Stan Barrett
American racing driver and stuntman
Stan Barrett (born June 26, 1943) is an American Hollywood stuntman, stunt coordinator actor, and former stock car racing driver. His biggest act was however outside the movie world. On December 17, 1979, he attempted to break the land speed record, and the sound barrier in the Budweiser Rocket rocket-powered three-wheel vehicle. His calculated speed was 739.666 miles per hour, (Mach 1.01), which would have made Barrett the first man to break the sound barrier in a land vehicle. The attempt was surrounded by controversy and the speed was never officially recorded. Barrett also raced in 19 Winston Cup Series races between 1980 and 1990, posting two top ten finishes.
01Land speed record
In an effort led by Hal Needham, another Hollywood stuntman, and sponsored by Budweiser, the Budweiser Rocket was built with the intention of being the first land vehicle to break the sound barrier. The 3-wheeler was powered by a hybrid liquid and solid-fuel rocket engine. The solid fuel booster engine came from a Sidewinder missile.
At Rogers Dry Lake on Edwards Air Force Base, the vehicle, driven by Barrett, made on December 17, 1979, an attempt to break the sound barrier. The claimed speed of 739.666 mph, equalling Mach 1.01, was never officially recorded.
02NASCAR
The publicity gained from the attempt took Barrett to NASCAR. Between his movie commitments, Barrett found time to race in nineteen Winston Cup Series races during the 1980s. Barrett posted two top ten finishes, running his last race in 1990. In 1999, Barrett was scheduled to run three Craftsman Truck Series races for PBH Motorsports, who had planned to field a Cup team for his son Stanton Barrett. Stan was scheduled to run at Heartland Park Topeka Watkins Glen International and Sears Point Raceway.
In 2008, at the age of 65, Barrett made a surprising return to stock car racing. His son Stanton, running Chevrolets in the second tier Nationwide Series, invited Stan to run beside him in the SBM Motorsports team. After an abortive attempt at Mexico City, Stan later qualified for the Montreal and WGI races. He was forced to retire in both races.
03Stuntman career
Barrett has worked as a stuntman since the 1960s in motion pictures and television series. He has been stunt doubling and stunt coordinating for many of Hollywood actors in films such as When Time Ran Out... and Smokey and the Bandit. He also appeared in the 1980 TV movie Stunts Unlimited about stunt performers.
04Family
Barrett had two sons, David Barrett, a film director and stunt coordinator, and Stanton Barrett a stunt performer and racing driver. They are godsons of Paul Newman, and grandsons of Dave and Roma McCoy, founders of Mammoth Mountain Ski Area. Melissa Barrett Thorner is Stan's daughter.
05Motorsports career results
NASCAR
(key) (Bold , Pole position awarded by qualifying time. Italics , Pole position earned by points standings or practice time. * , Most laps led.)
Winston Cup Series
Daytona 500
| Year | Team | Manufacturer | Start | Finish |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1981 | Mach 1 Racing | Pontiac | 22 | 13 |
| 1982 | Ulrich Racing | Buick | 41 | 31 |
| 1990 | Barkdoll Racing | Oldsmobile | DNQ | |
Nationwide Series
| NASCAR Nationwide Series results | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Year | Team | No. | Make | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20 | 21 | 22 | 23 | 24 | 25 | 26 | 27 | 28 | 29 | 30 | 31 | 32 | 33 | 34 | 35 | NNSC | Pts | Ref |
| 2008 | Stanton Barrett Motorsports | 61 | Chevy | DAY | CAL | LVS | ATL | BRI | NSH | TEX | PHO | MXC | TAL | RCH | DAR | CLT | DOV | NSH | KEN | MLW | NHA | DAY | CHI | GTY | IRP | CGV 39 |
GLN 33 |
MCH | BRI | CAL | RCH | DOV | KAN | CLT | MEM | TEX | PHO | HOM | 116th | 110 | |
06Television
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1969 | Star Trek: The Original Series | The Jailor | S3:E23, "All Our Yesterdays" |
Sources and credits
This article is adapted from the Wikipedia article “Stan Barrett”, written by its contributors and licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. Fathomly has changed the layout, removed citation markers, navigation and maintenance notices, and adjusted punctuation. This adapted version is shared under the same license. For references, see the original article.
Images, from Wikimedia Commons:
- Chuck Yeager and Stan Barrett.jpg by Department of Defense photo by MSGT Paul J. Harrington, Public domain
- Stan Barrett, former Air Force medical technician, stands beside the rocket powered car in which he will attempt to break the sound barrier - DPLA - d6f25e4b0ee9ee17a8b268775cbd4cf4.jpeg by Department of Defense. American Forces Information Service. Defense Visual Information Center. 1994, Public domain
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