SPEEDWAY, Ind. — Whether it’s on two wheels or four, Hunter Maddox is apt to give it a whirl.
After more than a decade of dirt bike racing, the Bedford, Ind., native turned his focus toward the dirt ovals in recent years. The 29-year-old’s efforts in the four-wheel variety were rewarded in 2024 by being named the Max Papis Innovations USAC AMSOIL Sprint Car National Championship Rookie of the Year.
Maddox’s name is not on a list that includes Tony Stewart, J.J. Yeley, Tracy Hines, Josh Wise, Justin Grant, C.J. Leary, Tyler Courtney and Logan Seavey.
“It gives me chills,” Maddox admitted. “This is just the end of my third year of racing sprint cars. It’s a true honor and it’s something that I set out to do since the beginning of the year. I thought it might be possible, so I just tried to stay very persistent and not give up.”
Maddox made 25 feature starts with the series throughout the 2024 season en route to an 18th place finish in the standings. Furthermore, he was one of only 11 drivers to compete in all 44 events on the slate in his Hunter Maddox Racing/TJD Roofing – Air-Master Heating & Air Conditioning/DRC/Cummings Chevy.
“I can officially say that I’ve made it to every single round of the tour, which is phenomenal since I don’t think I’ve had perfect attendance since elementary school,” Maddox quipped. “I’ve sacrificed a lot to be able to do it, but it was a goal that I had set. I’m a very determined person and I’m very driven, so when somebody tells me I can’t do something or whenever I tell myself I can do something, I’m going to make it happen. To be able to make it happen and be on the list with some of the greatest drivers of all-time, I don’t know if it’ll ever set in.”
Maddox’s background before entering the USAC Sprint Car world is quite different than the common path most partake, most often quarter midgets, micro sprints and the like at a young age.
Maddox didn’t even begin racing of any sort until the age of 16, ultimately winning championships on the local level before traveling nationally and specializing in Hare Scramble racing, which is a form of off-road motorcycle competition that varies in distance and time, with riders completing multiple laps around a marked course through wooded or other rugged natural terrain.
These days, Maddox has curtailed his dirt bike racing to just a handful of events per year. In fact, the morning after the USAC National Sprint Car season finale at Meeker, Oklahoma’s Red Dirt Raceway, Maddox endured an all night drive/ride back to Indiana in order to make it to the starting line in time for a Hare Scramble event.
“As soon as the feature was over, I hightailed it east for a race at 10 a.m. in Greencastle, Indiana for the final round of the national series for off road racing – the Ironman GNCC,” Maddox explained. “I had to be back on the starting line at 10am with a warmed up bike. It’s about a 10-hour trek (and we lost an hour due to the change in time zones), so we had about 12 hours to make the 10-hour trek. Then it takes about an hour to get changed and get on the starting line.”
Beyond that, Maddox has now made sprint car racing his priority in the spring, summer, fall, and on occasion, in the winter. Once the feeling of a nearly 900 horsepower sprint car grabbed him, it was instant. Soon after, he knew this is what he was going to do.
“(Dirt bike racing) is a sport I truly love, but when I got into a sprint car, it was a whole new level that I hadn’t felt in many years,” Maddox admitted. “I love the challenge of sprint cars and I love the challenge of the bike, and I still enjoy doing both. Nothing really translates except for the mentality. I know from my years of racing dirt bikes, you’ve just got to stay calm, cool and collected if you want a good result.”
Among the top things Maddox reflected on following the season was the relationships he made. Chief among them was his righthand man Butch Mundy as well as the bond he formed with the BGE Dougherty Motorsports group and drivers Carson Garrett and C.J. Leary. It was a common sight to see Maddox’s No. 24m parked alongside Garrett and Leary in the pit area at each event. At a couple points during the year, Maddox even lent Garrett a car to drive in a pair of USAC races.
It’s an uncommon story of how Maddox and Garrett’s friendship was sparked. During Winter Dirt Games at Florida’s Ocala Speedway in 2023, unknown to each other at the time, they happened to pit alongside one another.
Thereafter, Garrett’s team suddenly had a bit of a problem. Somehow, someway, a flashlight was dropped inside their fuel tank. Upon hearing about the issue, Maddox came to the rescue, retrieving his fishing pole from the trailer and literally fished the flashlight out of the fuel tank to save the day.
In return, when Maddox had a question regarding how the pre-race four-wide salute worked, Garrett drew it out on a piece of paper and demonstrated it for him.
“The entire team played an instrumental part the entire year for me last year and this year with USAC,” Maddox complimented. “I really don’t think that I could’ve gotten to this point or had as many decent runs as I’ve had. It was also really cool to be able to become friends with C.J. this year. He’s one of the greatest of all-time in the sport. Even though he’s a year younger than me, I look up to him. But there’s a lot of really good people here. If you keep the good ones by your side, they’ll steer you on the right path.”