Lee Clark Interview

[MickOpalak]

In preparation for LOG 29 next May a series of articles are being published in ReMarque, the club newsletter of Lotus Limited, the national Lotus Club. I'll be reproducing them here for those who are not yet members of Lotus Limited but are interested in LOG 29.

LEE CLARK AND THE TIME MACHINES

Though the title of this article may sound like a lead-in to a “Where are they NOW” about a late 60's pop group who have spent their fortunes, lost their relevance, and the former front man now works in an automotive shop, its actually about a car collection and its mother hen who did once work in an automotive shop and who, come to think of it, still does. What waits inside the Barber Vintage Motorsports Museum is an amazing collection of Time Machines which can transport you back to the formative days of road racing and then, through its ultra modern surroundings, snap you back into present reality then send your mind daydreaming about the automotive future.

One item for the LOG 29 attendee “must do” list at Barber Vintage Motorsports Museum is to track down Lee Clark for a chat.

Lee is officially the Assistant Manager of the Museum but it takes a bit more in depth look to comprehend the length and breadth and depth of his involvement in the development and operation of the Barber Motorsports Park and Vintage Museum. Lee is the former owner of a Machine Shop in Birmingham and, judging from his clientele of old timers from NASCAR’s “Alabama Gang”, Drag Racers, and Sports Car Racers, (including present boss George Barber), Lee had one of the best machine shops in town.

Lee is himself a car guy and has long been involved in collecting everything from Alfa's to Porsche's. Today his personal collection includes a 96 Carrera, a 71 911T, a 72 BMW and two Alfa Romeo's including a 69 boat tail and a GTV. Though Lee never raced himself he spent many of his teen years hanging out at Road Atlanta and later was involved in Vintage Motorcycle Racing. One thing that Lee Clark doesn't have in his own collection...yet... is a LOTUS. Prior to a few years ago Lee didn't have a great deal of knowledge about the Marque. All that has changed dramatically and Lee's world will never be the same.

Lee is a truly nice guy with a reassuring self confidence and vast knowledge of cars, racing, and Barber Vintage Motorsports Museum. What Lee Clark's very Generic “Assistant Manager” title doesn't disclose is that he is the overseer of the entire operation of the Barber LOTUS Collection. When Lee came on full time with the museum he sold his machine shop and began a journey in educating himself in all things LOTUS. George Barber, the museum’s founder, had a serious racing history but mostly driving Porsche cars in the 60's and 70's. Once the car collection began to take shape, the much more affordable Lotus racers made more economic sense for the museum budget. Lee now laughs at the apprehension he felt in the early days at the idea of scouring the world of international auctions and collections up for sale and the occasional “barn find” in order to spend someone else money. I suppose the only thing more disturbing with the scant knowledge Lee had at the time would have been to be spending his own.

Today the Barber LOTUS Collection numbers 42 and counting. Most are displayed on the main floor of the Museum to the right of the entrance looking like a field of LOTUS flowers, or perhaps more like a nicely arraigned spill of jelly beans in every color of the rainbow...especially green and yellow. Lee has turned down as many if not more cars than he has bought. The reason is sometimes obvious. Many Replicas are sold these days and some cars have so much racing ‘history’ that little remains of the original besides the factory plate. “What we are looking for is Time Capsules, cars with a rich and verified race history”. LOTUS cars certainly have the history to celebrate.

The Barber collection, under the watchful eye of George Barber and in the capable hands of Lee Clark, has become one of the most celebrated collections of the Marque and the most significant this side of the Atlantic. Most amazing of all is that the collection is only getting started. Lee’s office is a tidy mess of manuals and memorabilia along with event and auction guides and some very interesting shelve brackets made from quartered LOTUS wheels (which I forgot to ask about). Though it is an inside office he has a window to the world of LOTUS so he can peer across some of the collection and keep an eye on the working restoration shop housed a few feet away.

Lee does have help these days, though for many years it was a one man operation. His job description continues to develop and besides his busy schedule of daily operations and VIP tours Lee also helped with the development of the Track, which, by the way, is in expansion mode. He also lovingly restores and maintains the entire collection in running condition, handles the display and exhibition of cars at the museum and elsewhere, and attends functions such as the Monterey and Goodwood Festivals. Tough, but someone has to. (Lee also has to give cars in the collection the occasional workout on the track.) There are a few other cars in the Barber collection besides LOTUS. Actually there are more than a few so those help keep Lee busy as well

Lee says his personal favorite is actually a car from each era as Colin Chapman continued to be one of the most innovative engineers in racing, especially F1. What ideas were not original with Chapman, he soon improved upon and made competitive and winning innovations. Lee loves the early aerodynamic cars like the LOTUS 72 which set the stage for today’s wind tunnel designs and marvels of aeronautical engineering. The greatest tool the engineers of Chapman's day had was their imagination. Today engineering is much more a point and click affair. For the middle years Lee loves the 49 and for the early years the simple beauty of LOTUS 25. He has many of the early open wheel cars set up on “scud missile launchers”, noses pointing to the sky looking like the fuselages of time capsules aimed to the future.

The future is much of what the Barber Vintage Motorsports Museum and Park is about. It is the largest philanthropic investment ever in Alabama and is a World Class and Globally renowned statement of the love of machines, speed and the art of design. The Museum is a celebration of automotive history and those who helped to shape it.

LOG 29 is the chance for LOTUS lovers to celebrate the rich history of the marque and to enjoy the cars we love in a most unique setting...the “Augusta of Racetracks”. For those who have never been before you are in for a treat as you discover the park like atmosphere of the facility with its manicured hills and landscape mixed with sculpture and a growing race history. Many motorcycle events are held at the track annually and a new motocross track is in development. You can see the display of over a thousand motorcycles in the museum from manufacturers around the world (think I forgot to mention the motorcycles in the museum but you will notice them once inside.)

For those attending LOG 29 who have been to Barber Motorsports Park before or perhaps attended LOG 24, you will be amazed to see the growth and expansion of the facility and the collection. You will not be disappointed. The facility now hosts the most attended Grand Am race in the country with over 40,000 spectators in attendance in 2008 . The Track continues, through the management of ZOOM Motorsports, to expand its racing schedule to include some of the most competitive series in two and four wheeled racing. There is even talk of an IRL event.

So it is with a hearty Southerly Hospitable greeting that the Barber Motorsports Park Staff, especially Lee Clark, and the members of the Alabama Lotus Club WELCOME you to LOG 29 and Barber Motorsports Park. Don't forget to look Lee Clark up and sit down for a very informative conversation.

Story by Tommy Littleton

[badhorse]

If You have the chance to visit the museum please do. Being a Lotus and a motorcycle enthusiast I could have spent a week in there. The staff was friendly and enthusiastic. Great place, great track.