Who Patrick Barnhill is
If you follow American drag racing, you've seen Patrick Barnhill's work even if you don't know the name. Through PTP Racing he tunes and preps cars across Pro Mod and the NMCA and NMRA classes, and his customer list includes Brian Devilbiss, Dale Collins Jnr, Eric Gustafson, Jermaine Boddie, Phil Smith and Steve Summers. Those are some of the quickest cars in the country.
What the conversation covers
Haltech sat down with Patrick after the World Cup Finals. The discussion runs through:
- How he approaches tuning a high-end drag car.
- His approach to race prep.
- Drag racing in general, from someone working at the sharp end of it.
- The Haltech Elite VMS, which he names as his current favorite Haltech product.
Why it's worth your time
Interviews like this are useful because they show how professionals actually use the features you'll find in the software. Drag racing tuners lean heavily on launch control, boost control and time-based strategies, and hearing how a tuner at this level thinks about them is a good way to plan your own car. We're a Haltech dealer and tuning shop, so if you want to talk through a drag setup of your own, book a free 30-minute consultation.
For more reading, see our pages on closed vs open loop boost control and nitrous as a power adder.
