(Picture: Adam Fenwick/NASCAR)
Landon Huffman is making the leap from the Birthplace of NASCAR Stars to the World Heart of Racing later this month.
Huffman, 26, from Claremont, North Carolina, will flip his first laps across the 2.5-mile Daytona Worldwide Speedway on January 13-14 when the ARCA Menards Sequence returns to the famed superspeedway for its annual pre-race apply.
He heads to Daytona with Mullins Racing months faraway from his first NASCAR Advance Auto Components Weekly Sequence Division I observe championship at Hickory Motor Speedway.
🚨 Cats out of the bag🚨@LandonHuffman is becoming a member of the staff for the 2023 @ARCA_Racing take a look at session at @DAYTONA this January. @KeenParts pic.twitter.com/lEMAuY3kPV
— Mullins Racing (@mullins_racing) November 22, 2022
“I by no means thought I used to be ever going to get to run laps at Daytona, so that is fairly unimaginable,” stated Huffman, who has two earlier ARCA Menards Sequence begins throughout his profession. “It’s each brief observe racer’s dream to run laps at Daytona. My dad had a quote, I take advantage of it in my podcast as a part of my intro, after his first race at Daytona, he stated, ‘it doesn’t matter in case you’re racing a go-kart, slot automotive, or foot race, you received at Daytona.’”
Huffman picked up his first championship at Hickory Motor Speedway in September. His father, Robert Huffman, received two championships at Hickory within the late Nineteen Eighties earlier than happening to win 5 championships within the NASCAR Goody’s Sprint Sequence.
“I’ve needed a championship at Hickory since I started my driving profession again in 2010,” Huffman stated. “Dad received two of them and went on to do larger issues. Placing my title on the wall out entrance beside his title is an accomplishment I’m most happy with. I grew up racing at Hickory, watched my dad run many races there, and he watched my grandpa race there many instances as nicely. It’s a household custom and I’m proud to proceed shifting it ahead.”
The husband-and-wife co-owners of Mullins Racing, Willie and Dinah Mullins, got here to Hickory Motor Speedway final summer season to look at Huffman race. They grew to become quick mates and shortly the 2 events reached an settlement for Huffman to pilot one of many Mullins Racing vehicles at Daytona in ARCA’s pre-race apply.
“I’ve been web mates with Dinah and Willie,” Huffman recalled. “They got here down and watched me race at Hickory, got here all the way down to the pits, and we actually hit it off. I actually respect how they race, we are able to relate on plenty of ranges, primarily based on the cash we spend versus our opponents, they’re a household staff and do plenty of it themselves, plenty of mutual respect. They’ve completed a fantastic job constructing their program. Anytime I can work with individuals like that, it’s a great alternative.”
Huffman hopes to compete in a handful of ARCA Menards Sequence races for Mullins Racing in some unspecified time in the future this season.
“You by no means know what could play out,” Huffman said. “There’s alternative on the market for us to nail down a race or two however it comes all the way down to funding. If we keep on the observe we’re on, there could also be some alternatives that come alongside, however we’ll simply take it one step at a time proper now.”
Along with being a race automotive driver, Huffman additionally has a major social media presence. That features a widespread YouTube channel the place he chronicles his life as a weekly racer.
“I haven’t completed a podcast for a pair years, and simply began one known as Huffman Racing Radio and it’s been going rather well,” Huffman defined. “My YouTube channel helps get sponsors and I correlate all my content material associated efforts collectively. This previous season was my first full 12 months vlogging and I grew from over 2,000 subscribers to over 15,000 now and over 1.5 million views in 2022. We’re main the cost on the brief observe entrance in the case of YouTube content material. I’ve offered plenty of merchandise and introduced in some new companions.”
Huffman is considered one of 5 drivers who will drive for Mullins Racing through the ARCA pre-race apply at Daytona in January, and Willie Mullins, who completed second at Daytona in 2018, is happy about to have Huffman as a part of the staff.
Along with Huffman, Willie Mullins, Kayla Surles and Brayton Laster will be a part of Mullins Racing for the Daytona pre-race apply, with a fifth driver but to be confirmed.
“We’re extraordinarily excited to convey Landon into the fold,” Mullins stated. “The group of drivers we’ve got put collectively should not solely nice on observe, however nice off observe too. We embrace huge personalities, and this group doesn’t lack in that division. Every driver we’ve got has created their very own unimaginable on-line presence.”
The ARCA Menards Sequence pre-race apply at Daytona Worldwide Speedway is scheduled for January 13-14 from 10 a.m. to five p.m. EST every day.
