ONE-ON-ONE WITH TYLER BARAN By: Rich Murray Morris, IL (September 25, 2014)—For those who have regularly attended STARS National Midget races this season, it was clear that Tyler Baran’s stock was on the rise. The improvement in his racecraft was palpable and it was only a matter of time that everything was going to fall in place and Tyler would be standing in victory lane at the end of the night. Tyler, who was born on December 28, 1989 in Plainfield, Illinois, to Barbara and Scott Baran, finally was able to enjoy the spoils of victory last Saturday night when he broke through for his first career D’Arcy GMC STARS National Midget feature win at Grundy County Speedway. His brother, Nick, also earned his first career STARS victory just seven weeks prior in the same yellow number 11 car that Tyler wheeled to victory. It took until Tyler’s 19th start in STARS before he earned his first win, which is the second longest period of time that a driver has had to wait for their first STARS triumph behind Patrick Wilda’s 31 starts. Tyler only needed one more start than Nick did to take his first checkered flag. It has been a season of firsts for Tyler as he has already collected his first career top-five finish, fast qualifying time, and heat race win. Tyler would like to thank his sponsors PBI Air Ducts, Par Insurance, Rita Liberatore Re/Max, Main Street Chiropractic, Harmonic Design, Turk’s Collision, Lefthander Chassis, REAL Racing Wheels, MWR Technology, and Guess Performance Parts. 1. What is your hometown? I was born in Plainfield, Illinois. I’ve lived there my whole life except for five years while attending Rockford University. 2. What is your family’s background in racing? My family’s racing history began with my grandfather, Len Baran. Len raced Mini Indy’s, midgets, and stock cars. My father, Scott Baran, acted as crew chief for my grandfather but never pursued a driving career. When Len got out of the driver’s seat, he owned a late model team with driver Larry Schuler where they won multiple races and championships while competing in ARTGO, NASCAR, and local tracks like Grundy County and Illiana. When Len made the decision to get out of the sport, Scott stayed involved as crew chief for Biff George, Tracy Schuler, and Pat Kelly. 3. Can you tell me how you got into midget/open wheel racing? Well, while my brother was driving a late model in the CRA Super series, I got to go out and take it for a few laps one day. While testing, it felt like I was driving a boat around the track, so I decided then that driving a late model just wasn’t that fun. We went out the next season and got an IRS midget that I drove for half a season before stopping to concentrate on playing football. 4. How much racing experience do you have? I have about ten years total in racing and about three years in a midget. 5. Take me through a week in the life of your racing team. What it does it take to be not only prepared, but also successful at the track on the weekend? Well, the normal week for our team isn’t too bad. We spend about three nights a week tearing down and rebuilding everything on the cars. This is something that we started to do this season and it has helped a lot with finding problems before they occur. 6. Last season was your first full season with STARS. Can you describe the improvement you made from the beginning of last season throughout the rest of 2013 and into this season? To me, the improvement has been a night and day difference. The main things that I have been able to do better this year are getting the car to feel the way I want it to on the track and being more consistent lap to lap. 7. What is your favorite track? Kalamazoo Speedway. My first time there was this year at the STARS/USAC race and it was really just a fun/fast track to drive on. 8. What are your car owner’s names? The car owner is my dad, Scott Baran. The crew members include Bill McGowan, Jeff Thompson, Biff George, Robin Fugate, and Jake Thompson. 9. Can you tell me what your occupation is and what exactly you do? I work for our family company, PryBar, Inc. We manufacture P.O.P. or “point of purchase” displays. My role within the company is sales and designing the displays. 10. Do you have a wife? Kids? How do you balance racing with your job and/or family? I do not have any children. However, I just got married on July 5th of this year and since she is currently in medical school, my racing schedule actually works pretty well because it gives her a chance to study without me around bugging her. 11. What is your educational background? I graduated high school from Plainfield North in 2008 and then went on to attend Rockford University where I obtained a degree in sports management. 12. What are your future aspirations in racing? Where do you eventually want to go in this sport? Obviously, I would be lying if I were to say that I didn’t want to eventually be at the level in racing where I could be getting paid enough to support my family. However, I am perfectly fine with the fact that I most likely will never race at a higher level then I currently am. 13. What has been the biggest factor in your success as a midget racer? It’s being aggressive while smooth at the same time. 14. What is the last movie you’ve seen? Guardians of the Galaxy 15. Favorite food? Pizza with extra pepperoni and no cheese 16. Favorite midnight snack? Popcorn 17. Favorite TV Show? Big Bang Theory 18. Favorite sports teams? St. Louis Rams 19. Any pets? English Bulldog named Bella 20. Favorite band/type of music? First CD/Cassette/Vinyl record you ever purchased? Like all types of music 21. If you weren’t a racecar driver, what would you want to be? A Football Coach CAREER STARS STATS: Top-Fives: 5 (12th all-time) Top-Tens: 14 (10th all-time) Feature Starts: 20 (13th all-time) Fast Qualifying Times: 1 (10th all-time) Heat Race Wins: 1 (22nd all-time) 2014 STARS SEASON STATS: Top-Fives: 5 (3rd) Top-Tens: 8 (5th) Feature Starts: 8 (6th) Feature Laps Led: 36 (4th) Most Features Leading at Least One Lap: 2 (3rd) Fast Qualifying Times: 1 (2nd) Heat Race Wins: 1 (8th)
Posted on: Thu, 25 Sep 2014 23:49:44 +0000
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