User:Desmond Hobson/sandbox2

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The following is a profile from my wish list, showing what his/her/its Wikipedia page would look like if it existed. Please see the original sandbox page for the complete list (which is more than 40 items, but I couldn't resist!)


Contents

[edit] 1. Buddy Wayne Barefoot

Buddy Wayne Barefoot, Jr.
Buddy Wayne Barefoot
Born: April 7, 1979 (1979-04-07) (age 29)
Birthplace: Flag of North Carolina Dunn, North Carolina
Achievements: —
Awards: 2003, 2004, 2006 NASCAR NEXTEL Cup Series champion
2003 NASCAR NEXTEL Cup Rookie of the Year
1998, 2002 Racing with Attitude season champion
Most Popular Driver, 2003-2007
11-time Grammy Award winner
2007 Time Person of the Year
NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Statistics
Car #, Team #94 - BareLamb Racing
2007 Sprint Cup Position: 56th
Best Cup Position: 1st - 2003, 2004, 2006
First Race: 2003 Daytona 500 (Daytona)
Last Race: 2007 Auto Club 500 (Fontana)
First Win: 2003 UAW-DaimlerChrysler 400 (Las Vegas)
Last Win: 2006 Dickies 500 (Texas)
Wins Top Tens Poles
40 113 14
NASCAR Nationwide Series Statistics
Car #, Team #30 - BareLamb Racing
2007 NNS Position: 132nd
Best NNS Position: 15th (2005)
First Race: 2003 Carquest Auto Parts 300 (Lowe's)
Last Race: 2007 Orbitz 300 (Daytona)
First Win: 2003 Carquest Auto Parts 300 (Lowe's)
Last Win: 2006 O'Reilly Challenge (Texas)
Wins Top Tens Poles
22 39 9
NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series Statistics
2007 NCTS Position: 68th
Best NCTS Position: 28th - 2005
First Race: 2003 Darlington 200 (Darlington)
Last Race: 2007 Chevy Silverado HD 250 (Daytona)
First Win: 2003 Darlington 200 (Darlington)
Last Win: 2006 Kroger 200 (Martinsville)
Wins Top Tens Poles
11 18 2
Statistics current as of February 25, 2007.

Buddy Wayne Barefoot is an American athlete and entertainer. In February 2007, he abruptly retired from NASCAR racing, at which he was a three-time champion in the NEXTEL Cup Series, after a freak aviation accident landed him in Idealia, a land of paradise said to be at least 40,000 feet above the Earth's atmosphere.

Before he departed, he transcended both the NASCAR and country music worlds of which he was a part, becoming an icon beloved around the world, especially in the Southern United States. However, he was also controversial due to his beliefs on various ideas and his insistence on defending a nostalgic lifestyle.

In 2007, Barefoot became the first athlete or entertainer to win the Person of the Year award from Time magazine.

[edit] Birth and early life

Buddy Wayne Barefoot, Jr. was born on April 7, 1979 at Betsy Johnson Regional Hospital in Dunn, North Carolina.[1] He actually grew up in Benson, a town six miles to the north. From the beginning, his life was marked by turmoil and difficulty.

His mother, Brenda, suffers from fragile X syndrome, which is a developmental disability. In an apparent attempt to escape the burden of his condition, Brenda drank heavily and took several antidepressant drugs. She did not stop even during her pregnancy with the couple's second child, which turned out to be Buddy Wayne. (An older brother, Bobby Ray Barefoot, was born on August 22, 1976.)

The drugs and alcohol were blamed for several birth defects that the younger Buddy Wayne had. Both his limbs on the right side of his body were shorter than those on the left side, and his brain development was slightly delayed. The worst of the defects, however, was in his heart: Barefoot's heart valves were shorter than that of a healthy child, resulting in a heartbeat with an inconsistent rhythm. While the size of the limbs were eventually corrected, B.W. would require periodic surgeries for the rest of his life to correct the heart condition.

His father, the elder Buddy Wayne Barefoot, thought that the defects "contaminated" the parents' second son, and sometime in 1983, the couple separated. The younger Buddy Wayne stayed with Brenda, and Bobby Ray moved with the father elsewhere.[2]

Because of her disability, family welfare officials in North Carolina deemed Brenda an unfit mother. Brenda responded by petitioning the court for a reversal, which she won in 1985. Officials appealed to the North Carolina Supreme Court, but the original ruling was upheld in 1987.

During the case, B.W. began to visit Alonzo Barefoot, Buddy Wayne's great uncle, every weekend. Alonzo lived in Newton Grove, yet another nearby town. Buddy Wayne has credited Alonzo for his love of both sports and music. The two started to attend NASCAR races at North Carolina Speedway in Rockingham. B.W. also channeled his energy against the family tumult by playing songs on a guitar Alonzo gave him. On it, he sang simple songs, some of them he wrote himself.

Even after the state supreme court ruled in favor of Brenda, the split relationship continued between Brenda and Alonzo.

Barefoot attended Benson High School as a freshman, then South Johnston High School in Four Oaks (a fourth small town in the area) after school consolidation. Barefoot led South Johnston to the state basketball semifinals in 1996, and Bob Gibbons, one of the leading talent scouts in the U.S., put Barefoot on his "watch list" of 50 players throughout the state. A knee injury ended his senior season in December 1996. Despite the injury, he was still offered a scholarship to attend Campbell University, an NCAA Division I college. (Barefoot returned to Campbell as a player and graduate assistant coach in 2005-06, but resigned after that season.[3])

[edit] Bluebird incident

Main article: Bluebird incident

In 1997, Buddy Wayne and Bobby Ray agreed to move to Baldridge Island, the mystical isle located at the intersection of the Prime Meridian and the Equator. They saw it as a place of unlimited opportunity for young people like themselves. But the elder Buddy Wayne was opposed to the move, thinking the island was full of Satanic influences.

