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News reported by:
Tim Waechter |
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HOFFMAN TO FIELD
AN ENTRY IN CONJUNCTION WITH SAM PIERCE RACING, AARON PIERCE TO
DRIVE |
Loveland Ohio ( January 2
,2007)—Hoffman Auto Racing today is announcing that the Team
will participate in the USAC Silver Crown Series in conjunction
with Sam Pierce Racing. The car is a Sam Pierce Riley & Scott,
driven by USAC veteran Aaron Pierce. Primary sponsorship will be
with long time Hoffman sponsors Kroger and Tide, associate
sponsorship will be from Bounty and Pringles.
“ Sam Pierce has been a friend of ours for years. We have talked
about working together in the past, we are very excited that it
is a reality. Part of our agreement is to share technology on
pavement and dirt. Aaron Pierce won multiple races in 2006 in
the series, and is a real threat to win the 2007 Silver Crown
Championship. It is important to our sponsors to have a presence
in the series “ said Richard Hoffman, President HAR.
Sam Pierce Racing was formed to support the racing career of son
Aaron Pierce. Aaron began his career in 1998 in Legend and
Kenyon midget cars. He moved up to full size midgets in 2000,
winning the NAMARS “Rookie of the Year”. Aaron’s USAC career
began in 2000 in midgets. His first career USAC Sprint Car win
came in 2003. Aaron earned the Silver Crown” Rookie of the Year”
title in 2004. Sam Pierce Racing competed in the inaugural year
of the new Silver Crown Pavement series, with Aaron earning 2
wins and owning the speed records at Chicagoland(174.295 mph). “
I appreciate the support from Kroger/Tide/Bounty/Pringles and
Hoffman Racing. We look forward to a great year together in the
Silver Crown Series”, said Sam Pierce, President of Sam Pierce
Racing.
Hoffman Auto Racing (HAR) competes in the Sprint Car and Silver
Crown Divisions of the United States Auto Club (USAC). HAR was
founded in 1929 by August (Gus) Hoffman. Three generations of
Hoffman’s are involved with the Team. HAR is the all time leader
in USAC National Sprint Car Team victories with 68, and National
Championships with 8. HAR also has 7 Silver Crown victories, for
a total of 75 National wins. HAR celebrates 78 years of
competition in 2007.
Highlights of the Team’s history include:
- 1929-1960 Gus campaigned Sprint Cars and Midgets, his drivers
included Eddie Sachs, and Don Branson
- 1964 Gus’s son Richard became co-owner of the Team
- 1973-1984 HAR fielded Indy Cars, including 7 Indy 500 starts
- 1989 HAR won the first of 8 USAC National Sprint Car
Championships with Rob Hoffman as the crew
chief(’92,’93,’96,’97,’99,’02,’04)
- HAR is the winingest Team in USAC Sprint Car history
- 2003 recognized for excellence by the Ohio State Senate and
House of Representatives
Drivers of note:
Jeff Gordon, Tony Stewart, Tracy Hines, JJ Yeley, Kasey Kahne,
Kenny Irwin Jr, Rich Vogler, Dave Darland, Johnny Parsons Jr.,
Tim Richmond, Jay Drake, Brian Tyler, Robbie Stanley, Eric
Gordon, Steve Butler ,Jerry Coons Jr. and Dave Steele.
Kroger is the nation’s largest grocer, with over 2400 stores and
annual sales exceeding 53
Billion dollars.
Procter & Gamble is the world’s leading consumer products
company, has annual sales of over 63
billion dollars and 22 billion dollar brands. P&G brands include
Tide, Bounty, and Pringles.
Tim Waechter
VP Marketing Hoffman Racing
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JERRY COONS JR.
RETURNS ON DIRT, DAVE STEELE IN THE PAVEMENT CAR |
Loveland, OH (Dec 19, 2007)
-- Hoffman Auto Racing(HAR), the winningest Team in the history
of USAC National Sprint Car Racing with 8 USAC National Sprint
Car Championships, and 68 National feature wins, announced today
that USAC veteran and defending USAC National Midget Champion
Jerry Coons Jr. will return to drive the famous #69 on dirt,
with USAC pavement superstar Dave Steele driving the pavement
Kroger/Tide/Bounty/Pringles/Mopar sprinter.
