George Barringer was born in Wichita Falls, Texas in 1906.

His father W. N. Barringer was a blacksmith for the Missouri-Kansas-Texas Railroad.

George spent his youth and early years in the railroad roundhouse observing his father work on locomotives.  Being a machinist in the 1920s was quite an honor, and George watched and learned. By the time he had reached his 18th birthday,  he was a skilled machinist and mechanic.

One of his early goals was to build his own race car and drive it.
 He was finally able to build a car in his father's blacksmith shop, located behind his family home in 1926. The car had a Model T Ford engine with a Frontenac Cylinder Head. He named the car, "The George Barringer Special", and put the number 21 on it. He was 20-years-old at the time, but wanted the race officials to think he was 21.

His first race was at the Wichita Falls Speedway, a half-mile dirt track in 1926. From that day forward, he was driver and mechanic. He always listed his occupation as race car driver.

The year 1926, was a good beginning for Barringer: his car performed well, he was winning some races, and making money.

While the Wichita Falls track was his home track during 1926, it is known that he raced at other tracks. They included:
Montgomery County Fairgrounds, Coffeyville, Kansas
Houston Speed Bowl, Houston, Texas
Oil Belt Fairgrounds, Breckinridge, Texas
Temple, Texas
Childress Fairgrounds, Childress, Texas
Wichita Falls Speedway, Wichita Falls, Texas
Texas-Oklahoma Fairgrounds.

If you have any questions, or photos of George Barringer or his racing career, please contact:
Gerald Hodges at 251-626-4086, or e-mail: hodges@race500.com
This site is still under development. The material and information contained
in it comes from George Barringer's Son, Bill, who lives in California.
We are especially interested in photos made at Bonneville in 1940 when Barringer
tested for Gulf Oil and set all kinds of speed records