Barry F. Hess
Barry Hess is a nationally syndicated sports writer out of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. He has covered everything from high school sports to professional boxing and everything in between.
In the summer of 2004 he wrote an exclusive feature on Olympic Show Jumping and Olympian Kevin Babington.
Barry has also compiled a large portfolio of exclusive feature articles on a variety of both amateur and professional sports.
Barry can be reached at the email link below.
In the summer of 2004 he wrote an exclusive feature on Olympic Show Jumping and Olympian Kevin Babington.
Barry has also compiled a large portfolio of exclusive feature articles on a variety of both amateur and professional sports.
Barry can be reached at the email link below.
Contact Information
Articles by Barry F. Hess
June 29, 2007
Clam Chowder and Racing
With 10 races remaining before the Chase for the Nextel Cup field is set you can bet crew chiefs will be feverously writing in their notebooks this weekend in Loudon, New Hampshire, recording as much data as possible before returning in the fall for race one of NASCAR’s v...
June 22, 2007
Cruising in Wine Country
After two weeks in the old car the NASCAR Nextel Cup Series returns to the Car of Tomorrow as the circuit travels to Sonoma, California and the first of two road course tracks on the schedule, Infineon Raceway.
With a difficult combination of flat track racing, banked tu...
June 08, 2007
NASCAR Notebook
Triangle Tango
As the NASCAR community still mourns the passing of Bill France Jr., whom without it’s fair to say the sport as we currently know it would not exist, the Nextel Cup travels up I-76 from Dover to the Pennsylvania mountains of Pocono.
This time last season Denny...
June 01, 2007
Concrete Cavaliers
After one of the wildest finishes of the 2007 NASCAR Nextel Cup season last week in Charlotte the circuit travels to the Monster Mile at Dover International Raceway, where we last saw Jeff Burton and Matt Kenseth duke it out in one of the most competitive finishes of the year ...
May 18, 2007
Million Dollar Shootout
After just 11 races the 2007 NASCAR season is shaping up to be one of the most intense and competitive seasons the sport has ever seen.
From the introduction of the Car of Tomorrow, to the incredibly difficult qualifying sessions each week and some of the closest finis...
May 11, 2007
Lady in Black Attack
NASCAR returns to its roots this weekend at the famed Darlington Motor Speedway in not so sunny South Carolina.
With so much history richly embedded inside the Darlington gates NASCAR will roll out the Car of Tomorrow for the first time as the new era of racing takes on th...
May 04, 2007
NASCAR Notebook
Saturday Night Lights
After a weekend of white knuckle racing on the high banks of Talladega Super Speedway the NASCAR Nextel Cup travels to a much more driver friendly track in Richmond, Virginia.
It’s hard to find a driver, aside from maybe Jeff Gordon who has four consecut...
April 27, 2007
NASCAR Notebook: Talladega
Sweet Home Alabama
This weekend the NASCAR Nextel Cup circuit runs the second of four restrictor plate races, this time on the largest track in the sport, Talladega Super Speedway.
Over two and a half miles of high banking, high speeds and even higher emotions as 4...
April 13, 2007
NASCAR Notebook
Texas Rattlesnake
After taking last week off for Easter the NASCAR Nextel Cup returns for a 15 week stretch of bumper to bumper racing, this week making the first of two stops deep in the heart of Texas for a 500-mile drive at Texas Motor Speedway.
After two straight weeks in...
March 30, 2007
Navigating the Paperclip
After debuting the Car of Tomorrow on the high banks of Bristol last weekend NASCAR’s newest design will remain on the short track circuit this week as the Nextel Cup travels to the short track that races like a super speedway, Martinsville International Speedway.
With ...
March 23, 2007
NASCAR Notebook: Bristol
Tomorrow is Today
This weekend in the very heart of NASCAR-country, Bristol, Tennessee, the sport as we know it will drastically change when the much anticipated Car of Tomorrow finally becomes the Car of Today.
After years of research and development, not to mention...
March 16, 2007
NASCAR Notebook: Atlanta
Hot Laps in Hot-Lanta
After the glitz and glitter of Las Vegas the NASCAR Nextel Cup will travel down south to the Atlanta Motor Speedway and week four of the 2007 season.
Arriving at the fastest track on the schedule with a solid car will be vital for the 43-car fie...
March 09, 2007
NASCAR Notebook: Las Vegas
What Happens in Vegas, Stays in Vegas
After a week off the NASCAR Nextel Cup circuit heads due west for the first of 34 races over the next 35 weeks when they hit Las Vegas Motor Speedway.
And though the Car of Tomorrow is still two weeks away from its debut there ...
February 23, 2007
NASCAR Notebook: California
California Dreaming
After one of the wildest finishes in recent Daytona 500 history the NASCAR Nextel Cup circuit heads far west for a Sunday drive in the mountains of Fontana, California.
