Randall G. Hunt

Randall "Randy" G. Hunt of Lincoln, Nebraska departed this life on November 27, 2024 at the age of 82. He was born in Berkeley, California on September 27, 1942 into a family of musicians and artists. His passion was creating solid aluminum sculptures which were shown at numerous galleries in Lincoln.

In the 1970’s Randy moved to Beaver Crossing, Nebraska with Jan Opperman (World of Outlaws sprint car legend) to be part of his racing team. Jan was driving for Speedway Motors and winning races across the Midwest and East coast. Jan became friends with chassis builder Don Maxwell (Service Development - Lincoln, NE) and introduced Randy to him. Having years of welding experience, Don hired Randy and he relocated to Lincoln, NE.

Don designed the first sprint car seat and taught Randy the skill of hand-rolling the edges. Eventually, Don would turn the sprint seat business over to Randy and he rented a shop at 616 South Street. The sprint car seat business boomed across the United States and Hunt’s Welding was born. Randy took pride in ensuring the driver was sitting in the safest seat possible. He was the first to design and fabricate a double wrap seat and a seat with a headrest that became an industry standard. In 2014, Randy was inducted into the Nebraska Auto Racing Hall of Fame for his contributions to sprint car racing. Bill Smith (Speedway Motors) approached Randy to design and build a 16” hot rod seat which was another great success. Randy went on to design an 18” seat which pleased the big boys.

Randy married Donna in 1974. She was a crucial part of the business talking to customers and being the office manager. Their son, Ty, was born in 1975 and as soon as he could, he was down at his dad’s shop helping and learning.

Exercise was important to Randy. He was an avid racquetball player at the Sports Courts where he met another one of his closest friends, Willy (Mike Williams). They competed at tournament level, winning some and losing others, all while having a great time on the court with friends. Randy and Willy would travel out of state to ride dirt bikes and quads together enjoying each other’s company and stories along the way. Randy enjoyed grilling at home and was always the cook when camping with the guys.

Randy served in the Navy from 1959-1963. While stationed in Hawaii, he studied martial arts and was awarded a black belt in Karate. He enjoyed watching tennis, auto racing, and football.

Randy was a devoted husband, dedicated father, and was blessed with many friends. He was happy with his life’s accomplishments and had no regrets.

Randy is survived by his wife, Donna Hunt; son & daughter-in-law, Ty & Connie Hunt from Las Vegas, NV; grandson, Skyler Smith of Lincoln, NE; sister & brother-in-law, Cheryl & Mike Gero of Soquel, CA; sister-in-law & brother-in-law, Jules Russ & Juan Paulo Ramirez of Lincoln, NE; and sister-in-law, Susan Gillette of Bloomington, IN.

Randy is preceded in death by his parents, Howard & Virginia Hunt; brother, Don Hunt; and treasured friends, Jan Opperman, Don Maxwell, and Willy Williams.

Celebration of Life will be held at a later date.