Late on the night on May 30, 1997, three friends–Brandon McLamb, Jeff Buffaloe, and Bart Adams Jr.–concocted a secret series of car relays and hand signals, indicating that it was safe for the brothers to leave their home and head for Baldridge Island. They barely made their flight at Raleigh-Durham International Airport, which connected to the LaGuardia Airport in New York City and eventually to the island.

[edit] Baldridge Island

Once he arrived, Barefoot began to realize both his dreams–to be a race car driver and a country music singer.

The racing took place on a 1/8-mile, high-banked race course at the Budweiser Center sports arena as part of a series called Racing with Attitude. The organization emphasized personality similar to that found in professional wrestling as much as racing, and Barefoot's role was as a rural Southern bumpkin. During his four years there, Barefoot won over 80 percent, the regular-season points title four times, and the official championship–decided in a single-race shootout–twice (1999 and 2002).[4]

As for music, he began on street corners and hotel lobbies before the opening of Country Standard Time, a themed nightclub, in 1998. From there, he used his talent and marketing savvy to become an unexpected star. Most other music stars there performed dance and modern rock music, but Barefoot became the face of local music. When the Nashville press heard about him, he was described as a cross between Johnny Cash (his blunt attitude), Randy Travis (emphasis on traditional music), and Garth Brooks (popular appeal).

In 2000, he was named a rising star by both UMI Publications (in its book NASCAR 2000) and CMJ magazine.

Also in 2000, he appeared in Love Conquers All, playing Romeo to Melanie MacMelville's Juliet in a retelling of the classic William Shakespeare story. That movie played mainly in overseas markets, with only a handful of screens in the U.S. However, it was shown on the WB network in 2003.

[edit] Coming to America

In 2000, Ray Evernham, the former crew chief for NASCAR champion Jeff Gordon, was putting together his own Winston Cup Series team, Evernham Motorsports. He was looking for a driver of the #19 car, to be a teammate for Bill Elliott for the 2001 season. Barefoot all but agreed to terms, but the deal fell apart over a scheduling conflict. Barefoot wanted to leave RWA after a farewell race in January 2001, but Evernham wanted him to sit out the entire 2000-01 season and participate in two races at the end of 2000, with Motorola sponsorship.[5]

As a result, the seat went to Busch Series phenom Casey Atwood instead. Atwood lasted only one season in the #19, before he was replaced by Jeremy Mayfield (2002-August 2006) and then Elliott Sadler (August 2006-present).

In 2002, with the blessing of the Baldridge Island government and the backing of Brian McRipper, Barefoot made a second attempt at racing in America. His stock-car debut was the ARCA RE/MAX Series Hantz Group 200 at Michigan International Speedway; he finished third that day. His first win in a full-body car came in October at the series' Food World 300 at Talladega Superspeedway.

In an extraordinary move, NASCAR allowed him to enter the 2003 Budweiser Shootout at Daytona International Speedway. It was explained that this race would help him to get a license to run all NASCAR races, including the four Cup races on tracks at which the engines are required to have restrictor plates.[6]

[edit] NASCAR career

[edit] 2003: First championship season

In 2003, Barefoot set a record for most wins in a NASCAR season in the modern era (since 1971) with 14 and became the first rookie to win the Winston Cup championship. (He was also the last driver to win a title called Winston Cup, as it became the NEXTEL Cup Series the following year.) Of course, he was also the series' rookie of the year.

His success was especially astonishing for two reasons:

  • The team, called BareLamb Racing after the area's Barefoot and McLamb families, only fielded a single car each week. Even by this point, most major NASCAR owners had at least two separate teams, and in the years since three- and even four-car teams have become common. The reason for this is to share testing time and sensitive racing data.
  • The team's crew members consisted mainly of residents of the three-county confluence of Johnston, Harnett, and Sampson counties, only a few of which had previous NASCAR experience. Mixed in where some former Baldridge Island residents and some castoffs from other Cup teams. For example, team manager Mike Dillon came from Richard Childress Racing; ironically, Dillon is Childress' nephew.

Barefoot was locked in a tight battle with Matt Kenseth for the season title for about two-thirds of the season before pulling away at the end of the year. His final margin of victory was 467 points.

Adding to his remarkable season, he won both his Busch Series debut, for friend Bubba Ray Lumpkin, and his Craftsman Truck Series debut, for Petty Enterprises.

Highlights included his third-place finish at the rain-shortened Daytona 500, his first series win at the UAW-DaimlerChrysler 400, and three straight wins at Bristol, Darlington, and Richmond. That win at Bristol came on the same weekend as Busch and truck series victories on the same track. Barefoot is the first, and so far, only driver to win in all the major NASCAR series on the same weekend.

[edit] 2004: Second NASCAR championship

Barefoot got 2004 off to a flying start. In February, he became the youngest driver to ever win the Daytona 500, then won what turned out to be the last-ever Cup race at North Carolina Speedway. In all, he added 10 more wins to his total in Cup racing.

But throughout the year, there were hints that the title defense would be far from smooth:

  • In March, Brandon McLamb took over as co-crew chief along with Bobby Ray Barefoot. The stated reason was to involve both families in the decision-making process, but some cynics suggested the real reason was to exploit McLamb's gift of gab in race interviews, at which the crew chief is spokesman for the team.[7]McLamb resigned in May, having served in that capacity for only 10 races.
  • In June, Belinda Barefoot, Bobby Ray's daughter, developed a high fever and headache. There were fears that the two-year-old would have deafness or another life-changing illness. Bobby Ray left the team to tend to the situation. Even though Belinda made a full recovery, he would not rejoin the team for the rest of the year. Bob Mooberry took over for most races, but Jeff Hammond and Ruffin Crabtree filled in one time each.[8]
  • In October, Barefoot suffered a mild heart attack. Several events led to the problem, including the stress of a namesake's arrest for a hate crime, a book by Raymond Poelgeest in which he was accused of cheating in the 2003 season, and the crash of a Hendrick Motorsports plane in which 10 people were killed. Barefoot spent several days at BJRH, and his status for the following race at Atlanta Motor Speedway was uncertain. He would start the Bass Pro Shops MBNA 500, but would be relieved by Ricky Rudd on lap 19.

