It’s another day, and just like two other days this week, Nick Hoffman once again walked away with the gator at the end of the race. The Mooresville, N.C., driver reigned supreme during Sunday afternoon’s 20-lap UMP Modified feature at the DIRTcar Nationals, claiming his third gator. This was also the third time this week that he swept the night, having set fast-time, won his heat race, and then taking the feature victory.
On Sunday, his win was aided by his pole position start, but it likely wouldn’t have been a problem as he faced little challenge during the feature. He led the race from the very beginning to the very end.
“Throughout the week, we’ve been in great form, even with a few minor hiccups earlier on,” said Hoffman after his $700 triumph. “The three nights we won were perfect. We had outstanding overall qualifying times, won the heat race, and then the feature. I was fortunate with the draw. I could have gotten as bad as starting from fourth place, which isn’t too bad, but to start on the pole and carry the race with such momentum and set the pace was truly significant, especially here.”
He attributed his current success to the battles he engaged in with Austin and Ty Dillion in the past few years. Those tough competitions forced him to improve his racing game.
“I think the most crucial thing is having to race against the Dillion brothers and such tough competition over the past few years,” commented Hoffman. “In the past couple of years, it was a back-and-forth between the Dillions and me. Now that they’re not here, we still have our program in place and it’s going strong.”
Hoffman’s Fox Shocks-sponsored No. 2 Elite Race Car has been dominant on the track’s bottom groove. His ability to perform well throughout most of the week has made winning even easier.
“We build these cars with a lot of side grip for situations like this, especially when it gets slick like this,” remarked Hoffman. “On these larger momentum race tracks, you don’t need as much traction off the corner as long as you can roll through the center of the corner at a much faster speed. I try to race these events as much like a superspeedway as possible. I simply focus on maintaining as much roll speed through the center of the corners. I believe that’s where I outperform many of these competitors. A lot of them try to gain roll speed on the entry but miss the center and end up with no traction. ”
Hoffman chose a softer tire compound on Sunday, even though, on paper, running a harder compound seemed like the better option for the daytime surface. Although he felt a bit nervous towards the end, it ultimately turned out to be the right call.
“I’ve raced here twice during the day before,” mentioned Hoffman. “The other night in the rubber, I went with a softer tire. I kind of know how to manage these things. Starting from the front, I knew I could control my own pace as long as no one was putting too much pressure on me. I could save my right rear tire and save it for the end. I didn’t feel as good at the end as I did during the first 10 laps, but I still think it was the right choice for me.”
Hoffman now has a chance to claim his third big gator as the DIRTcar Nationals champion. Coming into Sunday afternoon’s show, he was in third place behind Brian Ruhlman and Jacob Hawkins after a disappointing opening night where he finished 12th. They will both be competing in the evening race.
“It would be huge,” he said about winning another big gator. “The track conditions will be completely different. I believe we are well-prepared for any scenario. It will take a strong 30 laps. You can’t make any mistakes and you have to make the right tire choice. There are so many situations that can go wrong and potentially knock you out of the race. We’re aiming for more gators, as well as the points, but it will play out as it will. We’ll just hope for the best.”
So far, aside from one minor issue, it’s been nothing but the best for Hoffman.
