Trans Am rookie Stanton Barrett reflected on family, racing and memories of his godfather ahead of his Lime Rock Park racing debut

LAKEVILLE, CONN. (22 May 2026)- During the second day of the Trans Am Memorial Day Classic at Lime Rock Park, one of the most meaningful stories in the paddock had little to do with lap times.

 

For Stanton Barrett, this weekend marked his first-ever race at the historic Connecticut road course, but in many ways, it also felt like a return.

 

The first time Barrett ever drove Lime Rock Park, Paul Newman was sitting in the passenger seat.

 

The second was this weekend, this time with Newman’s legacy woven into nearly every corner of the Connecticut circuit Newman once called home.

 

For Barrett, the weekend was supposed to be about racing. Instead, somewhere between practice laps, swapping stories with fans and revisiting memories connected to the track, the weekend quietly became something more.

 

Barrett arrived at Lime Rock Park this weekend as a Trans Am rookie, though there is very little “rookie” about the 53-year-old Californian. He owns Stanton Barrett Motorsports, fields three cars including one for two-time Trans Am champion Rafa Matos and carries one of the more unusual resumes in motorsports: more than 200 NASCAR Xfinity Series starts, nearly 30 NASCAR Cup Series races, IndyCar and IMSA appearances and a parallel life in Hollywood as a stuntman.

 

But long before the Hollywood stunt work, NASCAR starts and Trans Am team ownership, Barrett was simply a kid growing up around racetracks beside the man he still calls one of the most important figures in his life.

 

Newman wasn’t just a family friend. He was Barrett’s godfather.

 

“My dad was his stunt double in movies,” Barrett explained of his father, legendary stuntman Stan Barrett. “They became close friends and I’ve been around him all my life, really since I was born. I think the idea of him becoming my godfather came after he and my dad shared a few Budweisers.”

 

Their relationship extended far beyond Hollywood sets. Newman became family, a mentor and racing companion to Barrett. The guy Barrett remembers for constantly searching for the next thing to drive.

 

“Anywhere we went, he was always looking for something to drive,” Barrett laughed. “Go-karts, sprint cars, street stock cars, he didn’t care. He just wanted to be at a racetrack.”

 

That instinct eventually brought the two of them to Lime Rock Park together shortly before Newman’s death in 2008.

 

Newman built what Barrett described as a “hopped-up Volvo wagon” and Barrett gave Newman a ride around The Park.

 

“Unfortunately, it broke,” Barrett recalled. “I only got about a lap and a half.”

 

Coincidentally, the Volvo malfunctioned in the very same section of track where the Paul Newman Straight banner now hangs.

 

At the time, it was simply another lap shared between chosen family. Now decades later, Barrett returned to finally race at Lime Rock, passing beneath the name of the man who helped shape both his life and love for motorsports.

 

And maybe that is why the weekend carried more weight than Barrett expected, because Lime Rock does not remember Paul Newman the movie star. It remembers PLN the racer.

 

 

Lime Rock Park and Trans Am were a major part of Newman’s racing life long before Barrett ever arrived in the paddock.

 

While much of the world knew Newman as an Academy Award-winning actor, generations of racing fans in Connecticut knew him simply as one of their own. Newman became a fixture at Lime Rock Park throughout the prime of his driving career, competing across multiple disciplines and building one of the most respected second acts in American motorsport.

 

Forty years ago in May 1986, Newman captured a Trans Am victory at Lime Rock Park, adding another chapter to both his personal racing accomplishments and the track’s long Trans Am history.

 

His presence remains  throughout the facility, from the Paul Newman Straight to the nearby Hole in the Wall Gang Camp, the camp Newman founded for children facing serious illnesses.

 

Barrett recalled visiting the property years ago alongside Newman and his father while Newman explained his vision for what the camp could become.

 

“He scoped it all out and had this vision of what he wanted to do,” Barrett said. “That camp meant a lot to him. He helped so many people, especially children.”

 

For Barrett, some of his favorite memories with Newman didn’t come from movie sets or red carpets, but from racetracks and quiet moments in between. Barrett remembers days spent laughing while sliding sideways through corners at Willow Springs International Raceway, late nights playing ping-pong and pool and countless conversations in garages and paddocks across the country.

 

“He was such an amazing guy,” Barrett said.

 

This weekend, Barrett finally got the chance to race the road course Newman loved most. Not as a visitor. Not as a passenger. But as a driver carrying a lifetime of memories with him every time he crossed start-finish.

 

And during a weekend that includestrong testing and practice sessions followed by a frustrating qualifying run, Barrett admitted it was hard not to feel Newman’s presence beside him once again.

 

“We didn’t qualify well. We had some issues with something we’re gonna fix,” Barrett said. “But the one practice was good.”

 

Then Barrett smiled.

 

“Maybe he’s been up there with me.”

 

Saturday marks the final day of the Trans Am Memorial Day Classic at Lime Rock Park, featuring racing from the Trans Am Series presented by Pirelli, the Sportscar Vintage Racing Association (SVRA) and International GT (IGT). Gates open at 7 a.m. with racing beginning at 9 a.m. The event runs rain or shine. Active military members, veterans and children 12 and under receive free admission.