Jerry Coons Jr. is a native of Tuscon Arizona. Jerry is one of
USAC’s most talented drivers. He won 2 USAC National races for
HAR in 2006, and also won the $30,000 Ultimate Challenge at
Oskaloosa Iowa. Jerry won the 2006 USAC National Midget
Championship in the Wilke Pak car after finishing in the runner
up spot in 2005. Jerry finished 6th in the USAC National Sprint
car Championship, even though he only ran the dirt races. “I am
looking forward to being back in 2007 and winning races with the
Hoffman’s. Hopefully the combination of Dave (Steele) and I can
win another championship for the Hoffman Team”, said Jerry Coons
Jr.
Dave Steele , a native of Florida , has become a USAC star since
starting to run with the organization in 1993. Dave has won 2
USAC Silver Crown Championships , won in all 3 USAC National
Divisions from 2001-2005, has 16 career Silver Crown wins, 26
National Sprint Car wins, and was
the first driver to win in the new Silver Crown pavement cars. “
It is great to join a Team with a winning tradition. I also have
a history of winning, the combination is exciting” said Dave
Steele.
“ We have had much success with Jerry in 2005
and 2006. He and Rob (Hoffman) are communicating well , and
winning races. Jerry is a pleasure to work with , he drives the
car hard each and every race. We want to welcome Dave (Steele)
to the Hoffman Racing Family. Dave has the same goal as we do,
winning . We anticipate a great year on pavement with Dave .
After many years of admiring Dave’s skills, it will be a thrill
to see Dave drive our car. The combination of Jerry and Dave
will make HAR a Team to be reckoned with in 2007”, said Richard
Hoffman, President of Hoffman Auto Racing.
Hoffman Auto Racing (HAR) competes in the Sprint Car and Silver
Crown Divisions of the United States Auto Club (USAC). HAR was
founded in 1929 by August (Gus) Hoffman. Three generations of
Hoffman’s are involved with the Team, including Gus’s great
grandchildren A.J. and Lauren, who have begun their
quartermidget careers. HAR is the all time leader in USAC
National Sprint Car Team victories with 68, and National
Championships with 8. HAR also has 7 Silver Crown victories, for
a total of 75 National wins. HAR celebrates 78 years of
competition in 2007.
Highlights of the Team’s history include:
- 1929-1960 Gus campaigned Sprint Cars and Midgets, his drivers
included Eddie Sachs, and Don Branson
- 1964 Gus’s son Richard became co-owner of the Team
- 1973-1984 HAR fielded Indy Cars, including 7 Indy 500 starts
- 1989 HAR won the first of 8 USAC National Sprint Car
Championships with Rob Hoffman as the crew
chief(’92,’93,’96,’97,’99,’02,’04)
- HAR is the winingest Team in USAC Sprint Car history
- 2003 recognized for excellence by the Ohio State Senate and
House of Representatives
Drivers of note:
Jeff Gordon, Tony Stewart, Tracy Hines, JJ Yeley, Kasey Kahne,
Kenny Irwin Jr, Rich Vogler, Dave Darland, Johnny Parsons Jr.,
Tim Richmond, Jay Drake, Brian Tyler, Robbie Stanley, Eric
Gordon, Steve Butler , Jerry Coons Jr. and Dave Steele.
Kroger is the nation’s largest grocer, with over 2400 stores and
annual sales exceeding 53 Billion dollars.
Procter & Gamble has annual sales of over 57 Billion Dollars,
and markets 18 brands with sales over 1 Billion Dollars. P&G
brands include Tide, Pringles, and Bounty.
MOPAR is the exclusive original equipment manufacturer for
DaimlerChrysler’s American brands: Chrysler, Jeep and Dodge
vehicles.
Tim Waechter
VP Marketing Hoffman Auto Racing |
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HOFFMAN TEAM
NOMINATED FOR NON WINGED SPRINT CAR TEAM OF THE YEAR, DAN GETS
READY TO LEAVE FOR FLORIDA |
The North American
Non-Winged Sprint Car Poll released the names of the nominees
for 2006 in Knoxville Iowa on 11/28. The Hoffman Team is a
finalist for the award. The winner will be announced on
December 13th, prior to the start of the PRI show. We are
honored to be nominated, our thanks to Tom Schmeh for the
consideration.
The Team is preparing the
pavement sprint car for the Orlando race next Friday, with Tracy
at the wheel of the Kroger/Tide/Bounty/Pringles/MOPAR Beast. We
finished 2nd to Dave Steele at this event last year.
