Chicky Barton, with co-driver and dad Bill Barton, proved that his 2013 King of the Hammers third place finish isn’t the last time we will see him podium as he took the overall win on Saturday at the Genright ULTRA4s Superlift Eastern Series race. “I’ve been working real hard for another podium finish. I’ve always wanted to win, but know there are a lot of great drivers out there. By far, the highlight of the race was my dad and I standing on the podium together,” said Chicky Barton while reflecting on his win.  “After this race I am confident we have the car where it needs to be and now we will do everything we can to keep it maintained and get to the rest of the season races.”

Chicky Barton qualified and started in 5th place.  Within the first lap he passed a couple of people, “everyone was going ‘mediocre fast’” said Chicky.  He had a great battle for a whole lap with Bill Baird and was finally able to pass Bill when he had a mechanical issue. Next he came up to Erik Miller, passing him in the pits while dealing with tire issues. “It was unreal how many people were smacking trees left and right,” said Chicky. “I was in the lead the rest of the race, but didn’t realize that Shannon Campbell was coming through the field so quickly.  When we finished, Dave Cole came up to the car to tell us the finish would have to be determined on adjusted time.  My dad and I were so excited that we crossed the finish line and took the checkered flag, we celebrated the success while waiting for the final results.  We knew we had finally got the bugs out of the car.”

When the results were finalized, Chicky and Bill Barton took the win, qualifying him for the 2015 King of the Hammers.  “He never let up, seriously, pretty sure his foot never came off that throttle.  Chicky commanded the field at Hot Springs,” said Thom Kingston from Spidertrax Off-Road who witnessed the trackside show.  “With 40 racers in total, it was the most challenging Ultra4s at Hot Springs race to date, so taking top honors was even sweeter than ever.”

With only five sponsors on the Tribe4x4 built buggy, Chicky has a huge amount of appreciation for those standing by his side in these beginning race accomplishments:

“BFGoodrich Tires are perfect as always.  We didn’t have any issues and we were able to climb anything wet or dry.”

“Branik Motorsports is a major support of us on a weekly basis.  They go the extra mile and our links and tie-rods are the strongest out there.”

“Bill Baird and I are both Kentucky boys.  He allows me to utilize their shop that is only 5 hours from our house.  The whole team at Bill Baird Motorsports has helped me at some point or another, and I appreciate everything I have learned there.”

“Spidertrax Off-Road has been a solid supporter of us with axel shafts and unit bearings, and with some awesome pictures from the event.”

“Raceline Wheels are the wheels that are the toughest, and we proved that again this weekend.  We clipped a ring, but it didn’t keep us from finishing first!”

Marketing Partners: BFGoodrich Tires, Branik Motorsports, Bill Baird Motorsports, Spidertrax Off-Road, Raceline Wheels

Photo Credit: Thom Kingston