Slightly over one year ago, Bryan Hulbert stared at his phone in disbelief. Just as he began to digest the essence of the question at hand another message quickly followed. This wasn’t a joke.
The United States Auto Club was genuinely interested in his availability as the lead announcer for the 2024 season. This should not have come as a surprise. Hulbert’s work at the Chili Bowl and the Tulsa Shootout had led to rave reviews, and USAC insiders knew that he effectively performed multiple roles with the American Sprint Car Series. Still, Hulbert admits he “didn’t think anybody at USAC even knew who I was.”
Born in Las Cruces, N.M., racing has always been a part of Hulbert’s life.
“My father was involved before I was born,” he said. “In the 1970s he went racing with Sonny Holden whose big rival was Mario Fuentes. Then he married my mom and got out of it to start a business and focus on his family.”
The business, CSR Garage, opened in the early 1980s and earned a reputation as the place that could tackle problems where other shops had failed. Then Mike Hulbert got the itch again. “My brothers were getting old enough to get into trouble,” Hulbert said, “so my dad thought going racing would be a good idea.”
The older boys were the product of Kathy Hulbert’s previous marriage to sprint car racer Ted Alexander. Sadly, Alexander lost his life in a crash at El Paso Speedway Park in 1981. Despite that tragedy Kathy raised no objections.
In fact, evidence suggests that Mike Hulbert was far more nervous than his wife when his stepsons began stock car racing in 1993. After two seasons, the family sold the car to a genuine rocket scientist named Todd Harper who worked at NASA’s White Sands testing facility.
In 1996, the family went sprint car racing. Sonny Holden was brought back into the fold, later John Carney Sr., scored a track championship, and they began to branch out when they secured the services of Ricky Logan. They raced with ASCS but also ventured into the 410 sprint car world.
“My dad said we were about to get humbled and he was right,” Hulbert explained. “I think we ran 25 races before we made an A main.” However, there were bright spots and fine performances along the way. Logan notched a Knoxville (Iowa) Raceway win on May 19, 2001, and scored another victory at the big half mile the following season. Nonetheless, it was obvious that it would take far more resources to compete on the road and the inventory was sold to Royal Jones.
However, the true nature of his family was soon revealed.
“We were true racing addicts,” Hulbert said with a laugh. “We paid off all of our debt via scrap metal and by working our fingers to the bone. Then we immediately bought a sprint car again.”
Staying closer to home, the team had tremendous success with John Carney II at the wheel. Then in 2010 Mike Hulbert pronounced that he was worn out. The fatigue wasn’t temporary.
“We loved to race, but the people we raced against were just miserable,” Hulbert noted. “You know how it goes. If you are winning you are cheating, if you are successful, you are a drug dealer. He pulled out a quarter and said best three out of five. Three times in a row it came up tails and that was it.”
Hulbert found other ways to get his racing fix and got his first gigs as an announcer at El Paso Speedway Park and Southern New Mexico Speedway at the end of 2006. He got an important break in 2010 when the ASCS National series traveled to Southern New Mexico for the Fall Nationals. Minnesota’s Justin Zoch was slated to handle the ASCS duties while Hulbert was tabbed to cover the modifieds. His work did not go unnoticed.
Scott Traylor with the RacinBoys Network who were covering the ASCS at the time had his ears open. Later he approached Hulbert and asked him if had ever considered announcing as a career. It was a question he followed up with a suggestion to send a résumé to the ASCS brass.
Hulbert essentially auditioned for a job in 2011. He began with the ASCS at California’s Thunderbowl Raceway and called numerous events through the Winternationals at Devil’s Bowl Speedway.
By the time the action had wrapped up in Texas, Emmett and Fuzzy Hahn had extended Hulbert an offer. It didn’t take him long to decide to take the plunge. On Dec. 11, his birthday, Hulbert was on his way to Tulsa, Okla.
“My mother was not pleased,” he acknowledged, “and when I moved up there everything I owned could fit in the backseat of a Ford Fusion.”
