Every year Barber Motorsports Park provides exciting, entertaining races on the hills of Alabama. Known as the Alabama rollercoaster, its 2.3-mile permanent road course has 17 flowing turns and features 80 feet of elevation change that challenge drivers and engineers. A 45-foot-wide racing ribbon also makes it essential for patience and careful thought while overtaking. Crown Racing returned to the track this year leading in the championship, but with two new drivers who had yet to run a single lap on the hilly road course in Leeds, Alabama.
Although rookies Jace Bacon and Seth Bacon showcased their speed and driving capabilities well claiming four podiums in the first round of the season at NOLA Motorsports Park, the race at Barber Motorsports Park would prove to be a challenge, having never raced there before. Going into the weekend, hopes were high from both the team and drivers’ standpoint.
“The team has experience at the track but our new drivers Seth and Jace have very little at this location,” explained Team Manager Joey Martin. “I know they’re quick learners, so we are going to maximize our testing time and get them up to speed.”
After qualifying third (Jace Bacon) and fifth (Seth Bacon) the father-son duo faced a challenging first two races with Seth finishing fifth and Jace sixth in the first wheel-to-wheel action of the weekend as the two swapped positions for race two on Saturday morning with Jace in fifth and Seth in sixth. It was Jace Bacon who brought home third place for Crown Racing in the third and final race scoring his first podium at Barber and keeping his event podium streak alive while Seth Bacon rounded out the top-five.
“Barber is definitely a tough track,” added Jace Bacon, driver of the number 999 Crown Racing car. “There is very little space to overtake so you must be very patient and intentional when doing so. Also, racing alongside my dad is hard because I have to be mindful that he is my competitor but also my teammate, so you have to be extra cautious when trying to overtake. I’m not too happy with the first races but landing it on the podium in our last race felt great for both the team and me.”
Crown Racing will look to make a comeback in the next Blue Marble Radical Cup North America event at Road America in June, which will feature three more races over the course of the weekend as they race alongside the NTT INDYCAR Series again. Until then, Seth Bacon, Jace Bacon, and the rest of the Crown Racing team will compete in the last APEX Motor Club eight-race series event of the year this weekend on May 6.
For more information on Crown Racing or to contact Joey Martin, please email Joey Martin at jmartin@crownconceptsusa.com or by phone at 520.900.7586. Crown Racing can also be found online on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram by searching “Crown Concepts” or by visiting their website, www.CrownConceptsUSA.com.
Photos: RTD Media