While much of NASCAR’s roots are firmly delved in Daytona more than a few d...
February 16, 2007
The Great American Race
The field is set, the seven days of pre-race festivities are coming to a close and in just 48 hours the running of the 49th Daytona 500 will be in full throttle.
After last Sunday’s pole qualifying, several practice sessions, the running of the Budweiser Shootout and ye...
February 09, 2007
NASCAR Notebook: Budweiser Shootout
Preseason Thunder
After over 100 days without the sounds of the engines roaring to life and air-guns zipping on pit road the 2007 NASCAR season is set to kick off this weekend with the annual Bud Shootout Saturday night followed by Daytona 500 qualifying on...
November 17, 2006
The Heat is On in Miami
NASCAR and championship weekend has finally arrived down in Homestead Miami and the Chase for the Nextel Cup has never been closer!
With all eyes on Jimmie Johnson and the No. 48 Lowe’s Chevy team only time and 267 nail biting laps will tell if he can hold on to the poi...
November 03, 2006
Texas Two-Step
With just three races remaining until the 2006 Nextel Cup champion is crowned the NASCAR Nextel Cup circuit prepares to travel to the ever-improving Texas Motor Speedway for what is sure to be a crucial stop in the 10-race Chase.
After loose lug nuts ruined his chances at both a...
October 27, 2006
Southern Comfort
Just when drivers, crew chiefs and fans alike all thought they had a pretty good grip on the 2006 Chase for the Nextel Cup…bang, Martinsville happened and everything you thought you knew was completely wiped out of the picture.
With just 99 points separating the first and eig...
October 20, 2006
Big Stakes on Small Track
As the field heads down the back stretch of the 2006 Chase the 10-driver field has just five races left to earn as many points as they can to win the coveted Nextel Cup.
And if Talladega is considered the wildcard of the Chase then Martinsville Speedway has to be con...
October 13, 2006
Under the Lights in Charlotte
Saturday night marks the halfway point in the 2006 Chase for the Nextel Cup and with arguably half the 10-driver field already close to being eliminated from title contention it will no doubt become a mad dash to make up as many points as possible in the only race ...
October 09, 2006
WARRINGTON, Pa- Every so often a team is given an opportunity to walk onto a football field and prove to everyone watching what they themselves have believed from day one of training camp…they are, indeed, as good as they say they are.
In this situation one of two scenarios unfold, either the team ...
October 07, 2006
Talladega Nights
After several Chasers left Kansas last weekend with a bad taste in their mouths the NASCAR Nextel Cup circuit travels to what has quickly become known as the wild-card race of the Chase for the Cup…Talladega Super Speedway.
If Dover is the Monster Mile and Darlington is the ...
October 02, 2006
ABINGTON, Pa- Kevin Morton waited 12 months for the opportunity to vindicate himself and the rest of an Abington Ghost team that watched a 10-point halftime lead against Pennridge helplessly slip into a 28-10 loss last season.
Four touchdown passes later and Morton, fresh off a separated shoulder t...
September 29, 2006
Follow the Yellow Brick Road
As we rapidly approach the third race of the 2006 Chase for the Nextel Cup racers and fans alike are still collectively trying to catch their breath after an exciting race at Dover left little to be desired last Sunday…not including the torrential downpour that caug...
September 22, 2006
Who Will Defeat the Monster Mile?
Despite the chances of looming thunderstorms the NASCAR Nextel Cup will travel to the Dover International Speedway this weekend for leg number two in the 10 race Chase for the Nextel Cup.
With the focus on the 10 racers locked into the Chase, week two is alrea...
September 20, 2006
ABINGTON, Pa- Huge.
That is the one adjective Abington football coach Tim Sorber continued to use in describing the Ghosts’ opening Suburban One League, National Conference game at Neshaminy this Thursday night.
After a long and strenuous off-season in which the Ghosts’ believed their 2006 campaig...
September 17, 2006
ABINGTON, Pa- One of the many fantastic scenes in the 1973 classic gangster film, The Godfather, is when the aging singer, Johnny Fontane, comes to Marlon Brando’s character for help after having a rough year.
Down on his luck and brought to tears by the unfortunate turn of events in his life F...
September 15, 2006
Chasing the Dream & A Championship
After 26 weeks of exciting racing, surprises around every turn and a whole lot of bumping and grinding the Chase for the 2006 NASCAR Nextel Cup is finally on.
With this week’s field in New Hampshire spread out between the 10 championship hopefuls and the oth...
September 13, 2006
ABINGTON- On the outside looking in the Abington football team appears to have more questions than answers heading into its week three confrontation with Northeast Philadelphia High School.
