Nick Hoffman Makes It Three Winners in Three Nights at the 49th DIRTcar Nationals
BARBERVILLE, FL — Feb. 6, 2020 — The 49th DIRTcar Nationals presented by Bozard Ford rolled on at Volusia Speedway Park (FL). The famed half-mile high-banked dirt oval hosted the ironmen of the DIRTcar Nationals, the DIRTcar UMP Modifieds, on their third of seven nights of action. Four-Time defending DIRTcar Nationals Champion Nick Hoffman took the lead away from pole-sitter Mike McKinney on lap eight and fought off a late charge from his fellow Prairie State driver to score his first Feature win of the 2020 DIRTcar Nationals and 16th of his career.
“The car felt really good tonight, but I was a little worried about where we drew in the redraw (sixth), especially with all the good cars in front of me. But early on I found a good lane of rubber early there and went right to the front,” explained the 27-year-old Belleville, IL driver who now calls Mooresville, NC home. “Mike (McKinney) caught a lapper, and I was able to get the lead. Then I just tried to stay out in front of everything behind me. This feels pretty good heading into the rest of the week,” he added while standing next to his #2 Fox Shox / Elite Chassis machine surrounding by his happy crew.
McKinney and David Stremme brought a stout 32-car field to Chief Starter David Farney’s green flag. and McKinney rocketed out to the early race lead as Hoffman, who started sixth, quickly worked his way to third and trailed the two front row starters. After Hoffman slipped past Stremme on lap six, he set his sights on McKinney, and the battle was on for the race lead.
Hoffman got around the racelong leader and started to pull away from the rest of the field. A series of cautions bunched up the field and this allowed McKinney a second chance to get back by Hoffman. Up to the challenge, Hoffman fought off consistent challenges from McKinney to score the win and complete the “Hat Trick” after winning the Fast Qualifier Award and his Heat Race. As a bonus, he also took over the points lead. Last year, Hoffman picked up his first and only Feature win and took over the points lead on the third night of DIRTcar Nationals as well on his way to his fourth consecutive title.
McKinney settled for second for his best finish of the week, while Brian Ruhlman bagged his best finish of the week to complete the podium. NASCAR Xfinity Series star Justin Allgaier also garnered his best finish of the three races so far with a fourth, as Jason Hughes finished off the top five, also his best finish . Zeke McKenzie continues to impress with a solid sixth place effort, and Kenny Wallace, Michael Altobelli, Taylor Cook and 2008 DIRTcar UMP Modified National Champion Jeff Leka completed the top 10.
Hoffman’s quick time was an 18.194 (98.934mph) over the impressive 81-car field, and he won his Heat. Allgaier, Tyler Nicely, McKinney, Kyle Strickler, Stremme, Will Krup and Ruhlman also grabbed Heat Race checkers, while Terry Phillips, Jason Gross, Brian Shaw and Curt Spalding all collected Last Chance Showdown wins.
One of the most popular nights of the DIRTcar Nationals for the DIRTcar UMP Modifieds is on Friday, February 7 and serves as Night 4 of 12 overall and fourth of seven nights for the Mods. It’s the Night of Features; as a Thank You to all the drivers and teams that have supported the DIRTcar Nationals, every DIRTcar UMP Modified team on the property will be divided into features with a maximum of 25 cars and a minimum of 15 in each feature. Each main event will be 15 laps, and the starting fields for each is determined by total points after the first three nights of racing.
The World of Outlaws NOS Energy Drink Sprint Car Series takes over Sprint Week for the rest of the weekend, starting on Friday, February 7 as the “Greatest Show on Dirt” kick off its 42nd year with the first three shows of the new season.
For more information about the 49th DIRTcar Nationals and to order tickets, please call: 1 (844) DIRT-TIX or visit the website located at: dirtcarnationals.com You can also follow the DIRTcar UMP Modifieds portions of the DIRTcar Nationals throughout race week by visiting the DIRTcar Racing Social Media outlets. Just search for “DIRTcar Racing” on both Facebook and Twitter for the very latest updates from Volusia Speedway Park and the 49th DIRTcar Nationals.
