Biography
by J.A. Ackley

As many racers, Ron "Hurricane" Humes would grow up on the exhaust fumes of local tracks, and in Humes’ case it would be the now defunct Islip Speedway and Orange County Fair Speedway.  Racing would be a family affair for Humes as well, as his father would be Chief Steward at Riverhead Raceway, his mother would be a ticket taker, and his brother Al would be the Assistant Starter.

Humes started out racing in 1979 at Freeport driving in the Bomber ranks.  Humes would fare very well in his first attempt at racing with a top 10 in points in his final year at Freeport, 1982.  Following a successful Bomber tenure, Humes would hook up with Team Key Material of Brooklyn, NY to race at New Egypt Speedway in the Chargers, which would include a near miss of the championship in 1985 by two points, but eventually the championship next year.

In 1987, Humes moved up into the SK Modifieds in the former Jimmy Spencer championship car.  In his second race ever in an SK he would steadily improve from a 17th starting position onto first for the win of the televised New Egypt 100-lap feature.  Humes would fair well in the open-wheeled ranks, earning many wins along the way.

After competiting in New Jersey competition, Humes ventured up to New England to Stafford Motor Speedway for some SK Modified racing action in 1988.  In 1989, Humes would also do limited competition in the NASCAR Modified Tour and qualified for all his races and met moderate success.  After the 1989 season, Humes would step away from racing, only racing on a limited basis at Wall Stadium and Flemington Speedway.  It would nearly be 10 years until Humes would once again step into a full-time ride.

In 1998, Humes would form a Super Pro Truck team at Riverhead Raceway and within his first couple of races, Humes tasted victory once again.  In 1999, Humes would once again experience championship gold once again, as well as in 2000, and this past year in 2001.  In addition to the three championships, Humes toured victory lane ten times in the four-year span.  “I feel very honored to have won in my career,” Humes commented, “you have guys that never win a race in all their years of racing, and to win a race is an honor itself, let alone the championships.”

Many wonder how Humes could be so dominant in the Super Pro Trucks and other divisions he has raced in the past.  Many racers will tell you that Humes has an uncanny ability to find the openings necessary to come from the back to the front.  However, Humes credits it to another factor, a factor that quite a few teams ignore.  “[To be successful], you got to be focused and make sure all the work is done on the car BEFORE you get to the track,” Humes comments, “It’s all preparation and that’s 90% of success.  The rest is in knowing chassis setup and constant playing with it as well as experience.  One [factor] doesn’t win without the other, you win by putting it together.”

In 2002, Ron Humes would race a few races in his #12 Super Pro Truck before selling the famed #12 midseason.  Humes has been seeking a ride ever since, but in the mean time he has been concentrating on his son's career in go-karts. If the genetics prove correct, expect some more dominance from the Humes name in the future.

Team Info

Statistics

Super Pro Truck Career Stats (2000-Present)