Biography
In 1996, Rick Huseman and his brothers ventured to the Glen Helen Raceway in Devore, Calif., to watch a SODA series truck race. After an exciting night at the races, the Huseman brothers began to fuel their passion for off-road racing. Already avid off-road enthusiasts who played at the Glamis Sand Dunes and the Mojave Desert on motorcycles, Rick Huseman and his older brother, Danny, teamed together in building a dual-purpose FORT Ranger. The idea was to race the truck in the desert off-road series in Class 7s and also compete at the famed Glen Helen Raceway.
Rick Huseman Racing was immediately recognized as a top contender with a very fast truck. In the following two years, Rick established his team as a front-runner winning short-course championships at Estero Beach, Ensenada, Baja California, and Glen Helen Raceway.
In 1999, Huseman and his crew were invited to compete at the Crandon World Championships where they raced two weekends of racing at the famed off-road Motorsports raceway, Crandon International Raceway in Crandon, WI. After successfully racing against the nation’s top teams, Rick Huseman Racing took their first step in becoming a full-time professional race team and built a CORR PRO Light chassis, committing to the entire 2000 CORR Series. Overcoming many challenges in their first season, they finished the year in ninth position of the 15 teams that vied for the PRO Light Championship.
In 2001, Huseman took on veteran off-road champion, Jeff Kincaid, battling back and forth all season long. Huseman secured victories in five of the 14 races ahead of Kincaid, who scored four wins. At the end of the season, a mere seven points separated the two teams, with Huseman finishing a close second to Kincaid. In the following three consecutive years, 2002, 2003 and 2004, Huseman charged his FABTECH PRO Light to second-place finishes in the CORR Series’ points championship.
In 2005, Huseman made the move into full-size trucks with a 4-wheel-drive PRO 4 Class truck. He became a part of the Toyota family when he purchased Johnny Greaves’ 4-year-old PRO 4 Toyota Tundra.
Rookie PRO 4 racer Huseman raced against veterans such as Carl Renezeder, the late Jason Baldwin and Curt LeDuc, and successfully secured the podium twice, claiming a second- and third-place finish in 14 rounds of fender-to-fender off-road racing. He finished seventh in the series’ standings.
Heading into the 2006 season, Huseman Engineering built a state-of-the-art PRO 4 truck in the off-season. Spending several months in their Riverside shop, the Huseman crew debuted the 2006 FABTECH Toyota Tundra at the first race of the season in Chula Vista, Calif.
2007 brought Huseman much success. He had his first PRO 4 victory at Antelope Valley Fairgrounds in Calif., and concluded the season with six top-five finishes and a sixth-place finish in the 2007 championship point’s race.
In 2008, Huseman captured 2 wins and several top-5’s in CORR PRO 4 which tied him in points for the championship, but CORR gave Carl Renezeder the championship with the tie-breaker being more wins to Carl (4).
When 2009 began, there was a lot of uncertainty in the sport of off-road racing. However, with the emergence of The Off-Road Championship (TORC) Series, Rick was excited to once again have the opportunity to prove his racing prowess and shoot for a championship. And prove it he did – winning an amazing 5 of the first 6 races of the inaugural PRO 4X4 TORC season. He also took home the coveted Oakley Bomb Award for the fastest lap in 7 races which included breaking the track record for the fastest lap time at the fabled Crandon International Off-road Raceway. Rick Huseman took the first place points spot in the first race and never looked back–clinching his first PRO 4X4 championship in the season finale in Las Vegas, NV! Rick’s amazing championship season consisted of 6 wins, 10 podiums and 13 top-5 finishes. And, to cap things off, Rick received the 2009 TORC Driver of the Year honors.
Rick Huseman spent the 2010 off-road season scurrying back-and-forth between the TORC Series and the Lucas Oil Series. His accomplishments are nothing short of remarkable. In the TORC Series, donning his red championship number plate, exchanged the points leads with fellow Monster Energy/Toyota backed teammate, Johnny Greaves throughout the year. In the end, Huseman would miss the championship by a mere 4 points!
Rick’s performance in the Lucas Series was one of complete domination. He won 10 of the 15 rounds of racing—setting a new single season short-course win record. He landed on the podium in 13 of the 15 races. Huseman took his second Pro-4 off-road championship in two years by winning the final race of the season at Firebird International Raceway in the Phoenix suburb of Chandler, AZ.
In his 13 years of racing, Huseman has scored 44 victories in Off-Road Racing.
