Barney Ward

Barney Ward (born April 17, 1987 in London, England) is an English-born race car driver who used to compete part-time in ARLA in the No. 92 Thunderline Motors Nemoto Celerox for Hotshot Racing.

Ward is notorious for being the first driver in a number of years to have his ARLA competitor's license revoked for poor driving (see below).

ARLA Elite Series


Ward had high hopes for his debut in the ARLA Elite Series, saying, "I am so excited about the upcoming ARLA season. The way the new cars have been designed is amazing, as my team has done a great job over pre-season working on my car and getting it prepared for my part-time year. If my part-time year goes well, I could be looking at a full-time drive with Hotshot Racing in 2013."

Ward made his ARLA debut in the 2012 MyCheese.com 250k at Road America. His first race went less than stellar, driving off-course on several occasions, spinning out in several others, and otherwise being a nuisance especially when he hit the back of Todd Stater's car in Station 5, drawing some attention from some of his fellow competitors. Yevgeny Kuznetsov was one of the most vocal, saying his team should put a trained bear in the car for their future races, adding, "Maybe, bear would drive better."

Greg Woodard, though, had a different opinion, saying that "he (Ward) hadn't had much experience driving and testing out the ARLA cars of today."

Ward then didn't make a very good reputation of himself in his next race at the Smash Beer 400. Shortly after a restart on Lap 40, he made rather a reckless move by pushing up into Kevin Monroe and getting together with him coming out of Turn 2, collecting several drivers that needed some good runs. Ward then got into an accident on lap 46 again shortly after a restart but he was not the cause of it this time around. After the race, he made an apology to several drivers for causing the accident and then made it public by posting another apology on Twitter.

Buffalo Downs: The last straw
Already on thin ice with the ARLA officialdom, Ward's third and final race, at the Yellowstone 150 at Buffalo Downs, would be no better. Though he suffered a mechanical issue early in the going, it was the incident he triggered on Lap 45 in Race 2 that would be his last. Ward drifted up the track and made contact with Patrick Henderson, sending Henderson back down the track in Ward into the wall tail-first. While spinning, Ward made contact with the No. 86X car of Mac Rhylen, sending Rhylen into traffic and taking out a number of other cars.

Ward would be immediately summoned to Race Control, where the stewards promptly stripped him of his competitors' license pending satisfactory completion of a single-car testing program. Reaction from his fellow drivers was one primarily of relief, as Leslie Riggs said, "The worst driver here can keep the car in a straight line sometimes. The 92 can't even do that."

Ward then decided to step down as team owner of Hotshot Racing, which means that he will not to return to racing anytime soon. He has also stated that even if he does get his competitors' license reinstated, he says he will not return to racing anytime soon.