The Arete Awards, a national recognition program for people showing extraordinary courage in sports, includes a racing flavor this year. Bootie Barker, a former NASCAR Winston Cup Series crew chief, is one of several nominees for the 2003 Arete Awards. The ceremony, which airs Sunday evening, Nov. 30, on CBS, is sponsored in part by Nextel, which opens 2004 as the new title sponsor of NASCARs premier series. Barker currently is on leave of absence from Jasper Motorsports, which fields Dave Blaneys No. 77 team. He will join Haas Automation as the NASCAR Busch Series crew chief for driver Jason Leffler.(NASCAR PR)(11-15-2003)
