From On Fire to Focused on Winning the US Nationals One Week Later, Lyle Barnett Brings a Powerful Message to Pro Mod, and Motorsports in General
In motorsports, risk is one of the components along for the ride. Whether a driver, crew or family chooses to fully accept it or not, it is there, no matter how fast or slow you’re going.
Parts failures, crashes, and even fire can strike without warning, and it’s up to you to prepare for it.
Lyle Barnett has accomplished a lot in the drag racing world, from no-prep victories to winning the highly-popular Pro Mod class at the National Hot Rod Association (NHRA) US Nationals, which typically takes place during (and up to) Labor Day Weekend.
Lyle was once again on track to participate at the US Nationals this year, but just being on the property likely felt like a win to him.
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It was 2015 when Lyle experienced his first big fire during qualifying for the No Mercy event at South Georgia Motorsports Park (SGMP). One of two events that Donald ‘Duck’ Long and Duck X Productions puts together each year, racers, fans and media flock to SGMP to see some amazing runs and stout competition.
During a Thursday night qualifying run for the top class, Radial Versus the World, Lyle had their “first 4.teen tune-up” in the Corvette he was wheeling.
Racing against a nitrous-based opponent, Lyle recanted the run during a post-race video. “He out 60 footed me just like I thought,” Lyle said. “At half-track (330 foot mark) I started reeling him back in. After we passed the 330 cones, I just kind of stopped reeling him back in. I should have known then I guess, but I’ve never been that fast before, and I didn’t know how fast he was going.”
Less than two seconds after he passed the 330 foot mark, Lyle completed the run with a 4.25 at 175 mph pass on the scoreboards, but all eyes were focused on the Corvette that was now fully engulfed in flames.
“When the injector let go, that cylinder number eight went really lean,” said Lyle. “It burnt out the back of the (cylinder) head and right through one of the oil passages, which immediately turned it into a flamethrower with 60 pounds of boost behind it. And it came straight into the race car and straight into the face of my helmet.”
Lyle was able to escape the fire, but with significant burns, and spent over a month in the hospital for treatment and recovery. He admits that although he was wearing most of the minimum fire safety gear for his setup and performance, that he wasn’t wearing a head sock and left the face shield up on his helmet, resulting in serious burns to his face.
He also suffered third-degree burns to his hands that required skin grafts. He vowed to wear all the best safety equipment for his future racing efforts.
Fast forward about nine years. While holding down a full-time job at Mac-Fab Beadlocks and helping to raise a family, Lyle is competing in the NHRA Pro Mod class, chasing his dream of being a world champion.
Wheeling the ProCharger-fed Camaro out of Scott Tidwell Racing, Lyle went to Alabama International Dragway for their Night of Fire event on August 25th to compete in their Outlaw Pro Mod class, and prepare for the following week’s US Nationals in Indianapolis.
Lyle qualified in the fifth spot with a 3.80 pass, and got a first round single due to opponent breakage. The run was a good one, until the finish line when Lyle would once again get a visit from a fireball.
“That’s equally as bad as the fire as I had in 2015,” said Lyle. “The difference is that car is built to protect me from it.”
“My first thought was ‘get out fast’ you know, and crew is on the radio ‘fire bottles, fire bottles.’ They didn’t realize how bad it was (from the starting line).”
Lyle was able to exit the car about 20 seconds after the first flash of fire, and thanks to the upgraded safety gear and advancements in the car build, he was able to exit with no injuries.
“I don’t know how many of you have driven fast shit, or how many of you have attempted or tried to get out in a hurry,” said Lyle. “It’s something worth going to your shop tonight, tomorrow, this weekend. Put everything on (safety gear), all of it, strap yourself in, and time yourself if you want, but get out in a hurry. Can you do it?”
With his primary ride sidelined, Lyle hopes of being behind the wheel at the US National looked bleak, despite several offers of help, or even full turn-key rides. But when teammate Jose Gonzales couldn’t make the event to drive his car, the offer was made to Lyle to drive the Camaro. “My car will be fixed, and there are a couple other cars in the works for 2025,” he said.
At the US Nationals, Lyle qualified the ’69 Camaro in the third spot with a 5.78 at 247 mph, earning him a date with ‘Shake and Bake’ podcast co-host and good friend Stevie ‘Fast’ Jackson in round one. Lyle would earn that round victory via 5.75 to 5.80 result, but unfortunately exited one round later when he red-lighted by just four thousandths of-a-second.
Written by Derek Putnam. Photos-Media courtesy of Lyle Barnett Racing and Scott Tidwell Racing.
If you have thoughts / feedback / ideas, please e-mail us at derek@sickthemagazine.com