Going into the 2011 season-opening Daytona 500 race, Dale Earnhardt Jr was in a bit of a slump. As Junior didn’t make it to the winner’s band for 93 consecutive races, there was one garage specialist who backed Junior’s podium ambitions ever since his first Busch Series championship win back in 1998. Silently working in the garage grueling on engines for months, only to roar the loudest on the track, the long-time NASCAR Winston Cup and Busch Series standout breathed his last on Oct 17th.

Clevite Engine Builder award holder and Hutter Racing founder, Ron Hutter built his empire with a reputation for its impeccable engine rebuilds and modifications. The man was known for his knack for overhauling old Chevrolets and turning them into fire-breathing monsters, to say the least. It was late engineer’s creations that got Dale Earnhardt Jr not one (1998) but two consecutive Busch Series crowns. Dale Jr joined the mourning as he paid his respects to the late icon as ardent racing fans too grieved the loss.

The racing world loses a gem: a pioneer who got Dale Earnhardt Jr on the map

Ron Hutter was a big car enthusiast, so much so that he had his own shop, Hut’s Dyno Shop. Ron started racing with Chevy, then the Pontiac, later a few Camaros, and a hand-built Pro Stock Vega from his own Trick Stuff Engineering shop. Besides the performance shop, he built the legacy he carried forward at Hutter Racing Engines, which today has 21 NASCAR Busch, Truck, and Modified Championships.

The 80-year-old took great pride in his work. In an interview with Motortrend, he confessed to “spec” parts individually and work his way up to on a custom-made basis. Hutter said, “We have a saying around here that we started back in the late ’70s that ‘If it comes in a box, it’s probably scr*wed up and needs to be worked on before you can use it.'”

The NASCAR entrepreneur journey for Ron began when he teamed up with Richie Evans and won 8 National Championships together. It was just the beginning for one of the biggest custom engine shops working for select clientele and race teams. Ron’s legacy continued as his team continued to chase the checkered flag and moved into the NASCAR Busch Grand National Division.

In 1998 and 1999, Dale Earnhardt Jr won back-to-back National Championships in cars powered by Hutter engines, ultimately getting him on the pedestal. The grand success quickly became a family tradition for the Hutters as Ron passed down his array of field knowledge, expertise, and passion for automobiles to his sons, Matt and Trevor Hutter. Dale Jarrett may owe his Busch Series victory scores at Bristol, Charlotte, Rockingham, and Darlington (twice) partly to Ron Hutter (besides crew chief John Ervin) from 1990 to 1991.

Junior took it to Twitter as well, posting a resounding tweet that read, “Ron built several insane engines for us when we won back-to-back Busch Series titles (98,99). Those engines made it easy. RIP Ron Hutter.”

Reacting to the sad demise of the icon, Freddie Kraft also shared a tweet that read, “Legend RIP Ron Hutter.”

Post 2014, Hutter Performance headed by Ron’s sons, shifted its focus and built engines for many professional racing series including IHRA Pro-stock, SCCA Speed World Challenge GT, and NASCAR Modifieds.

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Shocked by the demise of Ron Hutter, fans pay their respects as Dale Jr shares his condolences

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Tragedy has befallen the racing community as it loses another pioneer. Beyond just being a car modification expert and engine builder, Ron Hutter’s passion for automobiles had him working across a number of various engine layouts. With the community losing another trailblazer, ardent fans and enthusiasts joined Dale Jr, noting down their respects on his tweet.

“Ron was a great one and his engines led to many top finishes, RIP Ron”

Another user mentioned his in-depth knowledge of the engine that got him working on almost anything.
“Ron was incredibly sharp across all disciplines (Circle Track, Road Racing, Drag Racing, etc.). On top of being a great engine builder, he was just a great guy you enjoyed to be around and listen to stories of his travels and accomplishments.”

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The motorsports world has lost a philanthropist in him. He was known to be one of Northeastern Ohio’s most prolific pro-stock drivers. Not just this, even today, the Hutter family continues to serve the racing community. Hutter Performance, founded in 2003, is currently working towards meeting the growing demand for quality street and race performance. Like their father, Matt and Trevor Hutter also have a knack for cars; while the former looks after the fabrication division at Hutter Performance, the latter is the master of R&D and tuning. In these tough times, we extend our deepest condolences to the Hutter family and friends.