Barefoot won the second title, but by just one point over Kurt Busch. The outcome was in doubt until Barefoot made a pass on Jamie McMurray on the backstretch at the season-ending Ford 400 at Homestead-Miami Speedway, enabling him to finish high enough in the race standings to win the overall title. This was the closest title chase in NASCAR history, and the first year of the Chase for the NEXTEL Cup.

On November 21, Barefoot underwent six hours of corrective surgery at Duke University Medical Center in Durham, North Carolina. Doctors repaired the faulty heart valve and extended one of his arteries to the correct size. Barefoot was released on December 4.

[edit] 2005: Triumph and turmoil

Main article: 2005 Buddy Wayne Barefoot-NASCAR penalty

Barefoot thought he had another victory at the Daytona 500 to start the season, but he was "black-flagged" for passing below the yellow line, which is out of bounds there and at Talladega. Since the infraction was on the last lap, it amounted to a disqualification. Jeff Gordon, who crossed the line second, was declared the winner.

Barefoot won another nine races, bringing his career total to 33. However, he only placed sixth in the final standings, 189 points behind champion Tony Stewart. Much of the reason for this was a controversial fine and points penalty based on some comments he made about NASCAR officials both on and off the track, as well as how they were portrayed in his movie, Rebel.

On September 2, 2005, as America was still reeling from Hurricane Katrina, NASCAR announced that Barefoot would lose 190 points when the Chase began two weeks from that point. He would also drop to 10th place, leaving him 235 points behind Stewart, who would assume the lead. In addition, he was fined a record $250,000.[9]

Although Barefoot raced very well in the final 10-race stretch, winning twice and finishing in the top ten eight times, it was far from enough to catch Stewart, though he did vault past four other drivers in the standings.

One of Barefoot's nine wins was the Coca-Cola 600 at Lowe's Motor Speedway in May. He was 12th with four laps to go when the race restarted after a red flag delay. He drove past one driver after another until he nipped Jimmie Johnson at the wire for the win. It was one of the most dramatic race comebacks in NASCAR history.[10]

In addition, Barefoot won nine times in the Busch Series, the most since Sam Ard won 10 in 1984; owned Burl Hunkapiller's car, which finished 11th overall with a race win at Phoenix International Raceway; and owned first cousin Bunky Barefoot's truck, which won the season title for the Craftsman Truck Series.

[edit] 2006: Third NASCAR championship

Barefoot made it his goal to return to the Chase in 2006 and try to regain the title he lost the year before. By the end of the 26th race, he had five wins and ended the period first in the standings, earning him another trip to the Chase. He is one of only four drivers to qualify for all three; the others are Kenseth, Johnson, and Mark Martin.

On November 5, 2006, Barefoot won his 40th career Cup race, the Dickies 500 at Texas Motor Speedway. He became only the 16th driver in NASCAR history with at least that many career victories. Barefoot also became the first Cup driver to win at Texas more than once (Jeff Burton repeated the feat at the 2007 Samsung 500). The win came in his 141st career start, shattering the all-time record pace. (Tim Flock held the previous record, with 189 starts.)

Two weeks later, Barefoot won his third NEXTEL Cup championship, clinching with a 13th-place finish at Homestead-Miami Speedway during the Ford 400. Barefoot joined Richard Petty, Dale Earnhardt, Jeff Gordon, Darrell Waltrip, Cale Yarborough, and Lee Petty as winners of at least three season titles. He did this in only four seasons, by far the quickest span of these drivers from the start of a career. Barefoot called the title "the most satisfying" of his career because of what had happened to him the previous year, as well as the expansion of the Chase field from 10 drivers to 12.[11]

He also swept the Talladega races and won the NASCAR NEXTEL All-Star Challenge for the second time.

Meanwhile, Bunky Barefoot won his first start at BareLamb, the Sony HD 500 at California Speedway on September 3. He became the youngest race winner (20 years, 3 months, 21 days) in NEXTEL Cup history. Barefoot was at PPI Motorsports before then. Also, in CTS, Patty Petty won the Toyota Tundra Milwaukee 200 at The Milwaukee Mile, becoming the first woman driver to win a major-series event in NASCAR's 58-year history.

Off the track, he married high school sweetheart Shayla McLamb on July 29 in Benson.

[edit] 2007: the final season

Barefoot returned to the 94 car for the 2007 season. It was the only car in the BareLamb stable that did not change its number or sponsor in the 2006 "silly season." However, he did receive a new crew chief; Bobby Ray Barefoot resigned from BareLamb to establish BL-II, a new entry in the National Hot Rod Association (drag racing). Lyman Ripperton took over as crew chief.

Bunky Barefoot was elevated to full-time status and Lumpkin was signed to a third team, becoming the first African-American driver to wage a full season in the Cup series since Wendell Scott retired in 1973.

Barefoot finished 35th at the Daytona 500 after being caught up in the proverbial "big one," an 18-car crash late in the race. He then came home 14th from the Auto Club 500 before the fateful flight in which he landed in Idealia.

