TYLER BABER

the products that we sell,” he says.“ We bring in stock products from all these companies, so pretty much everything that’ s on the car is available for purchase. It’ s kind of our marketing platform.”

Over the years, the business has become a family endeavor. Baber’ s father, Dan, owns Michigan Motorsports, a leading LS / LT retail parts supplier, and they are preparing for a major step forward with a new facility that will house both businesses under one roof. The family effort on the business side carries over to the racetrack as well. Dan handles suspension duties on the car while longtime tuner Darren Nichols handles the power management. Baber’ s stepbrother Dalton Shearer also helps with content creation and marketing for Michigan Motorsports.

The team’ s success at SCBR wasn’ t accidental. Baber credits much of their performance to Nichols’ tuning abilities that helped keep the car consistent throughout a challenging weekend with high track temperatures and weather conditions.

“ Darren is a super tuner when it comes to getting a car down the track. In competition, I never once spun the tires,” he says.

The Notch draws a fine line between race car and street car, which is what Baber is most proud of. The car began as his daily driver when he was 16 years old and has evolved into a 3,000-horsepower beast, powered by an Ace Race Engines 427-cubic-inch LS combination and 110mm Precision turbocharger. However, Baber admits

he will always keep the car street legal.

“ No matter how far I take this car, I’ ll always keep it in street trim,” he says.“ I want to be able to drive the car to work sometimes and go to local car shows with it.”

On top of his most recent success, Baber is a five-time consecutive Drag and Drive champion at LS Fest East, held annually in Bowling Green, Kentucky. He hopes to win his sixth this coming September.

Growing up, Baber was introduced to circle track racing by his grandfather and then eventually drag racing by his father. He grew up at the

racetrack and learned just about everything he knows from his father, who also has plans to get back racing alongside Baber soon. While he was happy to have most of his family present during his SCBR double-up, there was one family member riding along in spirit, which made the victories even more special.

“ My grandpa that was into circle track racing, he passed away two years ago,” Baber says.“ I actually have his ashes in the car. So, he runs every pass with me.”

After arriving to Rockingham completely untested and with limited expectations, Baber left with two Wally trophies, $ 30,000 in prize money, and a solidified place amongst a select group of elite racers. With multiple standout victories already on his resume, the SCBR double-up is his most impressive accomplishment yet, he believes.

“ I ended up winning $ 30,000 that day,” Baber says,“ but that didn’ t mean anything compared to those Wallys to me.”

With the engine currently undergoing a refresh and additional chassis improvements planned, Baber’ s attention now shifts toward LS Fest East, where he hopes to extend his winning streak and continue pushing the limits of The Notch.

For now, though, he’ s still enjoying the memories from a weekend that exceeded every expectation.

“ I wanted to race with the best,” Baber says.“ I wanted to show that we deserve to be up there with those guys on that list. And yeah, we showed up and showed out.” DI

50 | Drag Illustrated | DragIllustrated. com Issue 201