Long before Brent Headrick lit up radar guns with his left arm, the Yankees reliever sent speedometer needles flying with a step of his right foot.

Born into a family of drag racers, Headrick grew up frequenting a track about 30 minutes from his childhood home in Braidwood, Ill. There, his grandfather, Larry; dad, Wade; and other relatives and friends would zip down quarter-mile straightaways at roughly 140 mph. With the family in possession of two blue 1968 Chevy Novas, a 1967 Nova and a 1955 Chevy Bel Air, they would finish the races in about nine seconds.

“When I wasn’t playing baseball in the summers, we’d go to the racetrack and I’d be the pit crew, basically, for my dad,” Headrick said earlier this spring. “I got into it back in high school and stuff a little bit. My sister was big into it.”

Headrick’s sister, Ashley, turned into a speed demon, winning a few Junior Dragster championships when they were younger. Headrick, meanwhile, raced her car — one of the 68 Novas — a bit as a teen.

But as baseball became a serious endeavor, drag racing turned into a spectator sport for Headrick. These days, he is nothing more than a fan and an extra hand, rooting for his family at the track and helping them restore cars in the offseason.

“I don’t really do that anymore,” Headrick said with a smile. “I try to make sure I’m ready for baseball at all times.”

While Headrick no longer does Vin Diesel impressions behind the wheel — he said racing could be a “fun hobby” when his playing days end — high velocity readings remain a key part of his life as he battles for a spot in the Bombers’ bullpen this spring.

Last year, the 6-6 southpaw flashed top-tier heat at times after the Yankees claimed him off waivers from the Twins in February. It wasn’t unusual to see Headrick hit the upper-90s, but there were also days when the 28-year-old sat in the low-90s. Unable to maintain high velo from outing to outing, Headrick averaged 94 mph with his four-seamer — that put him in the 44th percentile — while recording a 3.13 ERA and 32.6 K% over 17 big league games.

“Last year, we were probably searching for that. He’d pitch well, and you’d see the bump up in stuff,” Aaron Boone said earlier this spring. “Then the next time out, it’d be a little bit of a fallback.”

Headrick and the Yankees believe the velocity fluctuations occurred because the pitcher was still transitioning from being a starter in Minnesota’s organization. Boone called the 2025 season a “learning period” for Headrick, as he had to figure out how to recover from more frequent use and develop a reliever’s routine while bouncing between the majors and minors. Oblique and shoulder issues, as well as a left forearm contusion, also served as bumps in the road.

The Yankees had to learn as well, testing to see if Headrick could handle multiple innings of work, pitching on back-to-back days, and other usage patterns.

“The more you keep throwing, the more your body gets used to it,” Headrick said. “But it’s just about managing workload before the game and what you’re doing outside of just being on the mound to help you get back to your best version of yourself for the next day.

“By the end of the season, the body had fully adjusted, and I felt like I was ready for the bullpen role.”

Headrick went on to say that knowing he’d be in the pen this season allowed him to prepare better over the winter. He believes that he will be able to consistently pump gas while pitching in two straight games, or in 2-out-of-3, once the regular season rolls around.

Headrick hasn’t had to do that in exhibition play, though he did log his first multi-inning appearance on March 6 and added a scoreless frame against the Phillies in Clearwater on Tuesday.

He maxed out at 95.9 mph and 95.7 mph, respectively, in those games after previously cracking 97 mph in his first two games of the spring.

So far, Headrick’s fastball has averaged 94.5 mph in camp, which isn’t much better than his 2025 season average.

Still, he has had a productive spring. Headrick owns a 3.86 ERA over 4.2 innings; the two runs he’s allowed came in one frame against his old team on Feb. 27. More notable are Headrick’s nine strikeouts, as well as the addition of a sinker.

That pitch can give him another option when his four-seamer isn’t firing on all cylinders.

Of course, if Headrick can keep his stuff in the upper-90s, his power arm could land him a large role in the Yankees’ bullpen. The club already has two left-handed relievers in swingman Ryan Yarbrough and sidearmer Tim Hill, but they are two of the softest tossers in baseball.

“His fastball’s got a chance to really play with his size,” Boone said of Headrick.

With several others competing for openings in the Yankees’ bullpen, Boone has spoken as if Headrick is in pole position. At the very least, he’s a favorite in a group that also includes Jake Bird, Cade Winquest and a few others.

Nothing has been decided with two weeks to go in exhibition play, but Boone has routinely mentioned Headrick when discussing the team’s options. That began at the Winter Meetings in December, when the manager voluntarily said, “I expect a lot” from the hurler this season.

“I think he’s legit,” the skipper recently reiterated with the Yankees racing toward Opening Day. “I really do. He was good for us last year in small bursts. I feel like he’s throwing the ball really well.

“I’m excited about him.”