Petaluma race car builder Joe Huffaker follows in father's Hall of Fame footsteps

Joe Huffaker’s start in auto racing began with a push broom in his dad’s garage. Or maybe even before that, toddling around the shop as Dad built specialized Austin-Healeys in the 1950s.

Following in his father’s footsteps turned out to be a successful, rewarding, even record-setting road for “Little” Joe Huffaker.

On Saturday, the younger Huffaker will be inducted ?with nine others into the Sports Car Club of America’s Hall of Fame in Las Vegas, the capstone of the annual ?three-day SCCA national convention.

The 2020 class, the largest group to be inducted at once into the hall since its 2005 inception, includes three married couples and Huffaker, who becomes the first son to follow his father’s path into the hall.

Three years ago, Joe the elder was enshrined in the hall in recognition of his 30 years as one of motorsports’ most successful race car constructors.

“I feel very excited. I’m blessed,” the younger ?Huffaker said this week as he prepared for the trip to Vegas. “It’s one of the highest honors you can get from the SCCA. I’m very humbled as well. To be in with all the names you can see there, it’s truly amazing.”

For his part, the senior Joe, now 93 and a Novato resident, is thrilled to welcome his son into such hallowed territory.

“He just gradually picked up all the information we had as far as operating the machines and doing business with customers and building cars, welding, machining,” the senior Huffaker said. “He learned all that during the time he worked for me.”

“It started out a little difficult,” he joked of having his young son around the shop, “but it worked out great.”

Though he isn’t technically a “junior,” Huffaker, 64, has been called that to differentiate from his dad. Somewhere along the line he picked up “Little Joe,” too, which also isn’t accurate - the Petaluma resident is 6-foot-5.

Huffaker officially joined his father’s Huffaker Engineering in the early 1970s, but watched his dad build three Indy cars before he was 10.

Huffaker senior led British Motor Cars’ competition department, for which he crafted a successful string of cars including the BMC Formula Juniors and Genie Sports Racers, named after his wife.

Later, for Indianapolis 500 competition, he helped build the MG Liquid Suspension Specials, for which he received an engineering award for design and development.

In 1967, Huffaker left BMC and formed Huffaker Engineering, where he built SCCA championship-winning MG Midgets, MGBs, Triumphs and Jensen-Healeys. In the 1980s, Huffaker Engineering built Pontiac cars for the Trans Am and IMSA series.

Absorbing all that knowledge after school and during the summers, the junior Huffaker built his first race car in 1974 after college.

Little Joe significantly expanded the engineering operation to become a force in SCCA Club Racing and Pro Racing. The shop has produced three dozen SCCA Runoffs National Championship cars and claimed three SCCA Trans Am titles.

In addition to building championship cars, Huffaker is a skilled driver.

He has 13 poles at the runoffs and 10 national championships in two classes, all in cars he designed, built and prepared for racing.

As a driver or engineer, he didn’t really have favorites, winning races with cars as varied as Triumph TR8s, Pontiac Trans Ams, Pontiac Fieros, Ford Mustangs, Chevrolet Corvettes and MG Midgets.

In his first 12 years, Huffaker won seven national championships.

“Then I took a break. I thought I was done,” he said. “Then, the (circuit) came to Laguna Seca, Monterey, and I took my cars back out and won on a Mini Cooper.”

Huffaker is fourth on the all-time list for SCCA runoff wins and tops the list for runoff pole positions won.

He took over the engineering business in 1991 when his father retired. Today it is the biggest shop at the Sears Point Raceway complex, now known as Sonoma Raceway, and is where he designs, builds and supports race-winning engines and chassis.

“The car-racing part of it is extremely fun, but I love the engineering part of it,” he said. “Building motors, putting them together and making them beautiful.”

Being inducted behind his father was never something Huffaker said he considered, but he is relishing the honor.

“I learned from the best. My dad was my professor,” he said. “I had no idea this was going to happen at this time in my life. I have to pinch myself. I’m among people I’ve always looked up to.”

You can reach Staff Writer Lori A. Carter at 707-521-5470 or lori.carter@pressdemocrat.com. On Twitter @loriacarter.