He was initially hired to be an announcer as well as Donna Hahn’s assistant. Things escalated in a hurry. Lonnie Wheatly, who was managing public relations activities for ASCS, soon moved on. Hulbert was quickly responsible for results, press releases and publicity. It was a trial by fire.
“I was not a writer at that time, and it was brutal,” Hulbert said. “I had no idea of the scope of things Lonnie did with the various regions and the National series. That first year I can’t tell you how many nights I was up until four or five in the morning.” He then turned to Chili Bowl press room manager and newspaper professional Len Heyward to help hone his skills.
It was a demanding first year but one that was crucial to his development. The core group of ASCS officials became family, and Matt Ward the director of the series was the best man at his wedding. His profile was enhanced as he took the lead announcing role at the Chili Bowl Nationals and ultimately became the voice of the ASCS and NOW600 competition.
Then came the unexpected message he received in December 2023. There was much to consider. One of the first people he turned to was Emmett Hahn, who selflessly counseled him to explore the position. In a conversation with USAC’s Kirk Spridgeon it was decided to do a trial run at the opening rounds in Florida.
“I told Kirk you haven’t worked with me night in and night out and you might find out that you aren’t interested,” Hulbert said. “And the reverse is also true.”
It took a moment for Hulbert to get comfortable in his new surroundings.
“My first two or three nights I treaded lightly because I didn’t know how much I could cut lose,” he recalled. “But I figured out pretty quick no one was going to tell me what to do. They might make a few minor corrections or suggestions and that was fine.”
While he was in Florida, he received a call from home detailing what was in the works with ASCS. The series was set to be acquired by World Racing Group, which naturally meant changes were afoot. At that moment he hoped that USAC officials had been pleased with his work. Little did he know that some in the USAC inner circle were worried that he would be lured back home.
When he asked Spridgeon about his future USAC’s Director of Competition did not hesitate. Once assured that the job was his if he wanted it, he quickly said, “Put my name on the bottom line. The timing of it all was way too perfect. I’m not preaching to anybody, but I will say somebody was watching out for me.”
There were concerns that the number of dates and travel might be a bit much for Hulbert and his wife Christine given the responsibility of raising two young children. Leaving Tulsa was out of the question. Hulbert retained his role with the two major indoor events and agreed to provide some continued assistance to ASCS, and his wife held a position as a music educator.
“I was doing about 30 to 40,000 miles covering ASCS and NOW600 as it was and this year I got to check off some things on the bucket list like Knoxville, Indiana Sprint and Midget Week, and Eastern Storm,” Hulbert noted. “This is also how I make a living. This is how I help put a roof over our heads, pay the bills and feed the kids.”
In terms of his new role there were some adjustments to make but nothing significant.
“I’m a huge fan of non-winged racing,” he said. “But I quickly realized I didn’t have the big cheater sideboard to rely on. It challenged me to be able to memorize the cars better so I could get that on first glance. I also had to learn the nuances of Silver Crown racing, particularly between dirt and pavement. I decided I needed a separate set of notes in that case.”
What was also different was his level of responsibilities.
“At first, I was bored,” he admitted, “because I was so used to being the PR guy, the marketing guy, the advertising guy and hanging banners. I was used to wearing multiple hats. I remember being at Ocala and Volusia thinking I needed to be doing something. Then I realized I could focus more on being the commentator and working on the broadcast. I liked it because I got to understand the broadcast more and some of the technology behind it. It allowed me to bounce some ideas off people and try some things to improve what we do. I thought we made some strides in that area.”
Even though all appeared to go well he decided one more check was required to see if everyone was still on the same page.
“I’m not a one and done guy,” he said. “I want to make sure I am an asset to that organization and give them a reason for wanting me there. I also don’t make assumptions. So, I asked Kirk at WorldWide Technology Raceway if USAC wanted me to come back.”
They did.
When asked about his ultimate goals, Hulbert said: “I don’t know because I really never imagined I would be here. Whether I last a year or ten years the issue is if am I having fun. Because the day I roll into a track and my first thought is what am I doing here, that is when I need to stop. At that point I am doing a disservice not just to myself but to everybody. That includes the fans, the teams and the series because my heart is not into it. This year I enjoyed it immensely.”
