4/13/2024
Nick Hoffman
Nick Hoffman grabs Illini 100 opener at Farmer City Raceway
Nick Hoffman has now won two World of Outlaws (WoO) Late Model Series events in 2024, and he’s done both in thrilling fashion. While his first series’ win of the season saw him capitalize in lapped traffic to surge to the lead on the final lap at Volusia Speedway Park, his most recent venture to the Winner’s Circle found him having to claw his way back to the lead on the final circuit.
Hoffman’s thrilling triumph came in photo finish fashion on Friday night at Farmer City (Ill.) Raceway with his Tye Twarog Racing / NOS Energy Drink No. 9 C&W Trucking / Longhorn Chassis / Clements Racing Engine Super Late Model.
The North Carolina racer slid high in turns 3 and 4 on the final circuit trying to keep Bobby Pierce behind him before ultimately slipping off the front stretch coming to the checkers. Somehow, someway he was able to hold on to win by 0.072 seconds.
“I drove into three expecting (Bobby Pierce) to slide me,” Hoffman said of the last lap. “I could watch that video board down the back straightaway and he was close enough and I was like, ‘Surely he’s gonna slide me here.’ So I blew up in there harder than I ran all night and screwed up. Then he did the right thing to try and come across and take my lane away, but I just held ‘er wide and sent ‘er off the front straightaway and luckily we got this horse track out here to run off on. This was definitely one of the wildest wins of my career, and I’m just glad I could get the job done for all the amazing people who support us.”
After losing Thursday’s practice session to Mother Nature, Nick Hoffman finally was able to return to action with the World of Outlaws (WoO) Case Late Model Series on Friday at Farmer City (Ill.) Raceway as the Illinois bullring hosted the annual Illini 100 weekend.
In a field of 45 Super Late Models, Hoffman set a blistering pace in time trials with a 12.395-second lap before leading flag-to-flag in his heat race. With the redraw placing him on the front row for the opener, Nick blew past pole-starting Cade Dillard on the second circuit and built a comfortable lead out front.
After bobbling in turns three and four on the final lap, Hoffman outran Bobby Pierce to the line to secure his second win of the season and the $10,000 payday. He finished 0.072 seconds ahead of Pierce with Dillard rounding out the podium.
On Saturday, Nick backed up the second-fastest qualifying lap in his group with a heat race victory. Starting the $20,000-to-win Illini 100 finale in the third position, Hoffman climbed one spot in the 60-lap affair to register a second-place finish, chasing Bobby Pierce across the line.
“Obviously we would’ve loved to have one again on Saturday, but to come out of this weekend with a win and a runner-up finish is big for our team, and now we are ready for a three-race weekend with the Outlaws,” Hoffman noted.
Nick is currently third in the latest World of Outlaws point standings.
Full results from the events are available at www.WoOLMS.com.
Hoffman has three WoO events on his docket for the upcoming weekend. Action opens on Thursday at Thunderhill Raceway Park (Summertown, Tenn.) with a $10,000-to-win affair before rolling into Talladega Short Track (Eastaboga, Ala.) for a pair of events. Friday’s action includes $4,000-to-win qualifiers, while Saturday’s finale posts a $35,000 top prize.
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