Nick Hoffman Wins Gator Championship at DIRTcar Nationals
Story By: AARON FIEDLER / DIRTcar SERIES MEDIA
Photo By: TOMMY HEIN / RACERSGUIDE.COM
BARBERVILLE, FL- February 16, 2016- Nick Hoffman continued his DIRTcar Nationals dominance Monday night as he held off Austin Dillon to score the Gator Championship and the coveted ‘Big Gator’ trophy.
Hoffman drew the number one starting pill in the night’s redraw but faced stiff competition from NASCAR stars Austin and Ty Dillon, and Jason Beaulieu as the green flag flew on the night’s 30-lap feature at Volusia Speedway Park.
Hoffman jumped out to a nearly two second lead early as the Dillon brothers worked to run him down. By lap 13, Ty Dillon caught Hoffman and began a multi-lap battle for the lead. With lapped traffic in play, Hoffman was able to again extend out his lead.
As Hoffman maintained a consistent one-and-a-half-second lead over Ty Dillon, Beaulieu began battling Austin Dillon for the third position. Billy Workman Jr. slowed to a stop on the front straight on lap 27 and bunched the field back up as the yellow flag flew.
“I was kind of hoping that thing was just going to go straight to the checkered but I just didn’t want to do what Ty did the other night and screwed up in lapped traffic or miss my marks in the last two laps,” Hoffman said. “It was nail-biting coming to that green with two to go. I knew if I could make three perfect laps that that was all it was going to take.”
When the feature returned to green with three laps remaining, Hoffman held off Ty Dillon as Beaulieu battled to the third position. It was the third win of DIRTcar Nationals for Hoffman.
“I knew all of my fate relied on that redraw but man this thing was so good I think we could have won that thing from 10th,” Hoffman said. “I knew Ty would be really tough and I just held onto it and those lappers were a little scary.
Nightly doubleheaders at Volusia run through Saturday, Feb. 20. The DIRTcar Late Models return Tuesday night as the DIRTcar UMP Modifieds takes on its final night at Volusia Speedway Park with the Triple-20s.
For more information and updates on the DIRTcar Nationals, clickDIRTcarNationals.com or follow on Twitter at @DIRTcarNats.
DIRTcar Nationals Statistical Report; Feb. 15, 2016; Volusia Speedway Park; Barberville, Fla.
DIRTcar UMP Modified Gator Championship A Feature (30 Laps) – 1. 2-Nick Hoffman [$5,000], 2. 41-Ty Dillon, 3. 90-Jason Beaulieu, 4. 3-Austin Dillon, 5. 49-Brian Ruhlman, 6. Z8-Max McLaughlin, 7. 35-David Stremme, 8. 13-Jacob Hawkins, 9. 16C-Josh Harris, 10. 10Y-Trent Young, 11. 36-Kenny Wallace, 12. K9-Will Krup, 13. 91-Derrick Ramey, 14. 54-Larry Burkins, 15. D4B-Jackie Boggs, 16. 13M-Dale McDowell, 17. 7-Justin Allgaier, 18. 01L-Patrick Lyon, 19. 1S-Brian Shaw, 20. 77-Ray Bollinger, 21. 51-Brandon Green, 22. 67-Garrett Stewart, 23. 9-Ken Schrader, 24. 72X-Brian Papiez, 25. 32Z-Nate Zimmer, 26. 33-Jeff Matthews, 27. 64-Billy Workman Jr, 28. 22T-Tony Anderson, 29. 0J-Bryce Jewell, 30. 56-Tyler Nicely
DIRTcar Nationals Day-by-Day Schedule (Grandstands open at 5 p.m.)
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
The 2016 DIRTcar Nationals is supported by Budweiser, Daytona Harley-Davidson, Hampton Inn-Palm Coast, Integrity Painting with Valspar, Ring Power CAT, and Safety-Kleen. The World of Outlaws are 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), Morton Buildings (Official Building), 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), and Chevrolet Performance. Contingency sponsors include: ASI, Beyea Headers, Bicknell Racing Products, Bilstein Shocks, 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, Impact Racing Products, Intercomp, Motorsports Safety Systems, Racing Electronics, Rocket Chassis, S&S Volvo, and TNT Rescue.
