Hunter Hougard’s racing days go back to when he was age five, but it was his father who planted the seed.
Hougard’s father raced street stocks and late models in the 70s and 80s. Starting at age five, Hougard, who lives in Warren, Minn., started racing himself, progressing through Kiddy Kats, snowmobiles and dirt bikes. He’s now in his fifth year behind the wheel of the #188 Wissota Midwest Modified.
“It’s always been in our blood,” Hougard said.
He’s having a solid season in 2020 — he has three top five finishes and has finished in the top six on six occasions.
Hougard, who works as a tractor mechanic at True North Equipment in Warren, doesn’t plan to chase points at a particular track in 2020, although he doesn’t rule out doing so at Norman County Raceway in Ada, where he is third in the standings. NCR is about an hour from his home and races on Thursdays which are both convenient for him.
So far this season he’s raced at River Cities Speedway, Norman County Raceway and Devils Lake Speedway. Greenbush Race Park, which is scheduled to open this week, is usually his regular track.
“We don’t really stick to one specific racetrack. We go wherever we want,” Hougard said.
Now in his fifth season behind the wheel of a midwest modified, Hougard’s had success in the division with six career wins.
“We’ve been fortunate,” Hougard said. “I feel we’ve done fairly well with being a top 10 car everywhere we’ve gone. There’s a lot of competition from Canada all the way down. There’s 15 to 20 cars that could win every night depending on where you are at…(it’s) knowing you have a car to win, and being able to pick up a feature win here and there — that keeps you driving,”
In 2017 he was locked in an intense battle for points with Nate Reynolds at Greenbush that proved to be memorable.
“The back and forth that year — if Nate would win I’d get second, and if I’d win Nate was second,” Hougard said.
Hougard says 2020 will likely be his last year of racing as he plans to focus more on his family after the season.
“We’ll travel around,” Hougard said. “I’m just enjoying it and having fun racing.”
Driver Profile
Hunter Hougard
Wissota Midwest Modified #188
Hometown: Warren, Minn.
Age: 27
Sponsors: D and B Motors, Olson Underground, Stroble Farms, Elite Ag Service, Hougard Trucking, Warren Storall, Bennett Construction, Paul Bunyan’s Animal Land.
Special Thanks: Dad, Mom, Angie, Mike , Philip, Steven, Sammy
Comments