Off-Road Racing

“Most people would never believe that I’m a professional racer,” Steve Barlow says thoughtfully. “I’m not the aggressive type in general.” Then he gets a wicked little gleam in his eye and adds, “But slap a helmet on me and put me behind the wheel, and I’m a different person.” Different is right. Call it pent-up aggression, call it heart, or call it rare talent – racing brings out something special in Steve Barlow that has resulted in a record number of Protruck wins, victories in epic off-road races like the Baja 1000, and most recently, coronation as Rookie of the Year in his newest challenge, the Championship Off Road Racing series.

Racing in the Family

Barlow’s father had won the 1959 Southern California Circle Track Championship, and when Steve was born in 1964, it didn’t take long for the racing gene to surface. “I grew up in Ventura County, California, and raced anything I could get my hands on,” Barlow laughs. “To have fun, all I needed was wheels.” The fun got serious in 1983, when Barlow began his racing career in earnest and proceeded to win the very first off-road race he entered. He took the AMSA Class 1 / 2 1600 title in 1984, and through the 1980s he made a name for himself in desert events, winning both the legendary Baja 1000 and the SCORE/HRDA Points Championship by 1987.

In the early 1990s, Barlow took a breather from the off-road dust, concentrating on a restaurant enterprise as well as on starting a family with his wife, Marie. But he missed racing, and racing missed him. By 1996 he was back, driving in the Protruck series (which, much like NASCAR’s IROC series, levels the playing field by requiring all racers to drive equal equipment that adheres to strict specifications). The following year, his Barlow Motorsports team won two Protruck races outright and finished the series a strong second in points. In 1998 Barlow was the Protruck champ in both the Vegas to Reno and the Baja 1000 races, and, remarkably, he repeated those wins in 1999. Then he started the new millennium by testing his endurance even further to triumph at the Vegas 2000, which encompassed seven grueling days of racing throughout Nevada.

How could Barlow top all that? With the equivalent of off-road’s hat trick, or maybe its Triple Crown: in 2001 he captured the Protruck Championship, the Protruck class of the Best in the Desert Championship, and the SCORE International Championship. Holding nothing back, he repeated the trifecta in 2002.

Racing with the Family

Having racked up more first-place finishes than any other Protruck driver, Barlow was ready to push his career to the next level. He decided to take on a new challenge, moving up to the Championship Off Road Racing series, popularly known as CORR.

“CORR is a great series, and it’s extremely competitive,” Barlow explains. “The environment is similar to Supercross – it’s close, fender-to-fender racing that everyone in the stands can see, and it’s also fully televised.” An added bonus is that, because the whole series takes place during the summer, Barlow’s wife and kids can join him as he travels from venue to venue.

Barlow finished his first CORR season in 2003 as Pro Class Rookie of the Year. Now, ever the over-achiever, he’s working toward an ultimate goal of driving his number 29 truck all the way to the Pro-2 CORR series title.

When he’s not racing, Barlow works constantly to hone his physical stamina, noting ruefully that the shock of a long off-road race has been best described as a “24-hour plane crash.” But he emphasizes that mental training is just as important: “You can have the very best equipment, but if you lose your focus after 19 hours, the equipment doesn’t matter.”

One of the things that helps Barlow stay in shape is keeping up with his kids. At home in Temecula, California, twins Bradley and Tyler are eager to extend the Barlow dynasty – so far in Karts.

“We’re lucky because with my experience, I can show them the best and safest way to learn,” Barlow says. “And I want them to see that they can be aggressive behind the wheel without being aggro in everyday life. You can be mellow but have passion.”

He nods, “I know racing will always be a passion for me.”