It’s hard for Matt Barndt to imagine a life without racing.

“My family members were always fans of the sport in general, but I guess my interest really grew when I started racing myself at five years old,” Barndt said. “Some family friends of ours were also racing quarter midgets and got us into it. I raced quarter midgets for quite a few years, and then just moved on up through the ranks - quarter-midgets, mini-cups, asphalt late models.

“It just kind of became a dream to race, to be a driver on a professional level. That’s kind of what sparked my interest.”

Given the opportunity to make his passion a career, the Bethlehem native and Saucon Valley High School graduate hit the gas.

“I did play other sports growing up, said Barndt. “I played basketball before I got to high school, then played baseball all the way up through the middle of high school. I also ran cross country.

“But racing always took precedence. We traveled a lot for racing. Any opportunity that came up to race or go to racing always superseded anything - even down to family vacations. My sister also raced growing up, and we would be given the option, ‘Do you want to go on a family vacation this year? Or do you want to go to nationals?’ Of course, we’d always pick nationals.”

That dedication to the sport has certainly paid off - although in a different capacity than when he was a young driver.

Now the car chief on the No. 9 car of Chase Elliott, Barndt has been in the industry for over 10 years. He started at Hendrick Motorsports as an intern and worked his way up to his current role.

“The transition started happening around when I was 14 or so, that was when I really decided that I wanted to be in the sport in some aspect on a professional level,” he said. “At that time, I wanted to be a driver. And that was what our main focus was as a family. We all worked really hard on that career path.

“Ultimately, I decided to go to college for mechanical engineering with the intention of that being my backup plan. At that point in time, we were still moving forward with the driving career. Even though it was a dream, it was still the reality at the time because that was all we really focused on.”

Even when it started to become apparent that Barndt might need to turn to his backup plan, he never considered his future being in anything other than the racing industry.

“Obviously going to school for mechanical engineering is a fantastic backup plan. But even when I did that, I did it with the intention of working in the sport as well.

“So ultimately I guess I kind of transitioned around 14 and I knew I wanted to be in the sport in some aspect. That was kind of how it all transpired.”

Barndt graduated from the University of North Carolina at Charlotte, and ultimately began his internship at Hendrick Motorsports - where he’s worked his way up through the ranks.

“I started working at Hendrick in 2010, and I remember thinking at the time, ‘I work at Hendrick Motorsports - the elite team in the sport,’” Barndt said. “But I feel like now, looking back on it, that first real ‘pinch me’ moment was last year.”

Barndt is referring to Elliott capturing the 2020 NASCAR Cup Series Championship.

“That was a wow moment,” said Barndt. “It was like, ‘this is the peak. This is the pinnacle of our sport. This is what we all do this for.’”

But reaching the peak in his sport hasn’t made Barndt any less competitive.

“I think once you get there, it only makes you want it more,” he said. “I wanted to be part of a championship – and now that we’ve done it, it just makes you want to do it again.”

In addition to his championship run with Elliott last season, Barndt was also part of Jeff Gordon’s Brickyard 400 win in 2014. Barndt has been a race engineer for both the No. 24 car and the No. 9 car.

As car chief, Barndt and his team work tirelessly to find out what works – and what doesn’t.

“Every day is a little bit different, it just kind of depends on what track we’re going to, how the previous week went,” he said. “A lot of small, finite details go into the car, and we basically do research and development every day, every week.

“Sometimes you try something new and it doesn’t work. Sometimes you try multiple new things, and you have to kind of guess what worked and what didn’t. We just pay attention to details on a day-to-day basis.”

Barndt, who now resides in Mooresville, North Carolina, credits his family for putting him on a path to success.

“My dad. He has had a huge impact on my life,” Barndt said of his father Tim. “I learned a lot from him. He was an extremely hard worker. I certainly got my work ethic and dedication from him.

“Still to this day, I call and kind of get advice and just vent about my day and all that good stuff. Certainly my dad has had the biggest influence on me becoming me.”

Barndt and rest of the NASCAR Cup Series will be racing back-to-back days on Saturday and Sunday at Pocono Raceway this weekend - a homecoming he always looks forward to.

“I always like to try to do the best I can to catch up with family and friends when we’re in town,” he said. “This schedule is always a little different and sometimes more condensed. The doubleheader is super condensed, with a lot of hours at the track.

“But I certainly still try my best to meet up with family and friends and catch up every time we’re in town. It’s always good to see familiar faces.”

Near or far, Barndt never forgets his roots – or what pulled him into the sport as a young fan and racer.

“The thing that really made me stick with it and want to be in the sport was our physical racing, like us doing it as a family,” he said. “That’s what really stuck, and kind of turned into that passion, that drive to be in the sport.

“It started at a young age and has always been a lifestyle for me.”

One that’s not likely to change or slow down anytime soon.