Huffman not ready to give up on being a NASCAR driver
By SceneDaily Staff
Wednesday, July 23, 2008
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Shane Huffman’s career has taken a few detours in the past year since being released from his ride with JR Motorsports. Now, he’s back as a crew chief in the Hooters Pro Cup Series while filling in as a driver for D.J. Kennington in the NASCAR Nationwide Series.
And those jobs came after a stint as car chief at Rusty Wallace Racing, a team he left about a month ago. But though Huffman has found work on the mechanical side, he’s not yet ready to give up on a driving career.
“I never really was ready to quit,” Huffman said. “I worked very hard to get to this level, and to have the rug get yanked out from under me in as quick a fashion as it happened really knocked the wind out of my sails for a little bit. It took me a little bit to get over it, and I’m still not over some aspects of it, as far as the way things were done and stuff. That’s neither here nor there.
“I’m just glad to be back here with D.J. and these guys and glad to be with Pete Knight again.”
Huffman was released from his ride in the No. 88 JR Motorsports Chevrolet after 18 races last year and spent two months away from the sport before Wallace hired him to work on Steve Wallace’s No. 66 cars.
But Huffman recently started working for Pete Knight Racing as crew chief for Travis Miller in the Northern Division of the Pro Cup Series. And that’s the same team for which Mark McFarland drives.
Huffman, you’ll remember, replaced McFarland at JR Motorsports.
“Mark and I were always friends before,” Huffman said. “When Junior made the first change, it wasn’t nothing to do with the driver as to why they weren’t getting the job done. I probably don’t need to say no more.”
Huffman is clearly stung by his dismissal from Dale Earnhardt Jr.’s team, even a year later. But he’s doing his best to focus on the future, a future that could include more Nationwide races as a driver.
Huffman filled in for Macdonald Motorsports’ Kennington at Gateway International Raceway last weekend and posted a 19th-place finish. Kennington competes full time in the NASCAR Canadian Tire Series and couldn’t make the Gateway race.
There are a couple more conflicts with Kennington’s schedule, and Huffman could again race the No. 81 Dodge.
“I think the possibility is there,” Huffman said. “D.J. and I have a real good relationship we formed back three or four years ago in a different series. They’re working really hard, they’ve secured Mahindra Tractors for the remainder of the year. I feel like I can help them. I think we’ve learned a few things."
Huffman also said Pete Knight Racing could field a car in the Nationwide Series later this year, perhaps at Memphis and Phoenix.
“Pete’s also wanting to run a couple of these races himself,” Huffman said. “We’re looking to build a car or buy a good car here and run a couple more before the end of the year with PKR.”
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