8 replies to this topic

[Doug Nye]

Received from Gary Horstkorta, via Howden Ganley:

 

Gentlemen:

 

I received a call from Joe Huffaker Jr. this past Thursday informing me his Dad had passed away earlier in the week.  He died from old age, peacefully at his home with Joe Jr. there.  He was 91, he had a long and very productive life in motor sport.

 

A memorial is planned for the CSRG race weekend at Sonoma Raceway of April 2 on Saturday at 5:00pm in front of the Huffaker Shop.  Food and drink will be served.  No other info is available at this time.  I expect there will be quite a turnout since so many people knew Joe Sr.

 

GH

 

What stories the veteran constructor had to tell...  Sincere condolences to his family, friends and many admirers.

 

DCN

[ReWind]

 

Received from Gary Horstkorta, via Howden Ganley:

 

He was 91

 

In fact he was 95.
R.I.P.

[Ray Bell]

As I recall, he was a man to do things differently to others...

 

I like that kind of thinking. And even at 95, still a great loss.

[10kDA]

RIP Joe Huffaker. One of those very influential fabricators and constructors who shaped racing in the US during the late 50s - early 60s period.

[JacnGille]

Sad news

[Henri Greuter]

A man who was Part of what was possibly the most revolutionary decade in Indycar history.

 

R.I.P. Joe Huffaker

[E1pix]

I haven’t posted in some time but thought I’d share some memories of Joe Huffaker.

Honestly, with him being of some advanced years when I was 12 and first aware of him fifty years ago this coming November, I’d presumed he’d left the track some time ago.

To my British friends here, I wanted to say Mr. Huffaker made your country’s epic sports cars proud in his legendary race prep of BMC cars, starting in the ‘60s and ranging from MG Midgets in F Production to MGBs in E Production, a short binge with the TR7 in D Production, and the wondrous, 12-cylinder E-Types in B Production — where Huffaker’s mount driven by the venerable Lee Mueller beat the small-block Corvettes, as did East Coast BMC counterpart Group 44 with Lee’s arch-rival Bob Tullius.

Ray Bell would like hearing my first SCCA Runoffs at Road Atlanta in 1972 included a victory in F Production by one Jon Woodner, who went on to some success in an F5000 Talon MR1 here in 1975. Huffaker Engineering produced Jon’s MG Midget, in typical Huffaker guise of impeccable presentation in black and dual matching numbers, in this case, #77.

Joe, Jr. remains a regular competitor in the Runoffs today, where at about six-foot-five and racing an original-form Mini, he drives the car from what appears to be the back seat. Junior has continued the legacy, perhaps the greatest of Senior’s accomplishments, and the team typically enters two to five impeccable cars to this day. Huffaker cars have never been short of absolutely stunning in engineering and build.

Thanks for the inspiration, Joe Huffaker. I will never forget what you’ve done for our sport. Prep in Peace.

[cooper997]

Who knows whether Joe wants to be remembered for cramming the Aston 6 cylinder in the stretched Indy Cooper T54 for Pedro's 1963 attempt.

 

 

Sports Car Graphic ran this feature on another of his engineering skills.

 

 

 

 

My condolences to the Huffaker family and friends.

 

 

Stephen

 

 

 

[scooperman66]

Might have been the 1979 Runoffs, I was scoping out the Huffaker TR7 and noticed an odd thing in the rollcage.  There was a piece of tube welded at a junction of other tubes, in the middle of the car if I recall correctly, a short piece of tube that seemed to do nothing.  Finally I asked a crew member, what is it for?  He told me it was for the victory lap when they hand the driver the checkered flag, he can just plug the flag pole in that tube and drive around without having to hold the flag.