OFFICIAL RESULTS FROM VOLUSIA SPEEDWAY PARK, FEB. 6, 2020
Feature (20 Laps) – 1. 2-Nick Hoffman [6][$1,000]; 2. 96M-Mike McKinney [1][$600]; 3. 49-Brian Ruhlman [5][$400]; 4. 7JA-Justin Allgaier [7][$350]; 5. 12H-Jason Hughes [10][$300]; 6. 24-Zeke McKenzie [16][$275]; 7. 36-Kenny Wallace [18][$250]; 8. 95-Michael Altobelli [14][$225]; 9. 21-Taylor Cook [17][$200]; 10. 3L-Jeff Leka [11][$200]; 11. 7A-Shane Sabraski [30][$175]; 12. 99-Hunt Gossum [22][$140]; 13. 2A-Donnie Moran [21][$130]; 14. 1M-Curt Myers [23][$125]; 15. 67-Garret Stewart [29][$125]; 16. 5-Curt Spalding [28][$125]; 17. 8KS-Kyle Strickler [4][$125]; 18. 88-Matt Crafton [24][$125]; 19. 23-Ryan Cripe [19][$125]; 20. 35-David Stremme [2][$125]; 21. 52-Colin Green [20][$125]; 22. OOD-David Reutimann [13][$125]; 23. 18L-Michael Long [12][$125]; 24. 75-Terry Phillips [25][$125]; 25. 25-Tyler Nicely [3][$125]; 26. K19-Will Krup [8][$100]; 27. 7-Drake Troutman [9][$100]; 28. 11H-Spencer Hughes [15][$100]; 29. 4UW-Bobby Regot [32][$100]; 30. 1S-Brian Shaw [27][$100]; 31. 12-Jason Gross [26][$100]; 32. 45J-Johnny Broking [31][$100]; KSE Hard Charger Award: 7A-Shane Sabraski[+19]
Qualifying Flight-A – 1. 21-Taylor Cook, 18.58; 2. 7JA-Justin Allgaier, 18.689; 3. 7-Drake Troutman, 18.705; 4. 6A-Ryan Ayers, 18.898; 5. 19-Chad Bauer, 18.938; 6. OO-Buzzie Reutimann, 19.256; 7. 75-Terry Phillips, 19.305; 8. 65-Todd Sherman, 19.349; 9. 25P-Robert Poole, 19.418; 10. 9PG-Percy Gendreau, 19.653; 11. 61-Eric Hill, 19.988
Qualifying Flight-B – 1. 12H-Jason Hughes, 18.287; 2. 25-Tyler Nicely, 18.58; 3. 67-Garret Stewart, 18.617; 4. 36-Kenny Wallace, 18.641; 5. 12L-Lucas Lee, 18.802; 6. 32-Chad Roush, 18.981; 7. 99M-Mike Mullen, 19.026; 8. 20-Tyler Hendrix, 19.497; 9. 11N-Gene Nicholas, 19.595; 10. 5F-Jerry Foster, 20.353
Qualifying Flight-C – 1. 96M-Mike McKinney, 18.582; 2. 23-Ryan Cripe, 18.657; 3. 3L-Jeff Leka, 18.737; 4. 12-Jason Gross, 18.829; 5. 1-Brenden Rassel, 19.022; 6. 17-Rob Pitcher, 19.607; 7. 89W-Rick Weitekamp, 19.714; 8. 100-Scott Fritz, 19.753; 9. Z06-Larry Mott, 19.789; 10. 14J-John Baker, 20.026
Qualifying Flight-D – 1. 8KS-Kyle Strickler, 18.409; 2. 8-Steve Stevenson, 18.826; 3. 17TE-Tyler Evans, 18.856; 4. 18L-Michael Long, 18.898; 5. 31G-Stephen Pedulla, 19.032; 6. 7A-Shane Sabraski, 19.154; 7. 52-Colin Green, 19.212; 8. 15-Rick Potter, 21.028; 9. 11JH-Justin Haley, NT; 10. 11-Jesse Rupe, NT
Qualifying Flight-E – 1. 2-Nick Hoffman, 18.194; 2. OOD-David Reutimann, 18.338; 3. 45J-Johnny Broking, 18.624; 4. 2A-Donnie Moran, 18.651; 5. 17T-Michael Tarlton, 18.672; 6. 1S-Brian Shaw, 18.863; 7. 22T-Tony Anderson, 19.024; 8. 9-Sheldon Creed, 19.116; 9. 6-Ryan Fowler, 19.595; 10. 96-Cole Parker, NT
Qualifying Flight-F – 1. 35-David Stremme, 18.405; 2. 95-Michael Altobelli, 18.582; 3. 77-Ray Bollinger, 18.716; 4. 24D-Travis Dickson, 18.838; 5. 8A-Austin Holcombe, 18.878; 6. O5-Dave Wietholder, 19.045; 7. 11M-Mike McGee, 19.051; 8. 99-Hunt Gossum, 19.068; 9. 97-Mitch Thomas, 19.365; 10. O1-Bryce Nichols, 19.763
Qualifying Flight-G – 1. K19-Will Krup, 18.38; 2. 1M-Curt Myers, 18.527; 3. 11H-Spencer Hughes, 18.571; 4. 4UW-Bobby Regot, 18.917; 5. 2J-Troy Johnson, 18.995; 6. A1-Gary Bentley, 19.056; 7. 7F-Bryan Foy, 19.253; 8. 71L-Dennis Lunger, 19.442; 9. O7-Curtis King, 19.588; 10. 11Z-Zane Oedewaldt, 20.073
Qualifying Flight-H – 1. 49-Brian Ruhlman, 18.249; 2. 5-Curt Spalding, 18.384; 3. 24-Zeke McKenzie, 18.683; 4. 90-Jason Beaulieu, 18.697; 5. 7CT-Christian Thomas, 19.028; 6. 22-Dale Kelley, 19.215; 7. 88-Matt Crafton, 19.344; 8. Z1-Zac Oedewaldt, 19.494; 9. 40-Shawn Reiss, 21.248; 10. 27-William Cevaal, 21.33
DIRTcar Racing is brought to fans by many important sponsors and partners, including: Hoosier Racing Tire (Official Tire), SIS Insurance (Official Insurance Provider), VP Racing Fuels (Official Racing Fuel), Chevy Performance Parts, iRacing (Official Online Racing Game) and NAPA Auto Parts (SDS). Contingency sponsors include: ARP Automotive Racing Products (SDS), ASI Race Wear (SDS), Bicknell Racing Products, Billy Whittaker Cars & Trux, Cometic Gasket (SDS), COMP Cams (SDS), DART (SDS), Fox Shox (SDS), and Wrisco (Exclusive Racing Aluminum) (SDS); along with manufacturer sponsors, including: Beyea Headers, FireAde, Intercomp,Racing Electronics and TNT Rescue.
Sources: Matt Prieur/DIRTcar Racing PR