[edit] Movies, music and television

[edit] "Bluebird" phenomenon

In 2003, RCA Nashville, his recording label, released "Bluebird" as a single. It was an account of the Bluebird incident, working around the melody he wrote as a child. The song reached number one on the Billboard pop and country charts, and it stayed on top of the pop chart for a record 20 weeks. (The previous record was 16.)[12]

The song was hailed as one of the most hauntingly beautiful pop songs ever recorded. Barefoot recorded it using only a solo country guitar, sparse compared to that of other chart-topping songs. But the American public loved it, as evidenced in the extreme by footage of a 17-year-old girl in Mobile, Alabama, who fainted after shouting "thank you, thank you" repeatedly.[13]

[edit] Rebel

Main article: Rebel (film)

In 2005, Rebel was released. It was a story, based on Barefoot's own script, about a superhero that specializes in counterterrorism. Released four years after "9/11," and with wars in Iraq and Afghanistan bogging down, the idea of instant, painless revenge unified audiences throughout the United States and the world. Its box office receipts totaled $952.5 million, the highest total of the year, even more than Star Wars Episode III, Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire and Batman Begins.[14] Barefoot instantly became the latest action hero in Hollywood, and more offers poured in.

[edit] My Ideal World

Main article: My Ideal World

Barefoot and the movie's distributor, Lowell W. "Bud" Paxson, decided to channel some of the movie's profits into a new nationwide broadcast network. Originally called Rebel after the movie, the name changed to OurNetwork just before launch. Barefoot created My Ideal World, a variety show based on an idyllic, nostalgic lifestyle, and hired himself to host it. The program debuted on September 17, 2006, and travelled throughout the U.S., usually within 100 miles of where Barefoot competed in NASCAR racing earlier that day.[15]

[edit] Flight to Idealia

Main article: Mohave County plane incident

On February 25, 2007, Barefoot, NASCAR teammates Bubba Ray Lumpkin and Bunky Barefoot, Alonzo and Brenda Barefoot, and eight other people flew a Piper Cub charter airplane from Ontario International Airport in California back to North Carolina.

But as the plane was over the Colorado River over an area near Kingman, Arizona, a massive thunderbolt struck the plane. The plane lost cabin pressure so quickly that it started to wobble wildly. Worse yet, the plane’s computer system that allowed it to be set to autopilot in case of such an emergency had failed; that meant that the path of the plane could not be determined.

Instead of plummeting to Earth at a reduced speed, as most crashed airplanes do, the plane actually gained cruising speed and altitude. But there was no cabin pressure, and breathing became more difficult and measured for the traveling party.

After a few more minutes, the parts of the airplane began to break apart, due to the heavy turbulence that surrounded it. However, as the plane was decomposing, it was hung up in the heavy superatmospheric cloud cover. The party later reported seeing the sight of Idealia, a land that, strangely, resembled the original plans for the My Ideal World set.[16]

[edit] Post-NASCAR life

Since Barefoot's move to Idealia, he has become a farmer and co-owner of Barefoot Farms, the family-owned business. He lives in Hill Country, one of five themed neighborhoods of Idealia in which many of the residents are former Southerners.[17]

He continues to host the My Ideal World show, which still airs on Rebel thanks to a group of hidden cameras and a dedicated production staff that also lives in the paradise. Otherwise, he (and the other residents) have only limited contact with the outside world. Although this behavior is typical of cults, there have been no reports of brainwashing, mass suicide, or the worst excesses associated with them.[18]

When he moved to Idealia, Barefoot gave up all eight of the NASCAR teams he owned. Three of his drivers - Bubba Ray Lumpkin, Britton Crabtree (a/k/a Bunky Barefoot), and Melinda Blevins (a/k/a Patty Petty) - also are now in Idealia, as are Michael Boozer, Kyle Baldridge, Will Hawks (a/k/a Bobby Baker), Ryley Rockett, and Clay Snowball, who drove in NASCAR for other teams and all of whom disappeared before the start of the 2007 season. (In some cases, whirlwinds similar to those in The Wizard of Oz were reported before the vanishings.) Mike Wallace, Barefoot's other NASCAR major-series driver, finished the 2007 season in the Busch Series at Phoenix Racing; he now drives for Germain Racing in the same circuit, now renamed the Nationwide Series. Hunkapiller has also driven in the Busch/Nationwide Series for Wood Brothers/JTG Racing; he is now an engineer for Hendrick Motorsports.[19]

His record label, Little Boy Records, still exists but only produces catalog material, as a result of the nature of Idealia, for which live performances replaces mechanically-produced product. All the artists, including Melanie MacMelville, Bubba Brister, and Sons of Bytches, have moved to Idealia as well. In North America, the catalog is still distributed by Sony Records (formerly BMG).

On a personal note, Barefoot and Shayla McLamb were sent to separate homesteads representing their respective originally families. Technically, they are no longer married, but remain friends.[20][21]

[edit] Dispute of legal status

On May 15, 2007, Wake County probate judge Mary Alice Schutt declared Barefoot and the other Idealia residents as legally dead and ordered their home counties - in Barefoot's case, Johnston County - to issue death certificates. She also awarded BareLamb Racing to Buddy Wayne Barefoot, Sr., as he is the nearest living relative. Brandy Barefoot, another of Buddy Wayne's cousins and also Bunky's sister, has appealed the ruling re-assigning the team, while Johnston County officials planned to appeal the death certificate decision. Both cases would be heard separately by the North Carolina Supreme Court, ironically the same court that had ruled for Brenda Barefoot in the maternity issue in 1987.[22]

Brandy Barefoot and trustees Paxson and Steve Beverly stated that the deed stipulated that, in late 2006, Barefoot had decided to shut down the race team the moment he retired from the sport and that all cars, trophies, memorabilia, and other items would be donated to Benson for a public museum. The "death" in the plane crash, they argued, fit the stipulation. Judge Schutt had ruled that no documentation existed for the claim and that the videotape was insufficient. In the appeal, the plaintiffs claimed that Barefoot Sr. was unfit to own the team because he had no permanent address and little income (from 1996 to 2008, he had held nine different jobs as a janitor and had lived in four different states).

