 | Thisbiography of a living personneeds additionalcitations forverification. Please help by addingreliable sources.Contentious material about living persons that is unsourced orpoorly sourcedmust be removed immediately from the article and its talk page, especially if potentiallylibelous. Find sources: "Skip Barber" – news ·newspapers ·books ·scholar ·JSTOR(December 2020) (Learn how and when to remove this message) |
| Born | (1936-11-16)November 16, 1936 (age 89) Philadelphia,Pennsylvania, United States |
|---|---|
| Formula One World Championship career | |
| Nationality |  American |
| Active years | 1971 –1972 |
| Teams | PrivateerMarch |
| Entries | 6 (5 starts) |
| Championships | 0 |
| Wins | 0 |
| Podiums | 0 |
| Careerpoints | 0 |
| Pole positions | 0 |
| Fastest laps | 0 |
| First entry | 1971 Monaco Grand Prix |
| Last entry | 1972 United States Grand Prix |
John "Skip" Barber III (born November 16, 1936) is an American retired racecar driver who is most famous for previously owning and founding theSkip Barber Racing Schools.
Barber started racing in 1958 while studying atHarvard University, where he earned a degree in English.
In the mid-1960s, he won threeSCCA national championships in a row and finished third in the 1967United States Road Racing Championship. Later, Barber won consecutive Formula Ford National Championships (1969 and 1970), a record tied only recently.
At the start of the 1971 season he purchased a March 711, which he planned to take back to the United States and race in the U.S.Formula 5000 series. Before he did so, he took part in theMonaco Grand Prix,Dutch Grand Prix,United States Grand Prix, andCanadian Grand Prix in a privately fundedMarch. He returned to the U.S. and Canadian races in 1972. After that, he raced GT cars.
When his racing career ended, Barber's belief that auto racing was "coachable" in the same manner as any other sport—at the time, a distinctly minority position—led him to create the eponymously named racing school, and a year later the equal-car race series.
In 1975, with two borrowed Lola Formula Fords and four students, Barber started the Skip Barber School of High Performance Driving. In 1976 it was renamed the "Skip Barber Racing School", and that same year he created the Skip Barber Race Series. Barber divested from the racing school in 1999.[1]
Barber was the owner and operator ofLime Rock Park, a road-racing venue in Connecticut. In April 2021 he sold the facility to Lime Rock Group, LLC. He maintains a minority stake. He lives in the nearby town ofSharon, Connecticut with wife Judy.
Barber was inducted into theSCCA Hall of Fame on March 2, 2013.[2]
Barber was inducted into theMotorsports Hall of Fame of America in 2025.
| Year | Track | Car | Engine | Class | Finish | Start | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1969 | Daytona | Caldwell D9 | Ford Kent | Formula Ford | 1 | 20 | Running |
| 1970 | Road Atlanta | Tecno | Ford Kent | Formula Ford | 1 | 4 | Running |
| 1971 | Road Atlanta | Tecno | Ford | Formula B | 1 | 3 | Running |
(key)
| Year | Entrant | Chassis | Engine | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | WDC | Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1971 | Gene Mason Racing | March711 | CosworthV8 | RSA | ESP | MON DNQ | NED NC | FRA | GBR | GER | AUT | ITA | CAN Ret | USA NC | NC | 0 | |
| 1972 | Gene Mason Racing | March711 | CosworthV8 | ARG | RSA | ESP | MON | BEL | FRA | GBR | GER | AUT | ITA | CAN NC | USA 16 | NC | 0 |
(key) (Races inbold indicate pole position)
| USAC Championship Car results | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Year | Team | Chassis | Engine | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | Pos. | Pts | ||||||||||||||
| 1974 | Crower Engineering | Eagle | Chevrolet | ONT 15 | ONT | ONT 32 | PHX | TRE | INDY | MIL | POC | MCH | MIL | MCH | TRE | TRE | PHX | NC | 0 | ||||||||||||||