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Horseback to Horsepower: Lexy Barlow Finds Speed on a New Track
Horsepower was always a part of Lexy Barlow’s life. Her first taste of it was a thousand pounds, had four legs, and was fueled by hay. From a young age, Lexy was a competitive show jumper at a very high level.
She picked it up from her dad. “He was a championship show jumper,” says her Uncle Joey. “He put her on a horse, and she trained to jump. She also worked at a stable in Westport, Connecticut. The man she worked for was a taskmaster and very strict. He ensured she got to work on time and kept everything neat and organized. It was an excellent life lesson for my niece.”
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Competing in show jumping gave her an edge when she transitioned from horses to racing cars. Jumping every weekend, Lexy had to learn a new course and get comfortable with it quickly. That quick study carried over to the way she took in race tracks. “Like with a horse, she learned when to push it and when to hold back,” Joey says. “And how to best make sure you get across the finish line.”
It was her uncle, in fact, who got her into cars and their particular brand of horsepower.
“My Uncle Joey always had a shop full of vintage cars, so he involved me very early,” Lexy says. “I was constantly pulling cars off of trailers and helping him bring them back to life. I didn’t mind getting my hands dirty. I loved working on cars with him.”
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After high school, Lexy earned a degree in business, then went on to work as a construction project manager for her godfather. “One year, for my birthday, Uncle Joey got me a track day with the Lime Rock Drivers Club, and as another birthday present, my godfather lent me his BMW M3 CS to run. I was hooked instantly.”
Lexy lost her dad a couple of years ago, and he had been deeply involved with the equestrian part of her life. She hadn’t really ridden much since then, hadn’t gotten the adrenalin rush that came with it. “I didn’t realize how much I missed it until I got in a race car and on the track for the first time. It was exhilarating and freeing. You can’t think of anything else but what you are doing at that exact moment. And when I climbed out of the car, that was the first time I felt my dad again. It was an extraordinary moment.”
A moment that had her hooked, and almost instantly, racing became her passion. Her first car was a 1960 Turner with Sebring racing history. How it got to her is another story.
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Steve Garrett, was a longtime vintage racer in Indiana. His wife Jackie was deeply involved. “He had a Formula V that we traveled worldwide to race,” she says. “He started in SCCA, and we bought the Turner when he switched to vintage racing. We named it Tina; it even had a license plate that said TINA. What else would you call a Turner?”
Jackie wasn’t just along for the ride, however. “I was the one who prepped the car for the race. I checked the oil, ensured the lug nuts were tight and the tire pressure was correct. My husband and I had a fabulous time racing. Steve also bought a Lotus 18. It was so beautiful I wanted to install it in our family room as a cocktail table. We ended up showing it instead.”
Following Steve’s death in 2015, Jackie decided to sell the Lotus. Lexy’s uncle Joe was interested and inquired about it. “We became friends, and along the way, he told me about his niece, who wanted to start racing,” Jackie says. “I told him I wanted her to have [Tina].”
Jackie had already consigned the Turner to a dealer, and when she called to ask about it, she was informed it had just sold. “My word is very important to me. I had promised Lexy Tina, so I sent her the proceeds from the sale so she could get a car. It was exciting for me to help a young female racer. I’m a real believer in finding your passion. At work, in your hobbies, and in life. Lexy has discovered her passion, so I wanted to be part of her journey.”
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Lexy and Joe searched and soon found another Turner, which seemed fitting. “I wanted it to be a Turner, as that was what Jackie had intended to give my niece,” Joe says.
Lexy then jumped in the deep end and in 2023 took the driver’s school with the Vintage Sports Car Club of America (VSCCA). “There were a lot of nerves,” she says. “I didn’t know the track very well. I only had that one track day on it. I had never driven a standard-transmission car on the track, and I had never raced before.” After a few laps, however, she says it just clicked. “This is what I should be doing.”
