The 2026 SK Light season at Stafford Motor Speedway has seen drivers Nick Anglace and Chris Matthews dominate the early season headlines with the duo combining to win 9 of the first 15 races. But there is one driver who has quietly performed on virtually the same level, 2022 SK Light champion Tyler Barry. Although he has yet to win a race, Barry and the #18 Pro Systems Integration team have posted 6 podium finishes with 3 finishes each of second and third.
"The word for our season would be consistency," said Barry. "Other than the 2 races where we wrecked out, I don’t think we’ve finished worse than 6th. We’ve been right there all season long. We just have to put everything together one night to get a win. I feel like we’ve had a couple of nights already where we probably should have won but simple stuff like getting in the wrong lane or a bad decision on my part have kept us from winning. Nick Anglace had speed right away from the start of the season and we’ve had speed all season long. We’ve been fast in the races but when we needed that little bit extra to be able to race with Nick or Chris Matthews at the beginning of the year we couldn’t find that."
As Barry chases after his first win of the 2026 season, he is right in the thick of the championship fight. Barry heads into the August 21 Maybury Back to SKool feature event sitting second in the standings, only 16 points behind Anglace. Having already won a SK Light championship back in 2022, Barry knows what it takes to come out on top in a championship fight and he is at the time of year where he and his #18 team come to the front.
"Right now we’re pretty close," said Barry. "The last 2 weeks we’ve found some things on the car and in the past this part of the year is where we tend to come on really strong. Everybody wants to win and that’s always in the back of our minds. We’ve had 3 seconds and 3 thirds so even if we don't win, we really don’t have anything to hang our heads about this season. We’ve been through it once before so we know what to expect and we have all our notebook stuff to be able to look back on. We’re really consistent right now and if we keep on being consistent and putting ourselves in position to win, I’m sure we’ll get a win before the season is over. Big thanks to all my sponsors Pro Systems Integration, John Sanford Plumbing and Heating, The Polish Butcher, Maci, Stebbins Stump Grinding, SPAFCO Race Chassis, and Jones Racing Products as well as my crew, Dad, Drew, Billy, Chris, and Donny B."
But as much as Barry would like to get a win under his belt, he is more focused on points than winning with only 6 races left in the 2026 season. "At this point of the year you’re starting to worry about points and what nights are important to put tires on the car and making it so where if you’re in the points battle, you can put the most new tires on the car for the championship night. Obviously we want to win so that’s in the back of our minds but we’re also points racing. I can’t put the car in jeopardy to try to be one position better when you could lose 30 points in a night rather than gaining points. We want to win races but points are more the priority."
In addition to his championship winning notes, Barry can also lean on the experience he gained while taking time away from full-time SK Light racing to race Tour type modified cars. "I ran some races for Wes Gilbert with Open Mod, Tri-Track, and MRS and I ran some Whelen Modified Tour races with Steve Mendoza and that whole experience was such a cool experience to see just how different things are racing the Tour versus racing weekly," said Barry. "Racing the Tour or Tri-Track series, those are the best modified drivers in the country so you learn a lot with things like racecraft or how to set up passes and things like that. We still keep in touch with drivers and some crew chiefs and that’s really helped get our SK Light program where it is today."
