Landon Huffman, who was the regular season points champion in the race for the 2022 Hickory Motor Speedway track championship, has landed a new sponsor for the final four race weekends of the season in Cubbard Express Convenient Stores.
Additionally, Cubbard Express will be on Huffman’s car in the Fall Brawl at Hickory on October 15th as well.
Cubbard Express, which has 17 locations across the Hickory, North Carolina-metro area, will be prominently displayed on the rear quarterpanels of Huffman’s No. 75 car.
“Excited to welcome Cubbard Express as a primary sponsor of our Jason Smith Racing No. 75 machine for our run at the points championship,” Huffman said in a statement. “I enjoy partnering with companies that have a strong impact in our local community and that is exactly what Cubbard Express is! Hopefully we can put them in victory lane this Saturday night!”
Huffman, 26, is attempting to join his father, Robert Huffman, as a Hickory Motor Speedway track champion. Huffman talked to TobyChristie.com in January about his track championship run and the importance a track championship would have on him personally.
So, how does the Playoff format for the Hickory Motor Speedway track championship work?
Drivers, that wanted to be considered for the track championship Playoffs, had to start at least eight races during the Hickory regular season. Seven drivers made the cut for the four-race Playoffs.
Huffman will be battling Annabeth Barnes Crum, Skyler Chaney, Charlie Watson, Isabella Robusto, Matthew Gould and Bryson Dennis in the Playoffs for the track championship.
By virtue of winning the regular season championship, Huffman will have his point total reset to 100 points, but he will also gain two bonus points for each of his wins in 2022. This brings his total to 104 points.
The Hickory Motor Speedway Playoffs will get kicked off with a pair of 40-lap features, also known as twins, on Saturday, August 13th. The track championship will see another night of twin 40-lap features on Saturday, August 27th.
The Playoffs will continue with the 150-lap Bobby Isaac Memorial on September 3rd and the championship fight will culminate on September 17th. The race on Championship night will be a 75-lap contest, which will award double points.
It’s sure to be a knock-out drag-out fight for the Track Championship.
Here are the point standings heading into this weekend’s Hickory Motor Speedway Track Championship Playoff Opener:
- Landon Huffman, 104 points
- Annabeth Barnes Crum, -7
- Skyler Chaney, -14
- Charlie Watson, -17
- Isabella Robusto, -24
- Matthew Gould, -27
- Bryson Dennis, -29
2022 marks the first time in the history of the storied Hickory Motor Speedway Track Championship, which spans back to 1951, that the 0.363-mile facility is utilizing a Playoff format for the track championship. The Playoff addition to the 2022 track championship chase was announced last November by Hickory Motor Speedway’s general manager Kevin Piercy.
Legendary names that have won the Hickory Motor Speedway track championship in the past include:
Junior Johnson (1952), Ralph Earnhardt (1953, 1954, 1956, 1957 and 1959), Ned Jarrett (1955), Harry Gant (1969, 1973), Jack Ingram (1968, 1971), Dennis Setzer (1983, 1993) and Robert Huffman (1988, 1989).