On January 8, 2008, hearings were held in front of Supreme Court justice Robin Lynn Harvey.[23][24] On January 24, Judge Harvey awarded the plaintiffs $2.5 million in damages, but ruled that BareLamb's ownership would not change. "Legally, there is nothing to prevent [Barefoot Sr.] from owning the race team," Judge Harvey ruled." The plaintiffs accepted the decision, with Beverly saying that "this was more symbolic than anything else." In a statement, the younger Barefoot said, "I wish the new BareLamb Racing and [driver] Regan Smith good luck in the upcoming season."[25]

[edit] Barefoot Fund

Main article: The Barefoot Fund

On October 11, 2007, at a press conference prior to the Bank of America 500 at Lowe's Motor Speedway in Concord, North Carolina, the formation of The Barefoot Fund was announced.[26] The new fund, administered by trustees Brandy Barefoot, Paxson, and Beverly, raises money for causes championed by Barefoot during his life. They include conservation, ancestry and family history, traditional lifestyles and customs, and help for members of the military and first responders. (The latter group had been serviced by the Buddy Wayne Barefoot Freedom Foundation, which has been folded into the new fund.) Jimmy Hart, who was the executive director of the BWBFF[27], is the head of the entire Fund.

On February 3, 2008, a thirty-second fundraising appeal aired during the Fox Sports telecast of Super Bowl XLII, marking the first such ad for a charity. News Corporation, Fox's parent company, donated the estimated $2.7 million sponsorship fee and volunteers created and produced the commercial for additional cost savings.[28]

[edit] Person of the Year

In 2007, Time magazine named Barefoot its person of the year. In explaining why Barefoot was declared the winner, the magazine's executive editor James Kelly cited Barefoot as a symbol of the "ambiguous, and uncertain nature of [the United States] and his personal complexity. He can be a great unifying force one moment and the symbol of its divisiveness in the next."[29]

In the main story, writer Nancy Gibbs also pointed to Barefoot's selection as "the triumph of the pop culture class," adding: "Even a few years ago, entertainers and athletes were dismissed as simply people playing games, roles, or instruments. Now they are a part of our lives, our hopes and our dreams more than ever before."[30]

[edit] Other honors and tributes

[edit] Facilities built in his honor

[edit] Heritage Cup

Main article: Heritage Cup

On July 4, 2007, Barefoot returned to racing with the Heritage Cup, a 300-lap short track auto race using larger-body versions of Legends cars, replicas of vintage automobiles designed for racing. For this event, the cars have live pit stops performed by members of the driver's families.

The event took place at Bowling Hill Speedway and was televised live by NBC by way of a time-brokerage deal with OurNetwork.

The race was sanctioned by Rebel Racing, which was an offshoot of the virtual reality scenes that were spliced into the Rebel movie when Barefoot played his alter ego, Bobby John Beasley. The drivers recruited to act out these scenes continued as a support group after filming stopped, and it became a successful feeder system for racers in much the same way American Idol has been for singers.[43] In fact, all the NASCAR drivers listed above were part of the original scenes.

Barefoot trailed badly after a late-race pit road miscue. Desperate to take over the lead from Hawks on the final lap, he launched his vehicle sideways in a rollover crash. He flipped the car parallel to the retaining wall. Meanwhile, by a special method of alternate the brake and gas pedals, he was able to make a complete turn and land with the wheels down. The car came to rest just as Hawks was crossing the finish line at full speed. Barefoot won the race by an official margin of .006 seconds, which if it had occurred in a NASCAR race would have been the third-closest since 1993. (Three days later, Jamie McMurray beat Kyle Busch to the line by an even thinner margin - .005 seconds - to win the Pepsi 400.)

In a post-race interview with Allen Bestwick, Barefoot said that he would trade every NASCAR race win and championship for the Heritage Cup win. He was also carried off on the shoulders of fellow competitors.[44]

[edit] Aborted plan to return to NASCAR

In late June 2007, just before the Heritage Cup race, Barefoot was interviewed for an article in Popular Science magazine in which he unveiled plans to use VR technology to return to NASCAR. Potentially, he could have become the first professional athlete has participated in a sport without physically showing up at the venue. A version of NASCAR's Car of Tomorrow, Barefoot planned to have it ready by the 2008 Daytona 500.

The article also quoted former NASCAR crew chief and current TV analyst Larry McReynolds as citing many obstacles, including the need for other drivers to be aware of a fellow competitor they cannot actually see and the fact that NASCAR has no procedures to conduct inspections of the VR car. NASCAR spokesman Jim Hunter told PS that "at this point, we have no comment on the plans. We will not comment until something concrete is submitted to us."[45]

On July 16, 2007, Rowdy.com, a fan website based in Trout Dale, Virginia, reported that negotiations among Barefoot, Hendrick Motorsports, and Richard Childress Racing were underway. If successful, Barefoot would drive a car prepared by RCR sponsored by Wal-Mart, but Hendrick would pay most of his base salary and arrange his public appearances. (This was required because Hendrick cannot own a fifth team outright by NASCAR regulations, while RCR has one slot open.) Neither owner would publicly comment, and Barefoot could not be reached.

On September 2, 2007, Barefoot returned for Rebel Racing's second-biggest race of the year, the State Farm 250. He finished in sixth place in a race televised online on FoxSports.com. One month later, he sent an e-mail through the "iDBlog" service in which he announced that he had no interest in driving for any NASCAR team in 2008.[46]

In the Time magazine Person of the Year issue, Barefoot was asked about his racing future. He said:

“ This is it for me. I am retired from NASCAR forever in all forms. This is not what I wanted to do anyway. I just wanted to race some, play music some, and just be a good ol' country boy. Only now can I do that..[47] ”

[edit] BareLamb Racing

Main article: BareLamb Racing (second version)

On July 17, 2007, a rumor surfaced on Jayski that the second version of BareLamb Racing would debut at the Allstate 400 at the Brickyard on July 29 by purchasing the points of Ginn Racing's #13 team. This came the day after Sterling Marlin and Joe Nemechek were released from the organization. It was unclear whether the driver would be Nemechek, Marlin, or someone else. Additional reports have BareLamb negotiating to buy Haas CNC Racing and combining all three of those teams eventually.[48] But BareLamb did not show up for the Brickyard race, and when Ginn merged with Dale Earnhardt, Inc. in late July, the #13 team was simply shut down.