Her class had 23 students with ages ranging from early 20s to late 60s. John Nikas was her instructor. “From the start, she stood out from the rest,” he says, “showing great pace and good judgment despite the fact that this was her first time on track with other cars. She had great track presence, understood the learning process, and exhibited solid race craft. Right from the beginning, you could sense she was a natural on the track.” Nikas has taught at several professional and club racing schools around the country and says he “can count on two hands the number of students I thought could make a living behind the wheel, and she’s one of the best and brightest in that group.”
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Lexy raced her Turner at several other VSCCA events that year, finishing up at the Lime Rock Historics. A loss of power and a spin had her facing the wrong way on the track, with the rest of the field coming straight at her. That would have ended her weekend, but fellow racer John Gorsline let her run his Mini. Lexy had a new engine installed in the Turner, but it was never quite right, and things were getting pricey. Ultimately, Lexy decided to sell the Turner and buy a racing simulator.
She and Nikas have remained close, however. “He has been very involved with my progress since then,” Lexy says. “He has been my mentor and introduced me to people like [team owner] Beth Paretta, who I spent time with at the Indy 500.” He also introduced her to Gorsline, which is how her Mini drive came about. Nikas also co-drove with her in the ex-works Sunbeam Tiger, which Le Mans winner John Morton raced for more than a decade.
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Dan MacMedan
“He was with me at Road Atlanta, where I competed in Formula Vee. I started 38th on the grid and finished in 11th place, winning my class. He does all that he can to get me known in the sport. I’m doing everything to get my butt into any seat that I can to get more experience. There is no replacement for seat time.”
In the meantime, Lexy has been setting up a website and working on her social media profile to gain momentum and network as much as possible. Since her introduction to Gorsline, who runs a successful racing insurance business, he has followed her progress closely and even set her up with a Formula 4 test with Nic Jonsson, a racing coach and driver with Krohn Racing who currently competes in the FIA World Endurance Championship. “That was a whole different level,” she says. “My body was not prepared for such an experience. The g-forces and braking were intense, but it was incredible.”
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Lexy is currently a finalist for the Gorsline Scholarship. “I am very excited about it,” she says. “There would be media training, and I would get to work with Lyn St. James. The name recognition of John Gorsline is a big plus, and I am so appreciative and excited to be considered for this honor.” Past winners include Danica Patrick, Josef Newgarden, Conor Daly, Katherine Legge, Patrick Long, Bryan Herta, Cortney Crone, and Madison Snow. “The other two finalists might have had a clearer path in their racing progression, but I feel I have a good shot at it.”
“I would like to credit her success to having gotten great instruction,” says Nikas, “but it’s clear she has great natural talent and the commitment to learn and improve every time she gets into a car. Whether that’s something carried over from her background in competitive horse jumping or something else, I don’t know, but it’s there.” He adds that Lexy is confident behind the wheel and “never scared of the car, even when she should be.”
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Lexy is young but didn’t come to racing by any traditional means. She “didn’t start in go-karts by the time she could walk,” as Nikas puts it. He acknowledges that “it is unprecedented that someone with as little experience as she has would be considered for the Gorsline Scholarship. I can’t think of anyone who, in their first year of driving, has been behind the wheel of so many different cars and managed to do well in all of them. She is very much part of the scene despite her inexperience. She will show the world what she can do if she gets the right opportunity.”
For her part, Lexy is leaning toward open-wheel cars. “I love the control in an open-wheel car. They seem to fit my style of driving. I can drive them a bit more aggressively and with a bit more confidence. But I wouldn’t turn down a ride in a Porsche Cup Car, LMP, or LMP2 car …”
With each new opportunity she gets, Lexy believes she’s getting recognized as a good driver—not just a good female driver. “I have a good working knowledge of the car, and I can dialog with other team members so we get the best performance out of our car.”
Even if she can’t be racing all the time, Lexy knows she wants to stay in the industry. “Doing this is not something I have dreamed about my whole life, but I found something I think I’m pretty good at and have really come to love. It might sound cliché, but you can succeed if you put your mind to something.”
Off track, she’s taken a job with John Gorsline’s firm providing insurance coverage for drivers, teams, and racetracks. She is in the industry and committed to staying there.
Look for her on a track near you.