With junior quarterback Kevin Morton out of action for the next several weeks as he recuperates from a should...
September 11, 2006
I'd like to preface this piece by saying that while i have and always will have strong views in both areas I have never been one to preach my religous or political views onto others...it's just not who I am. But at the request of several friends and strangers I am posting the following column I wrot...
September 10, 2006
PLYMOUTH MEETING-There are dozens of individual battles that take place on a football field on any given play, the most important of which has to be the battle at the line of scrimmage.
Control the line of scrimmage and you have the ability to control the entire football game, a lesson the Abington...
September 08, 2006
The Final Countdown
For 25 weeks the drivers of the NASCAR Nextel Cup Series have been looking ahead at this Saturday night in Richmond as the their last opportunity to maneuver for position before the Chase for the Nextel Cup begins.
In what has been a rollercoaster year for more than one driv...
September 01, 2006
ABINGTON---Since last January the question on the minds of every coach and player involved with the Abington High School football program was exactly the same: How do we beat Central Bucks East in the first week of the regular season?
Three impressive touchdown drives, two forced turnovers on speci...
September 01, 2006
California Nights
If the pressure of making the Chase hasn’t caught up to the 11 drivers fighting for 10 positions yet, you can rest assured by the time the green flag waves at the California Speedway Sunday evening it will have hit them in full force.
With just two races until the field for t...
August 30, 2006
It is called the sophomore jinks.
Simply put, it’s the second year of an athlete’s career in which his progression or growth is stunted after enjoying a successful and often times unexpected first year.
The sophomore jinks has no boundaries and can blindside an athlete in most any sport before he ...
August 25, 2006
Thunder Valley is the Place to Be
There is no place on earth like Bristol Motor Speedway.
If the tremendous banking on the super short half mile track doesn’t wreck you, the thunderous bumping and grinding between the 43 car field certainly will.
Drivers up and down the field will be forced...
August 23, 2006
ABINGTON---For Abington football coach Tim Sorber the words success and football are synonymous.
Heading into his sixth year as head coach of the very team he played on as a high school athlete, Sorber finds himself in the longest drought of his football career without any sort of championship to c...
August 18, 2006
Motor City Madness
With the bright lights of Richmond and the Chevy Rock and Roll 400 in everyone’s sights the Nextel Cup heads to Michigan for the second time this year.
After a rain-shortened race back in June saw the checkered flag come out with just over half the race completed expect a he...
August 15, 2006
ABINGTON, Pa---There is an eerie silence as you walk through the vacant hallways of Abington Senior High School.
The large classrooms, library and cafeteria all sit unused on a hot and humid afternoon in August.
The floors are being prepared for a fresh coat of polish and the windows and doors ar...
August 11, 2006
Pressure Mounting at The Glen
With just five races remaining until the Chase for the Nextel Cup is set to begin some drivers will be all smiles this weekend heading into the Watkins Glen road course and many others will be counting each passing second, waiting to get as far away from the tough...
August 04, 2006
The Brickyard…Enough Said
This week saw record setting highs all over the country as temperatures rose to well over 100 degrees and while some relief is on its way expect temperatures to rise even higher Sunday afternoon as the NASCAR Nextel Cup hits the famed Indianapolis Motor Speedway for it...
July 21, 2006
Mountain Men
Despite a chance of heavy rain in the forecast the NASCAR Nextel Cup returns to the Pocono International Speedway this Sunday for the second time in just over a month and while thunder and lightening me be coming from the skies above there will be plenty on the unique two-mile tria...
July 14, 2006
Loud in Loudon
The last time the NASCAR Nextel Cup Series stopped at the New Hampshire Speedway for a weekend drive it ended with NASCAR officials warning every team to cool the aggressive driving or someone was going to miss the next race.
With just seven races until the Chase field is set do...
July 07, 2006
Windy City Showdown
As the NASCAR Nextel Cup circuit gets closer and closer to The Chase each race becomes more important, especially to those drivers outside the 400-point window.
Chicagoland Speedway is the site of this weeks race and if previous weeks have been any indicator of what to expe...
June 02, 2006
Monster Mile
They call it a monster for a reason and this Sunday all 43 drivers in NASCAR’s Nextel Cup circuit will be reminded once again exactly why Dover International Speedway is not only one of the most demanding tracks on the schedule but one of the most difficult to navigate as well.
Wi...
May 26, 2006
Here We Go Again
For the second weekend in a row NASCAR will race at the Lowe?s Motor Speedway, this time in the longest and most grueling race of the entire circuit, the Coca Cola 600.
If the newly paved track and the unique tires being used don?t get you the distance and strain a race like t...
May 18, 2006
A Night For the Stars
This Saturday night is the annual NASCAR All-Star Challenge at Lowe?s Motor Speedway and while every years is even more exciting than the last this year?s event is particularly compelling for several reasons.
