Barrett's jump between Cup, Hollywood no stunt
Driver / stuntman to appear as guest on America's Next Top Model
By Josh Pate, NASCAR.COM
November 7, 2006
09:44 AM EST (14:44 GMT)


His resume is three pages long. When his agent, Matthew Gonzales, goes to pitch potential sponsorship opportunities or appearances, he has no problem attaching what he calls the "total package" to an e-mail.

His "activities" include acting, directing, producing and coordinating.

He's doubled for heavy hitters Leonardo DiCaprio, William Macy and rapper Eminem.

His "abilities" include high falls from 100 feet and tout that he is very experienced working with helicopters.

But half the time, Stanton Barrett doesn't need to list his previous jobs.

Even in the NASCAR garage, the words "Hollywood stuntman" follow Barrett's name like Jr. or Ph.D. Call it a verbal business card.

"He's got the two jobs every man wants -- Hollywood stuntman and NASCAR driver," says Gonzales, who was hired last year by Barrett to handle his media and entertainment opportunities. "He's jumping off buildings and also driving a racecar 200 mph."

The guy driving the General Lee for jumps in the 2005 movie The Dukes of Hazzard, that was Barrett.

The guy on the motorcycle in the Batman and Spiderman movies, that was Barrett.

And now he's the guy hanging out with Tyra Banks.

Barrett will be a guest on Wednesday's episode of the Banks-produced TV show America's Next Top Model. He will assist the models in an action photo shoot and join Banks on deciding which aspiring models move on to the next round and avoid elimination.

"They dug it," says Barrett, who had seen an episode of the show before filming began in June. "They loved the idea of having a NASCAR driver on the show."

America's Next Top Model pulled in 4.4 million viewers (2.1/6 share) last week in the adults 18-49 demographic, beating NBC's rookie sitcoms 30 Rock (4.8 million, 1.8/5) and 20 Good Years (4.2 million, 1.5/4).

Walking the catwalk, however, may be easier than the process of securing the one-episode deal.

Gonzales, who used to work with IMG in New York, once worked with Banks at a previous job. He spoke with one of his contacts about the idea of putting Barrett on the show, and Banks' personal assistant attended the Las Vegas race in March to check out the NASCAR scene.

Although Barrett didn't race that weekend, the show's executives were sold.

A nail-biting finish will do that. So will a nearly sold-out crowd with heavy star power. So will brand exposure.

"That's what attracts a lot of our sponsors -- the exposure," Barrett says. "When they come to NASCAR, they are blown away by the exposure the sport provides."

NASCAR promotes that it has 75 million fans. The popular Top Model show catches an average of 5 million viewers each week, Gonzales says.

"People look at me and are like, 'What?" Gonzales says of Barrett's appearance on the model competition. "But the show has 5 million people watching every week. What's better exposure than that?"

Gonzales also recently helped Barrett land a photo shoot for L'uomo Vogue, the Italian men's version of the slick fashion magazine.

"Industry leaders look at that," Gonzales says of Vogue. "The casting directors for Polo or Tommy, they look at that magazine to see who's hot."

"Fifteen years ago the sport was not mainstream enough for that to happen," Barrett says of his media barrage.

It is now.

Carl Edwards was on the cover of ESPN The Magazine earlier this year showing off his ripped physique and then appeared on an episode of 24.

Jamie McMurray was on an episode of The West Wing last year. Jeff Gordon was on Saturday Night Live three years ago and has gone on to co-host Live with Regis & Kelly on multiple occasions, most recently last Thursday.

But Barrett, he's been in more than 150 movies, TV shows and commercials. And mostly without the glamour.

"The people in this industry know what I've done and where I've come from, so I never have to send my resume anywhere," Barrett says of his acting. "I forget some of the movies that I'm in -- until I get a check in the mail."

Those checks are why he does stunts. Not to get rich, but to spend it on his NASCAR team.

Six of his seven Nextel Cup starts this year have been for his own team, Stanton Barrett Motorsports. Four of his eight Cup starts last year were funded from his wallet, as well.

"Everybody knows him because he's using his own money to live his dream," Gonzales says. "You're standing in the pits with him and Richard Childress waves and says, 'Hey Stanton.' He gets respect."

The same goes for his other career.

He says most other actors he works with know of his racing career and follow him when he's at the track. What they're impressed with, he says, is that he returns to go back to work with them. The reason is the challenge and the reward.

"The movie industry is unbelievable," says Barrett, whose godfather is Paul Newman. "They have a specific system and are always on top of things. I have never seen a group of people who work that hard and that long. You walk in and the director says, 'Do this,' and you have to make it happen that day.

"It's like with NASCAR -- a lot of people who don't know the sport think that all we do is drive in circles. That's definitely not the case. Same thing with stunts -- what we're doing can make a movie look good or make it look bad."

So far, the first job is doing alright to support the second one. If people remember him as a NASCAR driver, great. If they remember him as Hollywood stuntman, that's OK, too.

"I had to do movies because it was a great way to make a living and for me to go race because of the extreme expenses," Barrett says. "I've not been as successful as I've wanted to be in racing, but I believe I've achieved a lot. I've risked my life and worked my butt off. And I'm still in the sport."