Landon Huffman will honor his father, Robert Huffman, for the second straight year during the CARS Tour Throwback 276 Aug. 3-4 at Hickory (N.C.) Motor Speedway.
Last year Huffman, 22, honored the elder Huffman by wrapping his late model like the No. 37 White House Apple Juice car his father piloted in the NASCAR Goody’s Dash Series in the early 2000s.
This year Huffman’s going a bit further back in time to honor Robert Huffman, is a five-time Goody’s Dash Series champion. His car will carry the white, red and blue colors that his father made famous from 1983 through ’87, capturing victories and championships along the way.
“Last year I got to do the White House Apple Juice 37, which was, obviously, a special scheme for me,” Huffman said. “For me it was a big part of my childhood, so to be able to race that car was pretty special.
“The second one (paint scheme) that I wanted, and I already had it in my mind after the race ended last year, was dad’s original late model stock car,” Huffman explained. “The paint scheme is actually modeled after Joe Ruttman’s Pet Dairy Cup car. Dad liked the number and style of the scheme and the colors. So he went with that and that’s what he ran for the first three or four years of his career.”
Robert Huffman was a wildly successful short-track racer in the 1980s. He is a former Hickory Motor Speedway limited late model champion and scored his first late model stock car victory at North Carolina’s Caraway Speedway during that time period. He added multiple victories at North Wilkesboro Speedway and Hickory, all while driving a car painted like the one his son will race this weekend at Hickory.
“For me it’s just going to be cool to throw it back to where he started and honor him and his career that way,” Huffman said. “It’ll be another cool moment for him, just like last year was. We’ll have some fun with it.
“I’ve got an original drivers suit and helmet that I’ll use for some pictures. I definitely can’t use it for the race because I’m sure it’s not fire retardant anymore,” Huffman added as he laughed. “It’s going to be a good time.”
