Bill Hunt is a man of multiple hobbies. The most obvious of which, any average student can observe him practicing on the bottom floor of Webster Hall on any given day.

Hunt is always in the video editing room, studio, or just generally overseeing things at KGCS-TV at Missouri Southern. These are the things most people would already know about him. What may surprise some is his other hobby.

“I guess I’ve been drag racing since about ’71 or ’72,” he said. “So I’ve been pretty much a drag racer all my life.”

Racing, and cars in general have been a family affair for the Hunts. 

Bill grew up in his father’s automotive shop, and his son Sam was toying with wrenches by age two.

“I thought there was maybe something there,” he said. “When he started high school, when he became a junior he got into the Franklin Tech program, the automotive program and it really started to take off. 

“I could tell at that point that Sam kind of had found his niche.”

Hunt says the vehicle he and his son race is a ’55 Chevy, which Bill bought in the summer of 1973. Hunt says he raced that car himself in the mid-70s.

“The car now is light years different from what it was then,” he said. 

“Sam has completely fabricated the chassis, so it is a true racecar. It is a 100 percent NHRA certified, what they call a 25-3 chassis racecar. I’m very proud of it, I’m very proud of him. He races in a series called MAKO.”

Hunt says he and his son                                        haven’t raced in approximately six months, as at the end of last season, they dismantled the vehicle and reassembled it, changing harnesses, cages and all.

Hunt says he and his son’s races are normally eighth miles, and the cars are able to climb into the 1,400 horsepower range, for speeds up to 160 miles per hour.

“A lot of people think, ‘Yeah you just get in the car, you squeal the tires and you go fast,’ no. 

“There’s a lot of math and a lot of science to it,” he said. “And a ton of work, a ton of thought and it’s kind of a fraternity of people that do it. 

“A lot of these guys are really good friends and they help each other. They race each other hard but they also help each other and it’s just a really cool thing. 

“I don’t go fishing and I don’t go hunting. I don’t smoke and I don’t drink. Whenever my wife, Becky, needs me, I’m in the shop,” Hunt said.

Hunt says the thing he most wants people to take away about him is the sense of pride he feels for his son, particularly when he sees Sam race.

He also says there is great pride for him and his son in the compliments, often from complete strangers, they get on their vehicle.