Like many of the racers of his generation, Ryan is carrying on a family tradition every time he straps into his dragster for a pass down the drag strip. A third-generation racer, Ryan carries on a tradition established back in the 1960’s by his grandfather Dave Middleton. “My grandfather was a racer back in the pioneering days…back in the flag-drop era. He was actually a member of the Road Knights, which helped build and establish the drag strip at Kil-Kare.”

Ryan’s grandfather put his racing career on hold to build a business - Performance Clinic Custom Engines - an engine building, testing, and remanufacturing facility that is over 35 years strong today. Performance Clinic is a small family business, consisting of Ryan; his parents, Lisa and Greg Burba; his grandparents, Dave and Jacqui Middleton; and Larry Schaefer, who has been with the company long enough to practically be family.

The drag racing tradition 50 years in the making is carried on today by Ryan and his father, Greg, who is still out at the track having fun. Of his father, Ryan said “There’s a Tom Petty lyric that pretty much sums up my father and his racing passion, “My old man was born to rock, he’s still tryin’ to beat the clock”…He’s out there going rounds and still having fun doing it.”

Performance Clinic is responsible for building the consistent, reliable engines that Ryan and Greg use in their race cars. “My family is the best crew I could ask for. My grandfather and father build excellent engines…without them I couldn’t be out here doing what I love. For a small company, Performance Clinic sure does some big things…what other small, local engine shop do you know that can brag about having 4 of the top 5 qualified Top Sportsman cars at an NHRA national event?”

Ryan’s dragster is powered by a 565 cubic inch big block Chevy producing 1000 horsepower. The Ryan Burba machine travels the 1/8th mile in 4.7 seconds at speeds over 140 miles per hour. 2012 marks Ryan’s 7th season driving a race car. Already in his short career Ryan has won a track championship as well as been named Racer of the Year by the Miami Valley Drag Racers Association. Ryan is very humble, saying “I have truly been blessed to be privileged with the resources and structure that surrounds me…without my family I would not have been able to accomplish any of this. I am truly grateful for them and all they do to help me. I just hope I can represent Performance Clinic and my family as half as well as they represent me.”

Coming off of a 2nd, 4th, and 3rd place finish in points at his local track the last three years, respectfully, Ryan is hungry and determined to make even more noise in 2012. When asked of his goals, Ryan said, “I want to win a track championship, but I would also like to travel to some new tracks in 2012. When it comes down to it, I want to qualify for the Division 3 Bracket Finals without running points every single weekend. However, the number one priority on my list this year is to race my dad in a final round…and win, of course!”

Ryan just recently graduated Wright State University in Dayton, Ohio with a Bachelor’s degree in Business Marketing. Using his marketing degree, artistic passion, and motorsports mentality, Ryan is the perfect fit as a marketing and sales representative at Duncan Oil Performance Fuels.

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