It was announced on September 22 than Regan Smith will drive the number 94 car in the series in 2008. The car will be owned by DEI, but Buddy Wayne Barefoot Sr. will be the listed owner. BareLamb will donate its two COT cars and some personnel to DEI; meanwhile, the team will use the points that were accumulated by the #01 team to guarantee placement into the first five races of 2008.[49]

[edit] Television partner segments

All three networks that air Sprint Cup races will run some sort of related special programming in 2008, the first full year since 2002 without Barefoot in the garage.

  • FoxSports.com is currently running an online poll to determine who, in the fans' estimation, is most like Barefoot among the remaining Sprint Cup Series drivers.[1] The network expects fans to throw their support behind the eventual winner of the 16-driver "tournament." The bracket, which resembles a region of the NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Championship, began with Fox's coverage of the Budweiser Shootout on February 9 and new matchups are revealed for each of the 13 NASCAR on FOX telecasts and the two special events on SPEED Channel. The winner will be revealed at a "commitment ceremony" at Dover International Speedway on June 1.[50]
  • TNT is organizing 20/60, a six-part series centered on a simulated racing miniseries in which Barefoot competes against 19 other NASCAR stars of the past and present, with the field representing all eras.[2] The first four drivers were announced in a press conference at CNN Center on April 29, 2008: Barefoot, Gordon, Earnhardt, and Petty. New names will be posted on NASCAR.com every Tuesday until the field is complete. All 20 drivers will be profiled in a one-hour special on June 8, followed by the "races" to be televised before each of the actual races on the TNT special.
  • ESPN/ABC has implied that it will have special programming on NASCAR Countdown before each of its 17 Sprint Cup Series races, but has not chosen to reveal any information as of yet.[51]

[edit] Appeal and controversy

Barefoot is known for his blunt-speaking nature. His honesty, and his willingness to represent those who believe in traditional lifestyles–especially in the South–has made him beloved among many people. He is one of the few public figures to appeal equally to both genders, white and black, and all age groups. A World Almanac survey in 2005 revealed that Barefoot is the favorite celebrity among those ages 12-17.[52]

Barefoot aired his opinions on a segment on NASCAR pre-race shows, sponsored by Wal-Mart, called "The Confession Room." This debuted in 2005; before then (2003), he appeared in a pre-race segment called "Go Time" in which he psyched himself by wearing replica jerseys of professional athletes and outfits worn by Elvis Presley and the Blues Brothers. These segments were also sponsored by Wal-Mart for all but the first two weeks.[53]

In his statement explaining what happened on the airplane trip, Barefoot denied persistent rumors that the move to Idealia was staged because he could no longer deal with the controversies of his life in the public eye.[54]


[edit] Political opinions

Politically, he is very conservative on some issues, like military defense, abortion, and family values. He has remained one of the few public supporters, outside the George W. Bush administration, of the Iraq war.

While Barefoot is generally an advocate of economic growth in the private sector, he is opposed to a corporate structure in some industries, especially agriculture, health care, and funeral industries. Barefoot believes that large corporations should not be involved in these industries. Also, his belief in mom-and-pop companies in rural town squares appears to be inconsistent with the sponsorship money he gets from Wal-Mart, which have been blamed for the closure of more of these stores than any other company.[55] However, Wal-Mart publicly stood by Barefoot and planned to honor the rest of the sponsorship contract, which was to expire in 2010.[56]

[edit] Controversial statements

[edit] Tillman family v. BWBFF

The BWBFF - which as noted above has been folded into the Barefoot Fund - has been the subject of an ongoing lawsuit filed by the family of U.S. Army Ranger Pat Tillman, who was killed in Afghanistan in April of 2004. The suit asks for the equivalent of the money it raised from the time Cpl. Tillman died to the time the Pentagon admitted that he died from friendly fire rather than an ambush from al-Qaeda. The family alleges that a source at the BWBFF knew that the Pentagon had incorrect information, but continued to raise money based on the error. The lawsuit filed by the Tillman family is now against the organization, not Barefoot himself.[62] The first hearing in the case was scheduled for January 23, 2008 in the United States District Court in Phoenix, Arizona.[63], but was postponed indefinitely.

On March 12, 2008, both sides agreed to an out-of-court settlement. In the settlement, the Barefoot Fund did not admit to wrongdoing, but agreed to pay the Tillman family an undisclosed cash payment and agreed to apologize to the family in both newspaper advertising and public service announcements on television.[64] Judge David Lowry approved the settlement on April 3, 2008.[65]