Firstly, Saturday night marks the first time the Nextel Cup ha...
May 12, 2006
Darlington Nights
For the second straight week the NASCAR Nextel Cup circuit will race for the checkered flag under the lights, this time in Darlington. With a unique egg-like shape Darlington is like few other tracks on the schedule and as we have already seen in both Phoenix and Richmond makin...
May 05, 2006
Richmond Nights
As the NASCAR Nextel Cup circuit heads into Richmond, Virginia for the third short track race of the season there are more questions than answers.
Both Bristol and Martinsville left a bad taste in the mouths of many drivers while bad blood and heated arguments on pit road becam...
April 28, 2006
The Big One
Sunday the NASCAR circuit makes its second restrictor plate stop when the boys head down to Talladega Super Speedway.
If you thought Daytona was wild wait until the 43-car field comes trucking down the two-and-a-half mile super speedway at speeds and G-Forces unimaginable to most.
...
April 21, 2006
Under the Lights
After a week off for Easter Sunday the NASCAR circuit begins eight straight weeks of racing in Phoenix, Arizona under the lights Saturday night.
After a rough start with his new race team Kurt Busch has slowly but surly begun to claw his way back to the top of the Nextel Cup P...
April 17, 2006
With just one game remaining in the regular season the Philadelphia Flyers are preparing to enter the playoffs with more questions than they have answers for.
In fact, after 81 games the only certainty is the fact that Philadelphia has qualified for the post-season.
Who will they play in the fir...
April 07, 2006
Texas Two-Step
The last time Greg Biffle raced at Texas Motor Speedway he had visions of a Nextel Cup Championship in his head and the points lead to his credit midway through the fall race in Fort Worth.
A loose lug nut and one untimely pit stop later Biffile?s chances of winning his first cham...
April 05, 2006
The best way to describe the 2006 Philadelphia Phillies is a riddle wrapped inside an enigma surrounded by a mystery.
In years past it was easy, more often than not because they were just that bad, to predict where the team would end up fairly successfully.
But after missing the playoffs by half...
March 31, 2006
Take Two
For the second week in a row drivers of the Nextel Cup will visit a short track when they race in Martinsville this Sunday.
After just three drivers escaped Bristol last week without getting involved in a crash of some sort expect cooler heads and cautious driving this week, at least in...
March 28, 2006
The NFL announced highlights of the 2006 schedule yesterday.
The Super Bowl Champion Pittsburgh Steelers will kick off the season in primetime, the Manning brothers will go head-to-head in the first Sunday night game, the new home of Monday Night Football, ESPN, will host a Week One double header ...
March 27, 2006
Put Kurt Busch in a car at Bristol Motor Speedway and he automatically has to be one of the favorites to win the race.
Put Busch inside Bristol Motor Speedway with a car suited for nine-time Bristol winner Rusty Wallace and you?ve got a recipe for, well, what happened Sunday afternoon.
After cut...
March 24, 2006
First Comes Rain Then Comes Shine?.Hopefully
If the theme of last week?s Golden Corral 500 was rain then this week?s theme at Bristol has to be desperation.
After Kasey Kahne earned Dodge its first win in 2006 in the rain delayed race on Monday the point standings looked to be up side down when ...
March 23, 2006
Somewhere in Arizona Donavan McNabb has to be smiling.
The All-Pro quarterback of the Philadelphia Eagles loves to get his way and for the most part the Eagles have accommodated.
That isn?t anything new, however, McNabb has gotten his way since the Eagles drafted him in 1999 and in return he pu...
March 21, 2006
It is currently a very exciting time to be a sports fan and a sports journalist.
Between the madness of the NCAA Basketball Tournament, the playoff races in the NBA and NHL, the upcoming baseball season or the free agency period in the NFL fans and writers have a plethora of topics to discuss.
U...
March 20, 2006
Get your popcorn ready one more time because the most infamous wide receiver in all of football is headed for Big ?D?.
Saturday Terrell Owens signed a three year, 25 million dollar contract with the Dallas Cowboys, just four days after the Philadelphia Eagles cut the All-Pro wide out, proving what...
March 17, 2006
Atlanta Brings Possibility of Another Tight Finish
After one of the most exciting finishes in the history of NASCAR saw Jimmy Johnson beat Matt Kenseth by half a car length in Las Vegas last week the NASCAR Nextel Cup circuit travels to what is generally considered the fasted track in the sport, A...
March 16, 2006
It may have taken a few extra weeks to get started after the Players Association and the NFL failed to reach a new collective bargaining agreement but the free agency season is in full bloom after just one week.
In all, 470 players filed for free agency many of which have already signed with new t...