In a recent appearance on the well-known podcast _Door, Bumper, Clear_, Noah Gragson referred to Landon Huffman as the ‘resident complainer’ of the CARS Tour. This label may be exaggerated, but his growing activity on social media is opening up new opportunities for him.
Huffman, 30, will return to the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series for the first time in seven years on July 18 at North Wilkesboro Speedway, competing with Henderson Motorsports with support from a varied group of sponsors.
However, Huffman wants to make it clear that he does not consider himself a constant complainer, but rather that his ability to generate authentic and honest content has allowed him to make a career in short track racing, a task that is typically difficult to achieve. He is one of the veteran faces of the CARS Tour and has won competitions at Hickory Motor Speedway and Tri-County Motor Speedway, which are his home tracks.
Huffman documents his experiences through a weekly podcast, a vlog on YouTube, and his social media. In summary, life on short tracks is not always a fairy tale.
“Sometimes it’s great, sometimes not so much, but in any case, it’s public,” Huffman asserted. “When things go well, it’s fantastic and people enjoy it, but when they don’t, I won’t sugarcoat it. I’m honest about what I feel because that’s what the world of racing is; it has its ups and downs.”
Huffman believes that content about racing that doesn’t reflect the difficulties or controversies is misleading. “And listen, sometimes I’m wrong, and I know that, but sometimes they are just feelings I have when I get out of the car,” he said. “I get carried away by emotions and if I’m upset, I’ll get out of the car and tell you.”
Huffman has learned from the best what it means to produce authentic content. In recent months, he has forged a friendship with the group _Cleetus McFarland and Friends_, providing his Limited Late Model to George Siciliano, known as Squirrel McNutt, as he begins to seek a career in ARCA.
Aside from this, Huffman has competed with them in the Crown Victoria series at Indianapolis Raceway Park. The main sponsor of his debut in the Truck Series is the brand BaldEagle.com, which belongs to ‘Cleetus’.
Apart from this piece of the puzzle, Huffman has also had to secure the rest of the funding:
- Chuck Ward, Newport Speedway
- Hudson Autoworks
- Scott’s Collectables
- Athens Towing & Recovery
- Southern Custom Electrical
- Home Place Brewing
- … and then fans through social media
According to him, this is the best equipment he has ever had, “by far,” for what will be his next six appearances in the Truck Series. Previously, when he participated, he made an effort just to gain experience.
At those times, he was not driving trucks that had won races, even though Niece Motorsports and Young’s Motorsports have won races during his absence. When Huffman competed with those trucks, they were not winning entrants yet.
Henderson Motorsports has achieved recent victories with Parker Kligerman, and, when the No. 75 shows up partially, crew chief Chris Carrier usually has it ready to compete. This is also a great team, dating back to 1982, and has a history with Robert Huffman, Landon’s father and a NASCAR veteran.
“It’s a very, very interesting opportunity to work with a family that has been involved in racing and NASCAR for such a long time,” Huffman said. “There are generations of Hendersons involved and they are very proud of the trucks they bring to the track; they don’t have many employees.”
“Chris Carrier is an old-school guy, he really worked with my dad and was close to him during the times my dad was involved in the Truck Series, so we are old acquaintances, to put it one way. …”
“Talking with them, they used to shy away from the term ‘underdog’, but I think they have changed their mind. They expect to be competitive, even if they don’t have the same resources or employees.”
“They have experience, knowledge to make a stand and compete. … So if I can replicate what Parker does when he gets in the truck, it will be a successful weekend.”
At 30, Huffman still wants to reach the national level he so desires, but moreover, he has accepted what it takes to succeed in the world of Late Model Stock racing.
He hasn’t lost hope of becoming another Josh Berry, but his current situation is quite good and a debut in the Truck Series at North Wilkesboro can always open new doors.
“It’s not that I necessarily want to have a life of racing on short tracks, but I’m fine with that because I can drive a race car on weekends, support my family, and earn a salary working on those cars at Carroll Speedshop,” he said of his CARS Tour team. “Few race drivers at this level can say that.”
“So I consider myself very fortunate to have this opportunity. But I always keep hope of racing nationally full time. I feel that every short track driver, young or old, thinks about it in the back of their mind.”
“But if I end up racing Late Models my entire life, or if I just make a few other appearances in the Truck Series but can create my content and make a living, I’m very grateful to be able to compete in the CARS Tour and work on those cars.”
Not bad for the ‘resident complainer’ of the CARS Tour.
“I need to make a shirt with that,” Huffman said, laughing.
Written by FormulaRapidaAI
