One Clarke County native has made a name for himself in dirt track racing, and even at a young age, has raced in some high profile races.
This past September, Spencer Hughes was able to compete in the Eldora Intercontinental Classic, an invitational only race. He was in the top four of fan votes, securing his place in the race of only 48 people. He was the only driver from Mississippi to attend.
“Thank you to all of my fans for voting me in and allowing me to go to the Intercontinental Classic,” expressed Spencer. “I went up there with 48 of the best.”
While there, Spencer didn’t disappoint his fans. Although he didn’t win overall, he did an amazing job.
“We made one top 10 and then made the show all three nights as well,” stated Spencer.
Attending the Eldora Intercontinental Classic is only one of the achievements Spencer has made in racing. This year he has won the UMP Modified Big Gator Championship at Volusia Speedway in Florida, brought home the win of the Pelican 40 COMP Cams from Ark-La-Tex Speedway, and the Will McGary Memorial/COMP Cams win from I-30 Speedway in Little Rock, Arkansas. This past Saturday, he won the street stock series in The Golden Egg Classic at Magnolia Motor Speedway.
Although he is still young, Spencer has already made some impressive accomplishments. All the wins he has acquired in 2020 are just the latest of basically a lifetime of racing for Spencer.
“I started racing go carts when I was six. When I was around 14, we started racing cars,” recalled Spencer. “My dad raced growing up. He had already modified it by the time I was racing go carts. We’ve really loved it and have never stopped.”
Over the years, Spencer has brought home a variety of wins.
In 2017, he managed to achieve all of these wins:
• Battle of the States and the Mid-Season Championship at Whynot Motorsports Park in Crate Late Model
• Youngest driver ever to win a Southern All Stars Series race by winning the 14th Annual Governor’s Cup $4K at Magnolia Motor Speedway
• Street Stock win at the Battle of the States and Fall Classic at Whynot
• The Golden Egg Classic
• The $5K to win Fall 40 at Magnolia
• Inaugural Kind of Tennessee Street Stock Shootout at Duck River Raceway Park
In 2018, Spencer managed to have eight feature wins: six wins in Modified, one win in Street Stock, and one win in Crate Late Model.
By 2019, Spencer made even more notable wins and finishes:
• The Battle of the States and the MS State Championships at Whynot Motorsports Park
• Both nights of the Clash at the Mag
• Magnolia State/Cotton Pickin 100 at Magnolia Motor Speedway
• 2nd place in the Spooky 50 at Chatham Raceway in LA
• 5th place finish in the Gobbler 100 Thanksgiving Race at Cochran Motor Speedway in Georgia
• FALS Cups race at Fairbury American Legion Speedway in Illinois while on a three wee stint with the UMP Hell Tour
• First Mississippi driver to win a Modified feature at FALS
Naturally, with all of his hard work and wins, Spencer has acquired multiple sponsors. So far, his sponsors are Hughes Machine Shop, Bill and Denise Langston; MD Metals, Murray and Chris McEllheney; B&K Racing, Brian and Karen Foy; Prp Suspension, Darrel Posey; BJs Tire and Service Center; Permanent Exterior Solutions; Extreme Graphics by J-Rod; 100 Service Center; Browns Creek Hunting Club; Jackson Industries; Link Construction; Capital Race Cars; Tri State Rock and Rails; CAM2 Lubricants; The Bearded Sportsman Hats & More; Brown Engineering Race Engines; and Jay Dickens Racing Engines.
At this time, racing is Spencer’s full-time job, and he does an amazing job with it. He enjoys being able to work in the shop on his car and other cars that are brought in to prepare for the upcoming races.
Clarke County is proud of Spencer and what he does on the race track each time he gets behind the wheel. There is no doubt that he will continue to do great thinks in the racing industry.
