past present future

Meet Barry…the other Callavini

By Gene Ostrowski
August, 2006

From underneath a tractor trailer at Specialty Vehicle Services (SVS), to towing a demolished camper down I-80 to the impound yard with a D&B Towing wrecker, Hazleton's Barry Callavini not only has his hands full owning and operating two businesses, he also manages to spend time doing what he truly enjoys in life- racing.

Long before Joe Callavini took the controls of Mountain Speedway in St. Johns, he enjoyed heading to the track to check out the competition, as did his son, Barry. In 1994 Barry decided that he was through with working on his buddies cars in the pits and watching from the grandstands, he had to go racing! With only twelve starts in the then thriller division (currently street stocks), the young Callavini amassed five top 10 finishes, along with 2 top fives and a heat race win. Although he didn't win a feature event (yet), Callavini was determined to return as a full time driver the following season.

Callavini's first career win came in '95, and he followed it up with two more victories by the end of the season, which included the non-points race open competition show. Along with finishing fourth in the overall thriller point standings, Callavini was also named "Rookie of the Year" in the division.

The following season was a banner year for Callavini, as he romped the field with seven feature wins. With not quite the consistency as his rival and current three-time modified champion, Brian Defebo, Callavini pulled off a second place finish in the overall thriller points. However, Callavini still looked forward to making the champion speech at the season ending banquet.

With the return to the thriller division in '97, again, Callavini came out of the box in hot pursuit of the crown. Although he missed a race during the season, Barry managed to grab five victories, which tied him for wins on the all -time win list in the division with fifteen. With plans to possibly move up in ranks sometime, he purchased a late model and ran a handful of shows.

Still looking for the elusive championship, Callavini started off the '98 campaign with a bang by winning the first two shows of the season. Ironically, the first was called due to rain, so when the two features were run on the same day, he cashed in big time. Also, counting the last two straight wins at the end of his previous season, Callavini had won four straight races! Domination and consistency were key words during that year. The team not only won nine times, but set many records along the way, which included six consecutive feature wins. Callavini didn't only make the champion's speech at the banquet, but also found himself having the most career wins in the division(formerly thriller division). He still holds the record to date with twenty-four wins in the street stock division since the track reopened back in 1988.

Callavini became a serious title contender for the late model championship in 2000, but again, finished off the season as the runner-up to Barry Gommer. However, he visited victory lane five times during the season, which was definitely something to boast about. After racing for so many years, Callavini took some time off to enjoy his son, Nikolas and also to spend time managing his business.

After a long break, Callavini returned to Mountain Speedway as a full time driver in 2005. He did miss a few shows, but still managed to finish sixth in the late model standings and had five top 5's, along with thirteen top 10's that helped him do so. At the end of the season, Callavini decided to put a FOR SALE sign on the late model and he purchased a very used street stock for '06.

With plenty of work ahead, Callavini tweaked on his street stock weekly and so far has a season best finish of second. "The car has come a long way since the beginning of the season. We work on it weekly, and now that it's competitive, we're just playing with set ups", noted Barry. Although the driver missed a number of shows this year, he still sits twelfth in points in one of the speedway's most competitive divisions.

Although the driver loves the divisions he's raced so far, Callavini has yet to debut the modified he's been planning to debut this season. "I've never raced one before (modified), but heard it's great", he said. "The tires are so wide and as long as the handling's there, the car should fly. I just can't wait". Callavini should have his modified out to the track before their annual "Big Dog 100" lap event, which is scheduled for August 27th.

Sometimes in the shadow of Mountain Speedway promoter (Joe Callavini), Barry has prevailed as a winning race car driver and champion. Although busy with his businesses, Callavini still holds racing dear to his heart and still has a number of track records to reflect on. When he makes his modified debut and people ask about the #4, just tell them "It's Barry, the other Callavini".

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