POWERGRAMS

35 George Barber's brainchild seemed at best a pipe dream. The former race car champ and Barber's Dairies chairman wanted to create a world-class track and museum in his hometown of Birmingham, which brought raised eyebrows from even the most optimistic listeners. Fast-forward nearly 20 years and expectations have been exceeded for virtually everyone but Barber, whose vision for the park and museum consistently raises the bar. Not only is the car and bike collection certified by the Guinness Book of World Records as the largest, but the 2.38-mile track is home to the Honda Indy Grand Prix and the Porsche Sport Driving School. "The track is rarely ever cold," says Communications Manager Kelly Stewart. "There are very few days a person can go out on the pedestrian bridge and not see cars or motorcycles circling." Construction seems to never stop, with the 14-acre Barber Proving Grounds used by Mercedes-Benz employees opening in 2014 and an 85,000-square-foot expansion of the nonprofit museum in 2016. The 880- acre park is considered by USA Today and other media as Alabama's top tourist attraction. Barber's championship concept has brought some 4 million visitors to Leeds' doorstep, and though the park is technically outside the city limits, local hotels, restaurants and other businesses have been reaping the rewards since 2003. The park and museum have had an economic impact nearing $2 billion. After 63 wins driving Porsches in the 1960s, Barber dedicated the next couple of decades to the family business. But when he sold Barber Dairies, he bought back into his motorsports passion, soon restoring classic cars. In 1988, he shifted to motorcycles with his finish line being the world's "best and largest" collection. A decade later, Barber sent 21 of his bikes to New York's Guggenheim Museum for "The Art of the Motorcycle" exhibit that traveled to Chicago and Spain. Seeing the huge international reception, Barber set his sights on a museum back home. In 1994, the original Barber Vintage Motorsports Museum opened, then moved in 2003 to the Motorsports Park for the park's grand opening. Every day since, people have marveled at the buildings and grounds. Barber still comes to work every day working alongside the restoration staff, groundskeepers and foundation employees. "The park is so unlike other race tracks," Stewart says, walking through a forested area by a pond and waterfall. "The intent was to create a park that just so happened to have a race track and museum." There are no grandstands at Barber, only landscaping that slopes for prime viewing and picnics. Often called the "Augusta of Motorsports," the grounds include about 60 sculptures and other artwork, as well as a fake snake, Bigfoot and other faux animals to surprise and amuse guests. Garden clubs frequently come to Barbers just to tour the greenery. "So much attention to detail was taken, even down to Barber track, museum The Barber Museum is the largest motorcycle museum in the world, as certified by Guinness World Records. Above, Porsches in the paddock for driving school.

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