Robert “Bootie” Barker Joins Joe Gibbs Racing ARCA Program

Veteran crew chief "Bootie" Barker will be moving to the ARCA Racing Series presented by Menards in 2018. He will join Joe Gibbs Racing, where he will crew chief for Riley Herbst in his sophomore season in the ARCA Series. The 2017 ARCA SCOTT Rookie of the Year returns to the series after an impressive 2017 season. Barker had previously served as the crew chief for Germain Racing in the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series. Barker had spent time at Germain since 2009 but following the 2017 season, the two decided to part ways.

“This is an incredible opportunity for me and I am incredibly grateful to join the team here at Joe Gibbs Racing,” said Barker in the ARCA release. “I am just getting to know Riley and from what I can tell, he is a great kid with an unlimited amount of potential. We obviously want to win the championship this year, but we have a goal of improving each and every day.”

Herbst made his ARCA Racing Series presented by Menards debut last April in Nashville where he finished seventh. Herbst went on to earn his first career victory at Pocono in June and followed that up with five top-ten finishes. Next Saturday, Herbst will make his debut at the Daytona International Speedway after he wasn't old enough to compete. He finished eight at Talladega last season in his superspeedway debut.

“I am super excited to have “Bootie” Barker come on board with the No. 18 team this year,” said Herbst. “He is going to bring a tremendous amount of experience that this team can use to assist our program. It is amazing to see what he has accomplished over his career and I am thrilled to work alongside him. Heading into my second year, I believe that we will be competing for the ARCA Series title in 2018." (Koelle,2018)

Photo Credit - Christian Koelle/CCK Photography