Landon Huffman is taking a shot at Limited Late Models at Hickory Motor Speedway
Sophomore
at Bunker Hill follows in dad's footsteps
Tom Gillispie Special to The
Record May 20, 2012
CLAREMONT, N.C. -- Landon Huffman’s memories of
his father’s racing career are pretty sketchy.
“I remember going to Dash races when I was
younger,” said Landon, 16, whose dad, Robert, was a five-time NASCAR Dash
Series champion. “I don't remember a lot. I remember a yellow car.
“I have more vivid memories of when he ran
trucks. I remember us staying in a motor home and making road trips toTexasand
other places.”
Robert Huffman, 44, had a big-time racing career
and is now looking after his son, who races Limited Late Models at Hickory
Motor Speedway.
The elder Huffman, a Claremont native, says he
started racing Street Stocks (“Like Limited is now”) in 1986, then moved up to
Late Models the next year.
Robert Huffman won track titles in 1988 and 1989
and drove a NASCAR Dash car at Hickory in 1989. He was rookie of the year and
champion in Dash in 1990, and he also won Dash titles in 1998, 1999, 2000 and
2003. In 2003, he gave Toyota its first NASCAR championship.
During his career, Robert Huffman won 42 races in
the Dash series, and his five championships tie him with Dean Combs for the
Dash record. He also ran 11 NASCAR Busch (now Nationwide) Series races and 40
NASCAR Truck Series races.
On whether he misses racing, Robert Huffman said
“Not really.”
His last truck race was in August 2005.
“I’ve gotten into a car a time or two, but I
don’t have itch that I got to do it," Robert Huffman said. "I enjoy
working on the cars, Landon running up front and having the chance to see him
win.”
And now it’s Landon Huffman’s turn to race, with
his dad helping.
Landon, a sophomore at Bunker Hill High, says he
was 4 when his dad got him a dirt go-kart. He raced go-karts all across North
Carolina until he was 12.
When he turned 15, he and his dad bought an old
car, took it apart and rebuilt it, and headed to HMS.
Landon Huffman beat out Limited Late Model
regulars Matt Piercy and Tyler Church and won his second career Limited race on
the night of the 2011 Bobby Isaac Memorial race.
He had a solid start this season, taking seventh
in Limited Late Model points on May 7, but disaster struck last Saturday.
“It will be several weeks before I run again,” he
said. “I was running third, battling for the lead with (Shane) Lee and (Jason)
Cochran with five (laps) to go, and the 55 car (Zachary Bruenger) turned me in
turns three and four, tore up the right front some.”
To compound matters, Robert Huffman says
they have no racing budget.
“Our budget is to spend as little as possible,”
he said with a laugh. “We have no set budget, as long as we don’t tear up the
car.
“We figure it takes $350 a week to go to the
racetrack. Sponsors help with a portion of it, and we take what we won last
week to race this week.”
Robert Huffman says he sometimes sees people he
knows at race nights at HMS.
Years ago, he raced against Shane Lee’s dad,
Mike, and now he sees the Lees regularly. He also sees Greg Marlowe, once a
terrific Late Model driver and now a chassis builder. He also sees Dexter
Canipe Sr., the 1997 national short-track champion and Robert’s cousin. Canipe
works some with Marlowe, and he helps his son, Dexter Jr.
Landon Huffman says he feels no pressure as the
racing son of an accomplished racer.
“I definitely benefit from someone like my dad
helping me, with the knowledge he has and as smart as he is with cars,” said
Huffman, who is looking for sponsorship so he can move up to Late Model next
year, but calls it a “longshot.”
Landon Huffman will graduate high school in 2014.
He said he might try a motorsports program at a college, perhaps at Charlotte.
“I’ve talked to Dad about that,” he said.
No surprise there.
Tom Gillispie, the author of “Angel in Black:
Remembering Dale Earnhardt Sr.,” writes about Hickory Motor Speedway and
racing each week for HDR Sports. If you have a story idea, reach him
at nc3022@yahoo.com., and search Facebook for the Hickory Daily
Record / The Inside Line page.
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