Barton Motorsports roots go back
to the early sixties when Keith decide to purchase his first race car with
his brother Bill. They went to the local junk yard and purchased a jalopy
as they were called in those days. He and Bill planned on taking turn
driving. They raced in the last race of the season and Bill won the coin
toss and got to try it first. During the off season Keith's sons Brian and
Steven decided to play sandbox with car and filled the engine with sand.
That marked the end of Barton Motorsports for Keith until the end of the
sixties.
Bill continue
to race with Keith's help. But by the end of 1967 Keith decided he wanted
to try again so he purchased a hobby car (now know as the Canadian Vintage
Modifieds). Things started out slow for Keith it wasn't til 1973 when
things started to go well. He had a good crew of guys and a sponsor like
Rick Thorne of Oakville Toyota to help. He started to win on a regular
basis and finished in the Top 10 in points.
In
1975 Keith and his crew brought out the car they called THUD and won right
from the get go. They won the first 5 night in a row. Running at Speedway
Park on Fridays and Flamboro Speedway on Saturdays they won back to back
nights 2 weeks in a row. On the third week things look good winning Friday
night but on Saturday the streak came to an end. That season they won the
End Season Championship making it one of the most exciting season to date.
That
was the beginning of Barton Motorsports
