HICKORY, NC :: Ashley Huffman is passionate about racing. The only thing he loves more than strapping in to his Late Model on Saturday night is getting out of the car in Victory Lane, something the veteran driver hopes to do several times in 2014.
Huffman enters 2014 after building on a successful 2013 season where he scored his first victory in six years with his new crew chief, Cassen Klocko. Huffman has high expectations for 2014 as he will again run the full season at Hickory Motor Speedway.
“I expect to be competitive week in and week out and just to contend for wins,” Huffman said. “I think if we can accomplish that, the wins will come and the points will take care of themselves.”
Huffman spoke about the changes within his racing program last season and, asked whether he was satisfied, said he’s never completely satisfied.
“To be honest I’m never satisfied,” Huffman remarked. “Last year we took a huge step in getting our company going in the right direction. We hired a Cassen last year. He was with Brennan Poole when he won UARA Championship. He worked for PerformanCenter and he worked with me at one race and we got along. We could read each other’s minds. I told him if the opportunity comes up, I want him to come because we can accomplish some good things.
“Well, eight or nine months went by and he called and wanted to work. He came on last winter. Instantly, we had the same ideas and we worked in the same direction and it showed on the racetrack. Our performance turned around, we were competitive. We should’ve won a couple more races. We took a huge step last year and we’ve got a lot to build on. I’m expecting some big things this year.”
Huffman feels he should have had a couple more wins. One of those wins should have come on June 15th. Huffman was leading the race on the last lap when the caution flag waved. Instead of ending the race when the caution came out, track officials said the caution came out before the white flag waved. That set up a Green-White-Checkered finish. The result, Christian Calvo edging Huffman for the win in a photo finish leaving Huffman infuriated. After the race, Huffman went to the tower to discuss the deal with race officials. They locked him out. So, during podium interviews, Huffman took the opportunity to call out track officials and “The Speech” was born.
“When I got out of the car, I went up to the tower and the race director would not talk to me,” Huffman stated. “I’m not a physical person who looks for fights. I felt I was done wrong and I’m known to voice my opinion. I knew I shouldn’t have done that. I wasn’t going to go in the tower, I just wanted him to come out and talk to me. He wouldn’t. If he won’t come out, they’re going to put a microphone to my face so I talked to him that way. When it was my time to get interviewed, I took the microphone and said what I would’ve said if he had come out here. It just so happens that everyone got to hear it.”
Huffman said it’s not just a race to him and that racing is a passion that runs in his veins.
“For us, it’s not just a Saturday night race,” Huffman explained. “My family’s been racing since 1950 and it’s all I’ve ever known. When I grew up, I spend weekends at Hickory. My dad (Dwight Huffman) had cars since I was born. For us, it’s a way of life. When I grew up, I had the same dream every other kid had and I wanted to win the Daytona 500. I’m 33 now, I know I won’t have that opportunity but I love strapping in a racecar on Saturday night. I know I haven’t had Philip Morris/Lee Pulliam success but I do it because I love it and all our guys, it’s the same deal. If we did it for the money, we’d all stay home. We do it because we love it. When you get done wrong, if you didn’t care, you wouldn’t get upset. We’re passionate about it and it blew over that night. I felt like we won the race. We worked hard. We made changes and we were getting on path and it had been six years since I won a race. I won a race, came back two weeks later and felt like we should’ve been in victory lane again. Winning a race is no easy feat and when you do get there, it could be your last time. When you feel like it got robbed from you, it’s hard to swallow.”
Huffman began racing back in 1998. Now, 16 years later, he continues racing more competitive than he’s ever been.
“I started out in a Limited Late Model back in 1998. My first year I ran at TCMS and my second year I came to Hickory. I felt like I was ready to move up. We moved up a year too early but I was too hard headed and I felt I was ready. At Hickory, I’ve raced Limiteds, Late Models and a Pro Cup back in 2001.”
Huffman scored one win in 2013 and has two other wins at Hickory Motor Speedway, one in a UARA race in 2005 and the other in 2007.
Hickory’s season opener will be run on Saturday, March 8th with the green flag waving at 7pm.
