JACKSONVILLE, NC – Hunter Brown and his younger sister, Haley, used to spend their Saturday nights at the racetrack helping and cheering on Eddie Humphrey. Now, the Jacksonville siblings will race each other for the very first time in Saturday’s Spring Duel at New River All-American Speedway.
26-year-old Hunter Brown, who is a truck driver for his dad’s company, and 22-year-old Haley Brown, a procedural room medical assistant, have both purchased Bomber cars and, with the help of Humphrey, are ready to strap in the cockpits of their racecars in the NASCAR-sanctioned division. The older Brown will be making his second career start just a couple of weeks removed from a runner-up finish in his debut after purchasing an Acura Integra previously driven by Wayne Phillips.
“That was wild,” Hunter said. “That was definitely not expected. I wasn’t even planning to race Saturday to be honest with you. We were just shaking the car down. Eddie told me to take the car to the track, we went to practice, car felt good during practice. Then I went out and qualified third and he said there was one thing to do now is race.”
When the track operated under the Coastal Plains Raceway banner in the 2000s and early 2010s, Hunter would go to the races to help Eddie Humphrey as Haley would cheer Humphrey on.
“Whenever I was younger, I used to help him,” Hunter stated. “Just being around it, I wanted to do it. I started building a car and it was going too slow, so I went and bought one. That’s pretty much it.”
Watching her older brother compete gave Haley the drive and desire to race as well. Haley purchased a Toyota Celica, which is the most common car in the four-cylinder class in the Eastern North Carolina racing scene.
“I sat in the pits when I was younger with Eddie Humphrey when I was eight,” Haley said. “That’s when I first started going to the round track and used to always watch him race. As soon as he won, I would always run up there to be in the winner’s circle with him. [Hunter] went and bought a car and I saw him finish second, so I decided I was going to be in the winner’s circle too.”
After a runner-up finish on March 18, Hunter is returning to the track with confidence and has his sights set on victory.
“I’m going to go out there and drive the wheels off of it,” Hunter remarked. “I’m going to do everything I can to be back where I was at. It’s going to be fun, have a little competition in the family going on, a little bumping and rubbing.”
Haley has more subdued expectations for his debut, with her focus being on logging laps and finishing the race. She does, however, hope to eventually outrun her older brother.
“Girl power,” Haley stated. “We’re going to give it all we’ve got.”
While Hunter wants to win, he also said he will be there to cheer his little sister on if she outruns him.
The two siblings will compete in the 25-lap Bomber feature, which is part of Saturday’s 10-race card at the Spring Duel, which is the third NASCAR Advance Auto Parts Weekly Series event of the season. The Spring Duel is headlined by the season-opening doubleheader for the Grand National Super Series and twin races for Super Trucks and Chargers. Legends, Bandoleros and Champ Karts will also be in action.
Tickets are available online at newriverspeedway.com/tickets and at the gate (cash only) for just $10.
New River All-American Speedway is Jacksonville’s Action Attraction featuring racing and other events. For more information about New River All-American Speedway, check out the speedway’s website, like/follow “New River Speedway” on Facebook, follow @newriverswy on Twitter, or follow the track on Instagram.
