Publication: NASCAR News
Barrett and Crew Devastated | |
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NASCAR NEWS - Thursday, July 3, 2008
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Loss leaves Barrett, crew racing with heavy hearts
Car chief Arden killed in Thursday automobile accident
By David Caraviello, NASCAR.COM
LOUDON, N.H. - Stanton Barrett's qualifying speed for
Saturday's Nationwide Series race wasn't as fast as he
had hoped. But it was easy to understand why his thoughts
might have been far away from New Hampshire Motor Speedway.
Barrett and the rest of his No. 30 Ski Motorsports team
were rocked Thursday with the news that car chief Jason
Arden had been killed in an early-morning automobile
accident near Mooresville, N.C. Although details of the
accident were not available Saturday, a team representative
indicated that the 28-year-old from Gurnee, Ill., over-
corrected after running off the road and slammed into a
ditch. But there was no doubting the impact the news had
on mechanics and crewmen in both the Nationwide and Sprint
Cup garage areas.
"This is a very tight-knit community. Regardless of whether
or not you know people, you're around them, and you see
everybody in the garage every week," said Barrett, who had
been close friends with Arden. "Even though they may not
be on your team or you may not know them, they're kind of
a family member in the community. I think those kinds of
losses are widespread. It impacts everyone a little bit."
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That much was clear Saturday. Arden had previously worked
at Robby Gordon Motorsports and Michael Waltrip Racing,
and left behind many friends. Barrett said Arden had been
living with Erik Darnell, a Craftsman Truck Series driver
at Roush Fenway Racing. Chris Hall, a front-end mechanic
with Waltrip's team, had been Arden's roommate last year.
The call with the tragic news came early Thursday morning.
"I got a phone call at like 6:46 Thursday morning. People
don't call at 6.45 on your day off. It gives me chills
just thinking about it," Hall said.
"He was a great, spirited guy. He was always smiling, a
hard worker. The best word I can use to describe him is
motivated, no matter what we did. He loved working on
racecars. He had aspirations of eventually owning his own
business and stuff. He always smiled. No matter what the
situation was, he smiled all the time."
Hall remembered Arden coming to the track in his special
"rain shoes" last year, to try and save the Waltrip team
the effort of qualifying once they had fallen outside the
top 35 in owner points. Barrett can relate.
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"I was going through all of my pictures last night, a few
of the memorial cards and things, and in every picture you
see, you see him with a smile on his face," he said. "He
loved to live. He enjoyed playing video games, he enjoyed
playing pool, he enjoyed walking down the street, he
enjoyed talking to a random person, he enjoyed working on
the racecar, whatever it was ... It wasn't about success,
it was about doing what he enjoyed and living life and
being around friends that meant something to him. Yeah,
I think everybody will remember a smile on his face, and
I know I will for sure."
Barrett's No. 30 carried a small black and white sticker
honoring Arden just above the driver's side window. Flyers
with a picture of Arden and information on a Monday after-
noon memorial service at the Waltrip shop have been posted
around both Nationwide and Sprint Cup garage areas. In
lieu of flowers, donations are being sought via the Web
site 4caring.org to help the family pay for funeral costs.
"There's not much you can do," Barrett said. "Condolences
and prayers, and that's all. You've got to keep moving on,
do your best and pay attention. It might be your last day,
or someone else's. I'd like to remind people to think about
how they treat somebody. It may be the last time you say
a word to them. Life's too short to not be happy and
passionate about what you do and to treat people the best
you know how."
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But moving forward isn't easy for the Ski Motorsports team.
Arden was the team's chief organizer and behind-the-scenes
leader, Barrett said. The racetrack brings long, solitary
stretches in the motor home, and ever-present reminders of
his lost friend.
"I'm happy I got to be a part of his life, I'm happy I got
to be in a racecar. I'm going to try and have fun because
that's what he'd want," Barrett said. "The last thing he'd
want is you mourning around about him. I'd feel more guilty
if I didn't try to enjoy myself and give my best to my crew
and do my best in the racecar. That's all you can do. It's
hard not to think about it. You're going to think about it."
So is Will Lynn, a mechanic who met Arden years ago when
the two worked on dirt cars and followed him into NASCAR's
upper levels.
"Probably one of the hardest things I've ever had to do was
walk through those gates this weekend, but he wouldn't have
wanted it any other way," Lynn said. "... He would have
definitely made a good crew chief down the road. It's just
hard to lose somebody like that."
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