Making the leap: Doug Barnes Jr.'s racing aspirations grow to include Weekly Series championship

Doug Barnes Jr. is quickly becoming one of the more recognizable names in short-track racing on the East Coast.

From a Ferrari-inspired paint scheme to an active presence on YouTube through his channel “AirDoug,” Barnes has adapted to the evolving motorsports culture by providing fans a glimpse into his life and all the intricacies that go into building a successful late model stock operation.

Years of hard work and adversity have molded Barnes into a driver who can hold his own against the best in his discipline, which has him strongly considering the possibility of contesting a national championship in the NASCAR Advance Auto Parts Weekly Series in 2023.

Although Barnes has not yet committed to the idea, he has plenty of confidence in adding a Weekly Series title to his resume should circumstances work out in his favor.

“I would love to [run for a Weekly Series title], but it‘s so expensive,” Barnes said. “What I‘ve done right now is give myself no expectations, and we‘re going to run every single week up until May. If we‘re not in a place where we can go for the national championship, then we‘ll scale it back a little bit.

“I don‘t want to schedule out an entire year and only get two or three wins. Last year, I didn‘t win at all. It‘s a high goal, but it is still a goal.”

RELATED: Career racing stats for Doug Barnes Jr.

Barnes said the competition prevalent at his home track of Dominion Raceway in Thornburg, Virginia has been instrumental toward refining his driving style.

A two-time Dominion track champion, Barnes regularly sees fields consisting of around 20 cars. The competitive depth attracts notable names to Dominion, with Peyton Sellers taking home a track championship in 2022 while Layne Riggs made appearances at the end of the year to help him claim the Weekly Series title.

Barnes was disappointed he could not get any wins against Sellers or Riggs last year, but he said being in contention alongside them highlighted his growth since he famously jumped on top of fellow driver Tyler Hughes‘ car following a crash between the two in 2020.

The incident served as the inspiration behind Barnes‘ nickname, “Air Doug.”

“[Tyler and I] were young and dumb,” Barnes said. “We‘d just wreck each other‘s cars all the time, and in 2020, it hit a boiling point. He destroyed my race car, and I saw he was the one who did it. I just ran and cannonballed into his windshield.

“I don‘t know what I was trying to accomplish.”

While Barnes still takes pride in the “Air Doug” moniker, he knew he would have to make substantial improvements both on and off the track following the incident with Hughes for him to reach his full potential as a driver.

By working closely with his crew chief Chase Pistone, Barnes gradually started to gain ground on his competition. At the end of the 2021 season, Barnes was a contender in several late model stock crown jewel events, finishing third in the Thanksgiving All-Star Classic and sixth in the South Carolina 400 after leading 61 laps.

Barnes credits the progress to his bolstered chemistry with Pistone.

“My mentality has gotten a lot better,” Barnes said. “I‘m a lot calmer, and I‘m obviously not jumping on race cars at this current moment. I feel like I can break down the race a lot better inside the car, but Chase and I really know what the other wants. We‘ve had this confidence for a while, and we‘re finally seeing the results.”

With starts in the NASCAR Xfinity Series and Craftsman Truck Series to his name, Pistone provided plenty of knowledge to Barnes when the duo first started working together in the 2010s. Pistone helped the young driver get acclimated to the abrasive surface of Hickory Motor Speedway while his brother Tom mentored Barnes at Dominion.

Now solely responsible for overseeing Barnes’ development, Pistone has worked tirelessly to supply the driver with cars strong enough to be competitive every weekend. Despite this, Pistone said Barnes‘ recent efficiency comes down to the driver believing in his own ability to thrive behind the wheel.

“[Doug] is becoming more confident,” Pistone said. “He was initially unsure of himself. When we were up front at the end of races, we struggled to close them out sometimes. We‘ve finally run up front in these big races enough that Doug understands we belong there. He‘s comfortable racing up front now.”

As the two continued to turn in strong performances together, both Barnes and Pistone knew it was only a matter of time before they won a major late model stock event.

The IceBreaker at South Carolina’s Florence Motor Speedway was the breakthrough for which the duo had been searching. After starting on pole, Barnes briefly lost the lead to Matt Cox before overtaking the track veteran with 25 laps remaining and holding off the rest of the field for one of the most significant wins of his career to date.

Barnes still finds himself in disbelief over that accomplishment knowing he bested drivers like Carson Kvapil, Xfinity Series driver Jeb Burton and NASCAR Hall of Famer Dale Earnhardt Jr. at an abrasive track like Florence.

“It was unbelievable,” Barnes said. “It doesn‘t even feel real as to how we won the race. I‘ve never seen somebody dominate a long Florence race like that before. Being able to conserve tires the way we did and fight off every run anybody gave us just did not seem real.”

The triumph at Florence has given Barnes plenty of momentum heading into the 2023 season, during which his focus will be on earning a third championship at Dominion.

Like Barnes, Pistone is tempering his own expectations about potentially chasing a national title, but that has not quelled his excitement for what he believes will be a breakout year for his long-time driver.

With Barnes now familiar with the physical and mental demands of the crown-jewel races, Pistone is confident the driver will excel against the elite teams of late model stock racing.

“I honestly think we can go to Martinsville and win this year,” Pistone said. “We have the means to win all the big race — and the speed. We all have the confidence, and we‘re all looking forward to a good year.”

Barnes would love to take all the prestigious late model stock events to go along with a track and national championship, but he admitted he simply wants to have fun as a driver.

Looking back on his career in the 2010s, Barnes said he put too much pressure on himself to move up into either the Truck Series or ARCA Menards Series, which in turn depleted the enjoyment he had for racing in general.

Being fully committed to late model stocks has reignited Barnes‘ passion for the sport and simultaneously motivated him to show everyone he is one of the best drivers on the East Coast. He intends to keep the momentum from the IceBreaker going by visiting Victory Lane at Hickory on Saturday night.

“Prior to Florence, I hadn‘t won anywhere else other than Dominion,” Barnes said. “I want to start picking up some wins to show I‘m capable of winning at other tracks. Hickory is a goal because I‘ve almost won the Fall Brawl the last two years, so it‘d be nice to get the year started with a win there.”

Barnes has not yet ruled out moving up to NASCAR’s national series and would love to test his skills in the Truck Series should the right opportunity materialize.

For now, Barnes is content with his current environment and hopes to make “Air Doug” one of the most recognizable names in short-track racing.