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Mar
05
Hutto Kicks Off 2018 Season With Semi-Final Finish

Houston, TX. (March 5, 2018): Justin Hutto launched his 2018 National Hot Rod Association (NHRA) campaign at the NHRA Divisional event in Belle Rose, Louisiana in his Champion Powered 1969 Corvette. Coming into the season, Hutto was ready to redeem himself after losing by .003 seconds at the 2017 NHRA Fall Nationals. Hutto also battled with a lingering misfire at the event which left him with some work to do over the offseason.

After three months of work, Hutto came out swinging with a Semi-Final finish in Saturday’s gamblers race. In final eliminations of the main event, Hutto snagged the first-round victory over Tim Bartlett with a 9.98 run. In the second round, Hutto paired up against Phillip Giles- a rematch of the final round of Hutto’s first Stock Eliminator win. Hutto left the starting line with a solid .028 reaction time, but slowed a bit too much giving Giles the room he needed for victory.

“I just dropped way too early for the strategy I chose”, Hutto said. “It was a silly mistake that I know better not to make. I literally have the rule I broke in this round written down in my strategy binder. I just got caught up in the moment.”

Hutto’s next race will be on his home turf of Houston Raceway Park for the second NHRA Division 4 race of the year.

About Hutto Racing: Hutto Racing is a multigenerational Houston based NHRA team with a rich history within the sport of drag racing. Starting with Jimmie Hutto Sr.’s founding of Hutto Racing in the mid 1960’s, we have been a successful drag racing team for the past 50 years. Although Hutto Racing spans through multiple eras of the sport, the constant theme throughout the three generations of racers is a devotion to their passion and a resolute work ethic for consistent success.

Jun
08
Belle Rose Recap: First Win of the Season!

Minutes after being in tears because of pain from a nearly broken leg before the finals, God and an awesome group of supporters gave Justin the strength and encouragement to ignore the pain and win his first NHRA Divisional event. Though we experienced ups and downs throughout the race weekend, we came out on top as champions in the Stock Eliminator class at the NHRA Divisional in Belle Rose, Louisiana while proudly representing Champion Spark Plugs.

Apr
30
NHRA Dallas Divisional Recap: Tough Lessons.

From the moment we completed our first qualifying session, the 2017 NHRA Dallas Divisional provided a pretty rocky race weekend for Team Hutto. From confusions on the legality of the corvette to the corvette not even making it down the track first round, I’ve chalked this weekend up to a tough lesson learned.

Going forward, we’ll be sure that there’s absolutely no question on the legality of our cars and we’ll fix the carburetor issue that caused our first round hiccup- which ironically was the part of the car in question. Despite unwanted results, I did learn about the politics that goes on in the NHRA, which will make more vigilant in insuring compliance with the rules- thus, a better racer.

With this race being the second in a row that the car has shut off on the starting line, we also now know that we have a real issue that needs to be addressed. Though we prefer to not have issues anywhere, we’re better off having them a few hours down the road in Dallas than having them thousands of miles away at an “out of division” event. There’s always some silver lining to leaving a race without the trophy. As a driver, I usually don’t see it in the moment of defeat, but after some reflection I always remember that we’re blessed to even have the means to participate in such an amazing sport. As they say, a bad day at the races is better than a good day anywhere else!

In car cam screenshot of the disappointment following the carburetor malfunction first round.

With a month break coming up, we’ll have plenty of time to prepare for our next event- the NHRA LODRS event in Tulsa. Both mechanically, and mentally, I believe this break is much needed. Though we could’ve rushed off to a few races across the country, this break gives me time to settle after my first year at the University of Houston and set up my summer work schedule. Once I get life “figured out” for the summer, get the car prepared, and resume a consistent practice routine, I’m confident that I’ll be in a really good state to win in Tulsa. I’m excited to see how points stack up once all is said and done!

-Justin Hutto

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