Hoffman Battles Dillon for DIRTcar Nationals Win
Donny Schatz rebounds, wins World of Outlaws Craftsman Sprint Car Series feature
BARBERVILLE, Fla. – Feb. 13, 2016 – Ty Dillon looked to be the driver to beat inSaturday night’s DIRTcar UMP Modified Gator Qualifying feature at DIRTcar Nationals but Nick Hoffman had other ideas as he cruised to his third win at Volusia Speedway Park.
Dillon dominated the early part of the 20-lap modified feature building a large lead over Hoffman and Ray Bollinger. As the laps wound down though, Hoffman, who has been the class of the field at DIRTcar Nationals, closed the gap. As lapped traffic came into play, Hoffman made his move. He battled past Dillon off of turn four and took the lead on lap 16.
Dillon, a driver in NASCAR’s Xfinity Series, tried to close the gap, but Hoffman marched to the win.
“Ty was really good,” Hoffman said. “Once I got to about halfway I started to momentum my car around. It was really good. I think he still would have had me if it wasn’t for that lap traffic deal. We’ll take them as we can get them.”
Hoffman won Tuesday and Wednesday night’s modified features.
One night after his first did-not-finish result since September 2013, Donny Schatz rebounded at DIRTcar Nationals as he battled with Brad Sweet to score his first World of Outlaws Craftsman® Sprint Car Series win of the 2016 season.
Sweet, who won the Outlaws season opener on Friday night, was the class of the field on Saturday as he led 17 laps. Restarts proved pivotal for Schatz though as one on lap 16 eliminated Sweet’s lead and another on lap 21 gave Schatz the opportunity he needed to get around Sweet.
Schatz said he was happy to move past the pressure of the once two-year-old streak and start building momentum toward an eighth series championship.
“It’s kind of a relief to be over that hill of having that DNF that’s been haunting us for I guess 180 races or whatever,” Schatz said. “Now we can just focus on trying to win races.”
“I’d be even better if we could win all of them,” Schatz said. “That’s what this team shoots for, that’s what they aim for, and that’s what they work hard for. We’re here tonight and that’s all that matters.”
Nightly doubleheaders at Volusia run through Saturday, Feb. 20. The World of Outlaws Craftsman Sprint Car Series returns on Sunday for its final night at DIRTcar Nationals. The DIRTcar UMP Modifieds returns for night two of Gator Qualifying.
For more information and updates on the DIRTcar Nationals, clickDIRTcarNationals.com or follow on Twitter at @DIRTcarNats.
DIRTcar Nationals Statistical Report; Feb. 13, 2016; Volusia Speedway Park; Barberville, Fla.
World of Outlaws Craftsman® Sprint Car Series A-Main (30 Laps) – 1. 15-Donny Schatz [5] [$10,000]; 2. 49-Brad Sweet [2]; 3. 1B-Dale Blaney [6]; 4. 9-Daryn Pittman [4]; 5. 2-Shane Stewart [10]; 6. 27-Greg Hodnett [9]; 7. 10H-Chad Kemenah [1]; 8. 83-Joey Saldana [8]; 9. 29-Kerry Madsen [18]; 10. 5-David Gravel [3]; 11. W20-Greg Wilson [20]; 12. 41-Jason Johnson [17]; 13. 11K-Kraig Kinser [22]; 14. 70-Danny Holtgraver [21]; 15. 71M-Dave Blaney [14]; 16. 1-Sammy Swindell [12]; 17. 17W-Bryan Clauson [23]; 18. 2L-Danny Lasoski [24]; 19. 7S-Jason Sides [13]; 20. 7-Paul McMahan [15]; 21. O7-Doug Esh [16]; 22. 1A-Jacob Allen [19]; 23. 1S-Logan Schuchart [11]; 24. 45-Tim Shaffer [7]. Lap Leaders: Chad Kemenah 1-4, Brad Sweet 5-21, Donny Schatz 22-30. KSE Hard Charger Award: 29-Kerry Madsen [+9]
DIRTcar UMP Modified Gator Qualifying Night 1 Feature (20 Laps) – 1. 2-Nick Hoffman ($700), 2. 41-Ty Dillon, 3. 16C-Josh Harris, 4. 77-Ray Bollinger, 5. 0J-Bryce Jewell, 6. 10Y-Trent Young, 7. 35-David Stremme, 8. 54-Larry Burkins, 9. 64-Billy Workman Jr, 10. K9-Will Krup, 11. 33-Jeff Matthews, 12. 13M-Dale McDowell, 13. 72X-Brian Papiez, 14. 11T-Dugan Thye, 15. 22T-Tony Anderson, 16. 12K-Scotty Kincaid, 17. 7W-Kody Weisner, 18. 67-Garrett Stewart, 19. 23-Ryan Cripe, 20. 51-Brandon Green, 21. 72-Todd Neiheiser, 22. 17T-Tyler Evans, 23. 21C-Taylor Cook, 24. 21-Sean Monaghan
DIRTcar Nationals Day-by-Day Schedule (Grandstands open at 5 p.m.)
Sunday, Feb. 14 – World of Outlaws Craftsman Sprint Car Series & UMP Modified Gator Qualifying 2
Monday, Feb. 15 – DIRTcar Late Models & UMP Modified Gator Championship
Tuesday, Feb. 16 – DIRTcar Late Models & UMP Modified Triple 20’s
Wednesday, Feb. 17 – DIRTcar Late Models Swamp King Champ & Super DIRTcar Series
Thursday, Feb. 18 – World of Outlaws Craftsman Late Model Series & Super DIRTcar Series
Friday, Feb. 19 – World of Outlaws Craftsman Late Model Series & Super DIRTcar Series
Saturday, Feb. 20 – World of Outlaws Craftsman Late Model Series & Super DIRTcar Series
2016 DIRTcar Nationals is supported by Budweiser, Daytona Harley-Davidson, Hampton Inn-Palm Cost, Ring Power CAT, and Safety-Kleen. The World of Outlaws Craftsman® Sprint Car Series and World of Outlaws Craftsman® Late Model Series is brought to fans by official partners: Bad Boy Buggies (Official Side-by-Side Vehicle), The Kenny Wallace Dirt Racing Experience (Official Racing Experience), Hoosier Racing Tires (Official Racing Tires), Lincoln Welder (Official Welder), and VP Racing Fuel (Official Racing Fuel). Additional support is provided by Arizona Sport Shirts (Official Apparel Company of WoO Late Model),DirtonDirt.com (WoO Late Model Hard Charger Award), McCarthy’s One Hour Heating & Air Conditioning (Raye Vest Memorial Pill Draw Award-WoO Late Model), and Chevrolet Performance. Contingency sponsors include: ASI, Beyea Headers, Bicknell Racing Products, Bilstein Shocks, Butlerbuilt, Cometic Gasket, Comp Cams, Edelbrock, Fox Shocks, JE Pistons, JRI Shocks, KSE Racing Products, Mobil 1, MSD Performance, Penske Racing Shocks, Ohlins Shocks, QA1, QuarterMaster, Sweet Manufacturing, Superflow Dynos and Wrisco Aluminum Manufacturer. Sponsors include: Capital Race Cars, Club 29 Chassis, Impact Racing Products, Intercomp, Motorsports Safety Systems, Racing Electronics, Rocket Chassis, S&S Volvo, and TNT Rescue.
Sources: Aaron Fiedler/World of Outlaws & DIRTcar PR