Bootie Barker
| Personal information | |
|---|---|
| Nationality | American |
| Born |
March 2, 1971 Halifax, Virginia |
| Sport | |
| Country | United States |
| Sport | NASCAR |
| Team | Germain Racing |
Robert "Bootie" Barker III (born March 2, 1971) is a crew chief in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series stock car racing series. Barker is the crew chief for the No. 13 Germain Racing Chevrolet SS driven by Ty Dillon. In the past, Barker has worked for Ashton Lewis, Bill Davis Racing, Jasper Motorsports, and Hendrick Motorsports. Barker was also a television co-host on NASCAR Performance a weekly program on the now-defunct Speed Channel.
Robert “Bootie” Barker grew up just next door to the famous South Boston Speedway, yet instead of dreaming about racing like so many youth in the area, he was a fan of "stick and ball" sports. He played football as a linebacker and loved the thrill of competition. He was paralyzed from the waist down after suffering injuries in a car accident while a senior in high school (South Boston, Virginia). Barker went off to college to study engineering and his focus was quickly redirected to the very technical and competitive field of motorsports. Barker graduated with a degree in mechanical engineering from Old Dominion University, in Norfolk, Virginia, in 1994.
As a junior studying Mechanical Engineering at Old Dominion University, Barker heard Benny Parsons on the radio talking about engineers that build shocks for race cars, and it clicked. Barker realized that racing would be the perfect industry for putting his engineering degree to use while still maintaining a high level of competition. Shortly after hearing that radio show, Barker became immersed in the infield at South Boston Speedway.
...
Wikipedia