It’s not as if Barcia hasn’t won before; he won Southwick last summer, and won Toronto this year, but his other finishes this year? Three thirds, a fourth, a fifth, and an 18th. And none of them were genuinely close to wins.
But when the gate dropped in St. Louis for the final round of the Lites East, Barcia exploded, and no one could do anything about it. No one could explain it, either. He won by over 15 seconds (in a 15-lap race), which wouldn’t be all that surprising except that he was an unspectacular seventh overall in Lites qualifying and third in his heat race.
So what happened when the gate dropped for the race that mattered?
No one really knows. I’m not even sure if Barcia knows, because if he did, you’d think he could duplicate it every weekend – or even in the heat race that night, or during practice. So, for now, his fans just have to take comfort in the fact that on any given weekend, he can win. And his rivals and competitors have to come to grips with it as well.
