Richard Hoffman Passes Away at 76
Speedway, Indiana (April 30, 2019)………Richard Hoffman, an owner of the most prolific USAC AMSOIL National Sprint Car team in series’ history, passed away Tuesday, April 30, surrounded by his family. He was 76 years old.
“It’s hard to even put into words what Richard meant to the sport,” USAC Series Coordinator Levi Jones said. “It doesn’t seem possible he won’t be with us in the pits anymore. He was a fierce competitor and a staple of the series. Over the years, racing has made us all feel like family. He was always somebody you could lean on for advice and someone who was always there for the betterment of the sport.”
Hoffman Auto Racing, and later, Dynamics, Inc., notched 11 career USAC National Sprint Car owner titles in 1989, 1992, 1993, 1996, 1997, 1999, 2002, 2004, 2008, 2014 and 2016 with drivers Rich Vogler, Robbie Stanley, Dave Darland, Tracy Hines, Jerry Coons, Jr. and Brady Bacon.
Richard, of Milford, Ohio, began his racing career working for father Gus Hoffman’s team in the initial season of USAC racing in 1956. Throughout the past six decades, Gus, Richard and, eventually, his son Rob, and Dynamics, Inc. would accumulate 116 USAC victories, dating back to Eddie Sachs’ midget win at Ohio’s Dayton Speedway in 1956 to Brady Bacon’s Sprint Car score at Indiana’s Bloomington Speedway less than two weeks ago.
In addition to those listed above, a who’s who list of the top drivers of the era won USAC Sprint car features in top-flight Hoffman sprinters, including Jim Hemmings, Larry Cannon, Steve Butler, Cary Faas, Kenny Irwin, Jr., Andy Michner, Brian Tyler, Jon Stanbrough, Daron Clayton, Kyle Larson, Darren Hagen, Chad Boespflug and Kevin Thomas, Jr.
Whether it was on pavement on dirt, Hoffman cars are tough to beat from the paved high banks of Winchester and Salem, to the dirt tracks of Eldora and Terre Haute, Manzanita and Perris. All of which were conquered by Hoffman racecars.
Richard, a 2013 inductee of the National Sprint Car Hall of Fame, was also an author of seven career USAC Silver Crown wins as a team owner, with Johnny Parsons, Pat Abold and Brian Tyler. With Tyler, the team claimed victory in the 1999 Copper World Classic at Phoenix International Raceway.
Hoffman/Dynamics, Inc. also competed on the USAC Championship trail during the 1970s and 80s, making six starts with Larry Cannon (1974-76), Joe Saldana (1978-79), Jerry Sneva (1982) and Spike Gehlhausen (1984).
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Sources: Richie Murray/USAC PR