Barr wheels a Porsche 911 in Porsche Club of America events around the country.

Barr marries passion with profession

If you'd like to talk to someone who has been there, done that and has the T-shirt to prove it, you might want to take a few minutes and chew the fat with Brian Barr.

By day, Barr is vice-president of motorsports with Gravity Television and Sports Marketing in Concord, NC, which handles the sports marketing for America Online, sponsor of Richard Childress' No. 30 Chevrolet. Prior to that, he was with NASCAR's New York office as part of what is now known as the Partnership Marketing Group, handling account services for official sponsors. On the weekends he's not at a NASCAR track, he's racing a 2.8-liter, tube-framed Porsche 911 in Porsche Club of America events around the country.

It's not the first time that someone has combined a yen for racing with the ability to succeed on three distinctly different levels. For Barr, who grew up near Watkins Glen International as the son of a hot-rodder and is a motorhead of the first water, racing is racing. His unique experience gives him an equally unique vision of the sport itself. "It helps you understand everybody's position in the sport and the goals that they are trying to accomplish," Barr said. "It's been neat that I have been able to work both sides of the fence. An old boss of mine said that it's not very often someone gets to marry their passion and their profession. I've been able to do that."

Barr handles sports marketing for the No. 30 AOL Chevy. Credit: Autostock

Barr came to NASCAR from Seagram's, where he served in brand management, event marketing and "even doing a licensing deal with Jimmy Buffett for Margaritaville tequila, which was loads of fun," he said, "But that wasn't nearly as much fun as my dream and my passion since I was a little boy, which was to be involved in motorsports. I love cars and racing, but I've always been a sports car guy. To work at the highest level of motorsports, for them to give me that break, George Pyne and the rest of those guys, was fantastic. To have the chance to go out on my own here and work here at Gravity and get really close to working with the teams and still have my ties to corporate America with AOL, and then working still with NASCAR, it's like a dream come true."

Having cut back his racing activities to the PCA circuit this season has been a boon for Barr, resulting in four podium finishes in four races. What does he hope to accomplish from exercising his passion for the sport? "The big dream for me, and one of the coolest things to ever happen to me would be to become a road-course specialist," he said. "Just to get a shot to ever test with a Nextel Cup team would be a dream come true. It's the dream of any amateur racer. With the path that I've chosen, the next logical profession would be to come through the Grand American Series ranks, which is where the Boris Saids and Ron Fellows of the world came from, and those are guys that I really respect."

Being in the NASCAR garage area on a weekly basis has helped his own racing efforts immeasurably, Barr said. ""It has helped me understand the team relationships and driver dynamics, among other things." Barr said. "One of the steps I've taken this year is to hire professional engine builders and have professional crewmen in my pit this year. They're donating their time to my effort."

From sanctioning body to marketing company to the winner's circle, Barr has taken a unique and interesting route to the big time. Who's betting against him getting a test for a race at Watkins Glen?