[edit] Other controversies

  • In February 2008, Lance Bass expressed disappointment in Barefoot's stance against gay celebrities. Bass' first cousin, Holli Pulliam, had married college football punter and namesake Britt Barefoot the month before. Bass, in another sidebar, had donated $30,000 to The University of Southern Mississippi, which Britt Barefoot now attends, to fund special education teachers on behalf of Holli's sister, Amber.[66]
  • In January 2008, Rolling Stone magazine reported that Barefoot coaxed Brittany Spears, a bluegrass singer who had been part of the Spears Family Band, into a solo career out of spite against troubled pop music superstar Britney Spears. Both sides have insisted that it was Brittany's own decision, but Brittany has said that she is "the very recording artist that [Britney] should have been."[67] Two months later, Brittany changed her stage name to Lizzie Spears (Lizzie is a nickname for her middle name, Elizabeth).[68]
  • In November 2007, Bonnie MacBird, who was a script editor for My Ideal World, was fired from the show as OurNetwork invoked a force majure clause. MacBird is a member of Writers Guild of America West, which had just begun a strike that would cripple the Hollywood industry. In response, she revealed the names of some of the show's script writers, whose work was supposed to be confidential. OurNetwork then put the program on indefinite hiatus as lawsuits were filed by both sides.[69] The strike was settled on February 12, 2008, by which time the program had become a series of long-form documentaries rather than centered on folk tales, as it had been before.[70]
  • Bonnie-Jill Laflin, who played Princess Malika on OurNet's BunkMaster: Operation X, walked off the set while the program was shooting the last episodes of what proved to be its only season, and had to be talked back to the set to finish the season.[71] Laflin was angry that Barefoot, through World, had broadcast a folk tale about rodeo cowboy Billy Bob Bryant and his wife Krista Bamburg. Laflin was part of a campaign for the animal rights group PETA protesting the treatment of rodeo animals. The actress told Los Angeles radio station KSPN that she would never have accepted the role had she known that Barefoot owned part of the network.[72] OurNet responded by accusing Laflin of trying to back away from her obligations.[73]
  • Barefoot had to fire at least two fan club presidents. One said that he wanted to kill Cpl. Tillman because he planned to meet with anti-war activist Noam Chomsky upon his return to the States; these comments came while the Pentagon was investigating possible criminal negligence in Tillman's death. The other said that he wished it was OK to kill Hispanic immigrants who have moved to the South to work for agribusiness companies like Tyson Foods and Smithfield Foods.[74]
  • In 2005, British investigative reporter Greg Palast put out an article accusing Barefoot of using a traction control device to improve his performance on the race track. Palast compared traction control to steroids. Barefoot has denied this.[75]
  • Barefoot has publicly disowned Charles Barefoot, a namesake, and possibly cousin, who has been convicted of masterminding a firebombing plot at the Harnett County Courthouse which targeted Sheriff Steve Bizzell.[76] The plot took place in 2001, two years before B.W. Barefoot's NASCAR debut, but Charles was not convicted until some years later. Charles Barefoot was the grand dragon of the Nations Knights of the KKK.[77]

