Stan Barrett

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.

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.^[1]

In 2008, at the age of 65, he 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.

Barrett has worked as a stuntman since the 1960s in motion pictures and television series.^[2] 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.

Barrett's son David Barrett is a prolific Hollywood director and stunt coordinator/director. Son Stanton Barrett is also a Hollywood stuntman, and also a racing driver. David and Stanton are the godsons of Paul Newman, and grandsons of Dave and Roma McCoy, the founders of Mammoth Mountain Ski Area.^[3] Melissa Barrett Thorner is Stan's daughter.