Tony Durbin

Tony Durbin (born May 24th, 1979) is an American race car driver from Dallas, Texas. He is most famous for his career in the TM Master Cup Series with Team Saar USA, where he won the 2007 Driver's Championship and the 2018 Independent's Trophy. He will return to the Master Cup Series in 2019, competing for his own team, New Liberty Racing, after purchasing the assets of Katzev Engineering.

Durbin's return to Master Cup follows a stint in the revived American Stock Car Championship, where he won two championships. He is infamous for his controversial views on the increased international profile of the Master Cup series is recent years, as well as for his rivalry with former champion Alexis Rainsford.

Early Life
Durbin's father, David, was a TM Master Cup Series champion driving the #49 Saar for National Racing, which is the ancestor of today's Team Saar USA. The younger Durbin recalled being in the pits for some of his father's races with big dreams of a career of his own.

2006
After a few years with the team, he left Gazelle Motorsports. He was offered a drive with JC Racing, where he would be a teammate to hotshot rookie Alexis Rainsford. During initial testing for JC Racing and its brand new Calton-Morel car, Durbin suspected Rainsford had sexual relations with one of the team owners, causing her to be a de facto number one driver. His beliefs were cemented by how easily Rainsford got along with the team owners and by the team admitting that Rainsford's car and Durbin's car were different for research and development purposes. He brought his concerns to the public and abruptly left the team, saying he didn't believe in team orders and was not interested in being subordinate to Rainsford, who was at the team "for all the wrong reasons".

Rainsford was only supposed to run on a limited schedule, but with Durbin's sudden departure, she was thrown into Durbin's full-time slot.

He was eventually picked up by his father's team, run by Peter Keyes and his brother, Dennis. Durbin took over the #16 car which had belonged to George Dennis for the past 5 years, but at his insistence, the car was renumbered to 49 in honor of his father.

Durbin's feud with Rainsford re-ignited during the 2006 Round of Peoria where Rainsford triggered a crash that swept up Durbin and teammate Steve Marshall. Durbin was furious during interviews, saying that Rainsford had no business in the TM Master Cup Series. Rainsford's apparent response to Durbin's comments came during the Round of France two races later, where she suddenly veered to the right, and ran Durbin off the road, sending him on a one-way trip through the grass, into a tire wall, and out of the race. Once again, Durbin was not pleased.

The Rainsford-Durbin feud went under the radar in comparison to the feud between Steve Marshall and Ian Cooper, since Durbin and Rainsford did not get into any further incidents in public for the rest of the season. The two reportedly exchanged a few shots on-track at some of the short ovals. It would, however, become the chief rivalry in the series after Cooper lost his drive with National Racing prior to the last race of the season.

Durbin seldom got involved in the constant feud between his teammates Marshall and Cooper, and was often times benefited from their mishaps. Durbin wound up 6th in the championship in 2006 after taking two wins but was not fast enough on the road courses or short tracks to capitalize.

2007
He took two wins in 2007 at Peoria and Texas en route to his first, and to date only, TM Master Cup Series title.

2012
Durbin defected from full-time driving in the Master Cup Series after 2011 after expressing his concern with the increased global profile of the series and the resulting flow of new foreign drivers, teams, and manufacturers; he believed that this resulted in decreased opportunities for American drivers to participate in the series. Durbin now drives for Team Saar USA's American Stock Car Championship team, along with Ethan Everett, Nikki Curtis, and Travis Marshall.

Personal Life
Durbin has stated on a few occasions that he only wants to drive an American car. He regards Saar as "The ultimate American car... when you look at a Saar model, it doesn't matter if it's a muscle car, sedan, hatchback, or one of those rear-engined GT cars... you know it's an American car. Always white and blue, and always making sure you either drive one or have a look at the taillights." Durbin personally owns a 1969 Saar Jefferson, which has been updated with a new engine. Durbin takes this car drag racing occasionally.

Away from the track, Tony married his wife, Rebecca Dempsey, a model, during the summer of 2006. While still in the Master Cup Series, he was known to want to organize a Bible study group, along with then-teammate Ethan Everett.

Trivia

 * Cynon has stated that he closely based Tony Durbin's character on the persona of Tony Stewart; This is reflected in Durbin's pro-American beliefs and outspokenness. This connection was reinforced in 2014, when Bass Pro Shops became Durbin's sponsor.
 * Durbin was one of a few Master Cup drivers to have a 3D model made of their likeness, which appeared in the 2012 promotional video.