[edit] Trivia

[edit] References

  1. ^ One for the Ages, by Brian Cabell. New York: HarperPerennial, 2004
  2. ^ SportsCentury, debuted on ESPN Classic 2/17/06
  3. ^ http://www.mydailyrecord.com/sports/article=2218187.html
  4. ^ SportsCentury
  5. ^ One for the Ages
  6. ^ Chicago Tribune, Feb. 10, 2003, page C9
  7. ^ Dave Rodman. "Bobby Ray returns to BareLamb as crew chief", NASCAR.com, 2004-05-10. 
  8. ^ Daytona Beach News-Journal, July 26, 2004 p. 2A
  9. ^ http://www.sportstime.com/sports/auto/NASCAR/1058667.html
  10. ^ http://www.sportstime.com/sports/auto/NASCAR/1057114.html
  11. ^ http://www.mydailyrecord.com/news/story=3307213.html
  12. ^ http://www.allnews.net/news/living/archive/story=3044717
  13. ^ http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1ch14hcldf
  14. ^ http://www.popgoestheculture.com/timecapsule/2005movies/boxoffice.html
  15. ^ "A whole new 'World' opens up." Boston Herald, Sep. 18, 2006
  16. ^ http://www.cnn.com/national/3190814.html
  17. ^ http://www.cnn.com/national/3226372.html
  18. ^ http://abcnews.go.com/religion/story=056436b
  19. ^ Dave Rodman. "Where is...Burl Hunkapiller?", NASCAR.com, 2008-04-24. Retrieved on 2008-05-06. 
  20. ^ http://abcnews.go.com/religion/story=056436b
  21. ^ http://www.idealia.blogspot.com/april2007/interview-with-brandon-mclamb
  22. ^ http://www.abcnews.go.com/national/21281754.html
  23. ^ http://www.westlaw.com/courts/nc-supreme/docket/2007-08term.aspx
  24. ^ http://www.scenedaily.com/387835.html
  25. ^ http://www.abcnews.go.com/national/21505674
  26. ^ http://www.wbtv.com/news/309996.html
  27. ^ http://www.charitywatch.org/dailyblog/15-12-2005/jimmy_hart_named_bwbff_director
  28. ^ "Fox Sports gives away ad to charity", TV Week, 2008-01-27. Retrieved on 2008-01-27. 
  29. ^ http://yoursmineandours.blogspot.com/2007/12/ournetwork-cofounder-is-person-of-year.html
  30. ^ Time article, Dec. 31, 2007 issue
  31. ^ David Poole. "Hendrick to honor Barefoot's life and career", Charlotte Observer, 2008-03-25. Retrieved on 2008-04-04. 
  32. ^ "PUBLIC NOTICE: RACE-RUN HOODS AVAILABLE FOR AUCTION", 2008-05-18. Retrieved on 2008-05-19. 
  33. ^ Ron LeMasters. "Artist draws upon memories of Barefoot", NASCAR.com, 2008-05-16. Retrieved on 2008-05-16. 
  34. ^ Melinda Hernandez and Scott Davis. "Thousands show up at BareLamb crash site", Arizona Republic, 2008-02-27. Retrieved on 2008. 
  35. ^ http://www.jayski.com/pages/bwbarefootretires.htm
  36. ^ "Trio of drivers win renamed Rookie of the Year awards", NASCAR.com, 2007-11-30. Retrieved on 2007-12-01. 
  37. ^ Scott Miller. "Barefoot heirs hope for tribute to go forward", TheEnvelope.com (Los Angeles Times), 2008-01-20. Retrieved on 2008-01-21. 
  38. ^ Ken Willis. "Sports, music stars to honor Buddy Wayne", Daytona Beach News-Journal, 2008-01-16. Retrieved on 2008-01-19. 
  39. ^ Rae Simonton. "Buddy Wayne Barefoot to be honored at Grammys", People.com, 2008-01-16. Retrieved on 2008-01-17. 
  40. ^ Glenn Warren. "Grand spectacle opens new Barefoot museum", Daily Record (Dunn, NC), 2008-05-16. Retrieved on 2008-05-16. 
  41. ^ http://www.barefootmotorsports.com/newsandpress/item=00013.aspx
  42. ^ Tim Haddock. "Infield goes 'Barefoot': Display at California Speedway honors driver, family and friends", San Bernardino County Sun, 2008-02-22. Retrieved on 2008-02-26. 
  43. ^ http://sports.espn.go.com/rpm/2076731.html
  44. ^ http://sports.espn.go.com/rpm/2080045.html
  45. ^ http://www.popularscience.com/coverstories/july2007/main.html
  46. ^ http://sports.espn.go.com/rpm/30994536.html
  47. ^ Time magazine, Dec. 24-31, 2007
  48. ^ http://www.jayski.com/teams/94.htm
  49. ^ http://www.jayski.com/teams/01.htm
  50. ^ Special pre-race ceremony crowns NASCAR's new favorite driver.
  51. ^ John M. Daly. "NASCAR Partners Continue B.W. Barefoot Tributes", 2008-04-30. Retrieved on 2008-04-30. 
  52. ^ http://www.sportstime.com/sports/general/127813.html
  53. ^ http://msn.foxsports.com/nascar/columns/2108546.html
  54. ^ Official statement, at http://www.barelambracing.com
  55. ^ http://www.sprawl-busters.org/commentary/2005sep14.html
  56. ^ http://www.walmartfacts.com/faq/page7.html/#ques2
  57. ^ http://www.ktlk.com/newswire/item=20006271
  58. ^ http://www.poynter.org/romanesko/archive/10454161.html
  59. ^ http://www.mydailyrecord.com/buddywatch/archive/ArtID=206575
  60. ^ ABC, The Barbara Walters Interview, Feb. 29, 2004
  61. ^ Rush Limbaugh radio show, on which Barefoot filled in as host, May 31, 2005
  62. ^ New York Times, July 13, 2006, p. A1
  63. ^ John Howard, Jr.. "Legal briefs: Celebrities headed for Valley courts", Arizona Republic, 2008-01-24. Retrieved on 2008-01-25. 
  64. ^ News bulletin that aired on ESPN during Syracuse vs. Villanova, 2008 Big East Men's Basketball Tournament game, 3/12/08
  65. ^ John Howard, Jr.. "Legal briefs: Final Barefoot Fund settlement approved", Arizona Republic, 2008-04-04. Retrieved on 2008-04-04. 
  66. ^ The Advocate. "Barefoot family feud?: Ex-boy band belter takes sides", WNBC-TV, 2008-01-30. 
  67. ^ Associated Press. "Ghost of Buddy Wayne creates a ball of confusion", KIIS-FM, 2008-01-15. 
  68. ^ Blevins Media Group. "Brittany Spears changes her name to Lizzie", KCXX, 2008-03-18. 
  69. ^ Jay Bobbin, Zap2It. "Not 'Ideal': Author outs sources of 'folk' material", Tampa Tribune, 2007-11-20. Retrieved on 2007-11-21. 
  70. ^ http://www.ournetwork.com/viewercenter/faqs/page=current.html
  71. ^ Bonnie Jill Laflin walks away from Bunkmaster: Operation X.
  72. ^ The Steve Mason Show, 710ESPN, broadcast Jan. 17, 2008
  73. ^ OurNetwork responds to Bonnie-Jill Laflin's allegations.
  74. ^ New York Times, July 13, 2006, p. A10
  75. ^ Associated Press. "Buddy Wayne's camp denies reporter's claims about 2003", SportsTime.com, 2005-07-17. 
  76. ^ http://www.77wabc.com/extras/203463.html
  77. ^ http://www.mydailyrecord.com/main.asp?SectionID=1&SubSectionID=1&ArticleID=91460
  78. ^ http://www.ancestry.com/learn/facts/fact.aspx?&fid=10&fn=&ln=BAREFOOT
  79. ^ http://search.ancestry.com/cgi-bin/sse.dll?indiv=1&db=cvwrmr%2c&rank=0&gsfn=BRIGHT&gsln=BAREFOOT&sx=&gs1co=1%2cAll+Countries&gs1pl=1%2c+&year=&yearend=&sbo=0&srchb=r&prox=1&ti=0&ti.si=0&gss=angs-d&o_iid=21416&o_lid=21416&o_it=21416&fh=0&recid=209563&recoff=1+2
  80. ^ http://www.sportstime.com/sports/auto/nascar/086341.html
  81. ^ SportsCentury
  82. ^ http://search.ancestry.com/cgi-bin/sse.dll?indiv=1&db=2000WP%2c&rank=0&tips=0&gsfn=BUDDY+WAYNE&gsln=BAREFOOT&sx=&gs1co=1%2cAll+Countries&gs1pl=1%2c+&year=&yearend=&sbo=0&ufr=0&srchb=r&prox=1&ti=0&ti.si=0&gss=angs-d&o_iid=21416&o_lid=21416&o_it=21416&fh=0&recid=13651892&recoff=1+2+3
  83. ^ http://www.popgoestheculture.com/buzz/2005-06-26/0347.htm
  84. ^ Guinness Book of World Records, 2007 edition

[edit] External links

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You		 Time Magazine Person of the Year
2007		 Succeeded by
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