Hickory, North Carolina | 12/17/23
Ending the year on a high note, Clark Houston was named Most Popular Driver in the Late Model Stock division at the 2023 Hickory Motor Speedway Awards Banquet. Running a full season at HMS, Clark topped the year 2 wins, 8 top fives, and 12 top tens in the 28 starts made.
The year was filled with many highs and lows, with some occurring as early as the first few races of the year, where Houston got caught up in accidents and wrecks outside of his control.
"Our highs of the year was picking up our two wins in the late model as well as all our top 5 finishes. Unfortunately, the year started with several lows, getting caught up in a wreck opening night and a couple other nights that ultimately took us out of contention for battling for Rookie of the Year and the Championship" - Clark Houston
Although it was a challenging start to the year, Clark and the DHR team kept their heads down in order to find the success they all knew was on the horizon. Clark picked up his first career Late Model Stock win on May 20th, 2023. It was a win that sent waves throughout the history books in the late model community. Being a 3rd generation driver and winner at Hickory Motor Speedway was something worth keeping a record of. The Houstons and Hickory go hand in hand, dating back to Andy and Tommy Houston's success in years past.
A rookie season in Late Model Stocks doesn't mean the expectations were set low. In fact, DHR's ultimate goal was to win the track championship.
"As far as accomplishing what we came to do, I think obviously the ultimate goal was to win the track championship. However, we knew it would be tough, being my rookie year in late models and the first time the DHR group has run a full late model schedule in a few years. For us to be able to rebound from a rough start of the year to get a couple wins and put together some really strong runs says a lot about the DHR group and the determination every one has to run good."
Hickory Motor Speedway is notorious for providing some of the toughest competition in NAAPWS Late Model competition. Former champions, including NASCAR Cup Series driver Josh Berry, CARS Tour driver Ryan Millington, and 2023 HMS Champion Kade Brown, made the field as challenged this year as they have been for decades.
We asked Clark if he could start the season over again with what he now knows about Late Model Stock racing, what would he tell himself or do differently?
"If I could go back and tell myself somthing it would definitely be to work on qualifying. I think us having a couple bad qualifying efforts early in the year put us in a bad position as far as being more likely to get caught up in wrecks because we were starting right in the hornet's nest. Once we started qualifying better, it seemed that the finishes seemed to start following suit as well."
Clark topped off the 2023 season with a run in the Limited Late Models at Florence Motor Speedway for the South Carolina 250. Playing a strategy against the grain, Clark drove to the front and led over half the race in the #28. Jumping to over 7 seconds on the field, the last thing Houston needed was a yellow flag. That untimely caution came just past halfway, and the marginal lead that Clark had built up suddenly disappeared. He would settle for 11th after 100 laps concluded.
"I have to thank all my great partners who have made this awesome year possible: Alps Mtn. Affordable Hearing Inc., Dwight Huffman Racing, Duck Graphics, Hellraizer Jacks, Platinum Limousine, and Best Mortgage LLC."
Plans for the 2024 season are currently being put together, but you can find all updates regarding Clark Houston and Dwight Huffman Racing on all DHR social channels.
About Dwight Huffman Racing
Dwight Huffman Racing was organized in March 1984 by Dwight Huffman, originating at Hickory Motor Speedway. The team has competed in several top divisions of NASCAR throughout the years, including the Busch Series, and has compiled a lengthy list of accomplishments including over 100 victories and several championships.
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