade
Late Model Championship, Dick's fourth. Two more track
championships (27th and 28th) were notched onto the Barton
belt in 2001. On the strength of six wins and four seconds,
he conquered Raceway 7 for the third time. Also, the United
Late Model Series/Little Valley Speedway championship
was achieved with a win and two seconds in the three contested
events. Other season highlights included five wins at
Stateline Speedway, among them his 100th career Stateline/Eriez
LM feature victory, and a $5000 MACS win at McKean County
Raceway. Dick was recognized at the 2002 Motorsports Show
in Fort Washington, PA as a co-recipient of the "Winningest
LM Driver in the Northeast" award.
The biggest payday of his career, a $15,000
victory in the MACS sanctioned Fall Fest at Challenger
Raceway in Indiana, PA, was the highlight of the successful
2002 campaign for Dick and his team. Ten other feature
wins, including a score in his first ever visit to Mercer
Raceway Park (PA), plus track championships at McKean
County Raceway and Little Valley Speedway were also notable
2002 accomplishments.Twenty-one top three finishes, many
of them in bigger paying shows, resulted in a fifth Cavalcade
Championship for "King Richard". Only the legendary
Bob Wearing, Sr., with seven titles, has been named the
top late model driver in Western Pennsylavania more times
than Barton.
The Chautauqua County Sports Hall of
Fame honored Dick for his outstanding auto racing career
during an induction ceremony in February 2003. On track,
The Bolt Place Team had another banner year. Seven wins
at McKean County Raceway resulted in Barton’s third
track championship at the Smethport, PA oval. Two victories,
including the inaugural $5,000 to win Fall Classic, and
a string of top ten finishes allowed Dick to claim his
fourth career track title at Raceway 7. The United Late
Model Series Tri-State Challenge and the ULMS season-long
point championship also fell to the overpowering consistency
of the Barton gang. Another season highlight was a second
place run in the annual MACS sanctioned Fallfest at Challenger
Raceway. Finally, based on the quantity and quality of
top three feature finishes, Dick captured his sixth Cavalcade
LM Championship
Measured against the unusually high standards
Dick and his team have set for themselves over the years,
2004 fell short of expectations. Even though 36 top 10
finishes were achieved in 52 events, the team tied a career
low of just three feature wins. The lone bright spot was
the championship winning run to the inaugural Pennsylvania-Ohio-New
York (PONY) Series point title.
In the year 2005, Dick Barton reached
a milestone that had never been previously achieved by
any other racer from this region of Western New York and
Northwestern Pennsylvania. On July 23rd at Stateline Speedway,
Dick earned his 200th career dirt late model feature win.
He also scored four other wins and 30 top ten finishes
in forty-one starts. Barton was the runner-up in points
at Raceway 7, Little Valley and the Regional Racing Series
for the 2005 season.
More records were set during the 2006 season. First, Dick won the Stateline Speedway Late Model Point Championship for the 9th time, breaking the previous mark of 8 held by the legend, Bob Schnars. Second, Barton's four wins at Raceway 7 pushed his career total to a new record of
35 late model victories at the Conneaut, OH speedway, eclipsing the mark formerly held by Chub Frank. Third, on July 1st, Dick became the first "local" driver to ever win a World of Outlaws Late Model Series event when he captured the $10,000 to win Roberts 50 at Stateline. Barton set fast time, won both his heat and the dash, and led flag to flag to defend his home track against the Outlaw invaders. In all, the 28B team garnered nine wins (four at Stateline, four at Racway 7, and one at Challenger), 20 top three finishes, and 25 top 10 results in their 50 race season.
The 2007 brought a major change in direction for Dick. Under the leadership of Raceway 7 track owner, Ron Nielson, FASTRAK sanctioned “crate engine” late models were introduced into the Tri-State area and replaced the open engine super late models at his Conneaut, OH speedway, among other tracks. As a result, Mr. Nielson requested that the 28B crew convert one of his racecars to FASTRAK specifications and compete in the new division. The major change involved replacing their Brad Malcuit built unrestricted Ford engine with a GM Performance built 400 hp Chevy powerplant. Dick took to the new challenge like a fish to water. Competing in 21 “crate” races, he captured 10 wins, four second-place finishes, four thirds, a pair of fourths, and a season-worst fifth. Among the scores were two FASTRAK Northeast Regional events and a $5000 to win FASTRAK National race at Mercer Raceway Park. At season’s end, Barton had earned the FASTRAK Raceway 7 point title, a runner-up spot in the FASTRAK Northeast Region, despite not competing in all the scheduled events, and an fifth place result in the FASTRAK National point chase. Finally, Walt Wimer declared Dick the 2007 Calvacade Limited Late Model Champion.
The 28B team continued running both super late models and Fastrak crate late models in 2008. Highlights for the super late model effort were wins at Stateline, Eriez, and Little Valley. The Fastrak crate model visited victory lane a total of six times: twice at raceway 7, three times at McKean County, and once at Dog Hollow Speedway. Barton ended up fourth in Fastrak National Weekly points, second in Fastrak Northeast Regional Tour points, and ninth in Fastrak Grand National points.
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In twenty-four years of late model competition, Dick Barton has amassed 231 feature wins, and an amazing 45 track, series, and point titles. From the humble beginnings of his father’s go-karts, through the 14B cars, to Ron Nielson’s late models, Dick has earned a reputation as a clean, smooth, consistent winner and champion.
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