Sim-to-reality stories are continuing to pop up more often with the link between sim racing and real-world racing closer than ever. Take Travis “Moonhead” Brown, for example, who got his feet wet in a Limited Late Model two times in 2022.
A popular personality on Twitch and throughout the iRacing oval community with his high-energy broadcasts of his own Mooncar series, Moonhead is strapping back into a Limited Late Model again in 2023 for four races with Huffman Racing and new sponsors Bumgarner Propane and Cubbard Express.
The news of his return to Hickory Motor Speedway was announced a few days ago, but the co-partnership with Bumgarner Propane and Cubbard Express was just announced with the four race deal on Tuesday (14th February). Travis’s race dates, however, have not yet been confirmed by the team.
If you don’t know Travis, well, you are missing out. Last year, even NASCAR Hall of Famer and iRacing Executive Dale Earnhardt Jr was getting in on Travis’s late night series. In one particular race, Moonhead called Earnhardt Jr to a win, flying across the line backwards in a 1987 NASCAR stock car at Talladega.
Again, Brown will be racing with Huffman Racing, which is led by the namesake driver Landon Huffman. Last year, Brown was able to jump in the No. 37 for Huffman Racing in two races at Hickory Motor Speedway, finishing 12th in his second start during Hickory’s Fall Brawl event.
Huffman, the 2022 Hickory Motor Speedway Late Model track champion, is driving the No. 75 again in 2023. He’s got support from High Rock for the full Late Model Stock Car season but will jump into the Limited Late Model for two races with the same sponsors fielding Travis.
It also shouldn’t be forgotten that Huffman himself is a sim racer, and a good one at that. He competed in many big events over the last few years, including races in the eNASCAR Road to Pro ladder, Monday Night Racing and The CORE League. Huffman and Brown are usually found racing on iRacing together.
The four events that Rome, Georgia’s Travis “Moonhead” Brown will compete in will be at Hickory Motor Speedway again, the main venue that Huffman Racing competes at.
Last year, Huffman Racing’s Limited Late Model program was responsible for two other Sim to Reality stories, one with eNASCAR Coke Series Color Commentator Blake McCandless and the other with 4-Time eNASCAR Coke Champion Ray Alfalla.
Back to Travis, he’s been making a number of trips from his home in Georgia up to North Carolina to both prepare for his upcoming race days as well as get his foot in other race shops.
It was announced a few days ago that he’d get the chance to work with a NASCAR Xfinity Series team, namely Alpha Prime Racing, during the 2023 season. Truly, it is always great to see sim racers and members of the sim racing community get their shot in the real-world action.
Good luck to Travis, Landon and the Huffman Racing team in 2023.
Images provided by Huffman Racing
