Barrett first started racing when he was 16 in karts, winning 21 races in 28 starts. In 1992, Barrett started racing in NASCAR's Busch North Series, his debut coming at the Big Apple Food Stores 200 at Oxford Plains Speedway at the age of 19; Barrett finished 21st, eleven laps behind race winner Joe Bessey. He also ran in the NASCAR Dash Series, funding the car with money earned as a stuntman for the movie "Freejack". Despite running as high as second in points, crashes relegated his final finish in the standings to sixth.