Tim Waechter
VP Marketing Hoffman Racing |
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POINTS
SEASON COMES TO AN END JUST SHORT OF THE CHAMPIONSHIP- RESULTS
FROM MANZY SATURDAY |
Our congratulations to Josh
Wise and Tony Stewart Racing for their Championships. Josh was
the class of the field both Friday and Saturday and definitely
earned the National Sprint Car Championship. We had another
good car Saturday, just not good enough. Jerry started 4th and
retained that position , catching Kaeding on lap 13. Jerry and
Levi had a heated battle on lap 32 with Jerry catching Bud again
on lap 35. The remaining 5 laps were a furious battle with
Jerry finishing 4th. We came up short by 40 points, about one
point per race in the 2006 season. We will take 2nd place and
go after it again next year.
Our thanks to Jerry , Tracy,
and Marc Jessup for a great year. We will run the pavement
Sprint car in Orlando with Tracy at the wheel. See you there.
Tim Waechter
VP Marketing Hoffman Racing |
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NIGHT 2 OF
THE "WESTERN WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS"- 6TH PLACE FINISH IT ALL
COMES DOWN TO TONIGHT |
We had closed the gap to 14
points going into last nights 2nd preliminary night at Manzy.
The track had slowed up considrably from the night before. We
had fast time at 18.4 Thursday night, we could only run a
19.099, with fast time fo the night at 18.792 by Levi. We were
7th quick. Jerry lined up 7th in the heat. Jerry started his
move forward on lap 4. On lap 6 he was working a car to pass,
lost control in turn 2 and dropped 3 spots. Things were looking
bleak for a transfer but Jerry quickly recovered . On lap 9 he
was pushing the leader Hagen, and on the 10th lap he went high
and passed Hagen for the win. Thursday night the left rear
didn't do as anticipated and stagger cost us a shot at the win.
The tire choice was made for the A Main. Starting 3rd in the A
Main, Jerry slipped to 6th on lap 3. The high line was the way
to go as Wise and Jerry were running down Levi ! on lap 8, with
2-6 in a close pack. On lap 13 Jerry tried to pass Kaeding and
lost a position to Kruseman, he was now 6th. Jerry was unable
to make up any ground the rest of the way as Wise ended up
dominating the race. The 6th place finsih lost us precious
points. We will be in the top 12 for Western Worlds and will
automatically be in the A Main tonight. We are about 23-25
points back for the Championship with 1 race to go. Tough but
not impossible. Be assured this Hoffman Team will fight to the
end.
Tim Waechter
VP Marketing Hoffman Racing |
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NIGHT 1 OF
THE "WESTERN WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS"-QUICK TIME AND 3RD PLACE
FINISH |
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The 'Big Money" F5 was
rolled out for the weekend in Phoenix. This is the roller
that won in Oskaloosa, and the 4 Crowns at Eldora. The
"coldwater" car was hurt in the wreck with Clayton at Perris.
The Big Money car was good. Qualifying 15th Jerry ran 2 laps
under the 19 second mark, with his fast time and quick time of
the night being 18.443. Included in the field were our
friends and driver Tracy Hines and JJ Yeley. Our course we
ended up in heat race 1 with Tracy. Starting last, Jerry
moved up quickly streaking to 3rd in lap 3. Jerry took 2nd
place on the next lap , and the lead on lap 5 and ran away
with the win. We were now in the A Main starting 6th, already
a big improvement over last week. Jerry was being patient in
the early laps and got by Wise and Clayton on lap 6. Jerry
caught Levi on lap 8. Jerry could not advance past Levi and
had a spirited! fight with Davey D laps 12-18, where he got
around Dave for 3rd place. Jerry could not advance any
further and finished 3rd. Over all a good night, good points
both for the National Championship and to qualify for the A
Main Saturday night. We should be under 30 points behind the
20 car now, but with only 2 races to go, we need to close the
gap more tonight.
Tim Waechter
VP Marketing Hoffman Racing
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LAST NIGHT
OF THE BUDWEISER OVAL NATIONALS |
As a result of having to
take a provisional Thursday night, we did not have enough Oval
National points to automatically qualify for the A Main
Saturday. Jerry started 9th in the B Main, with 12 cars
transferrng to the 40 lap A Main, paying $30,000 to win. The
track was reworked before the B Main, then the cars ran the
track in, causing a refuel stop for all. When the green flew,
the track was slimey, not ready to race. During the B Main we
were involved in 2 incidents not of our making. The first came
with Dickie Gaines and company, forcing us to restart at the
rear. The 2nd came just 2 laps later when a car in front of
Clayton spun, causing Daron to spin and Jerry hit him head on.
Since we were not running under our normal National rules, we
were out with the 2 spin rule. The crew noticed that the frame
was bent, but functional . We took the 2nd provisional of the
Oval Nationals, starting 25! th. The car was good, Jerry passes
car after car, avoiding more problems along the way. He was up
to 8th on lap 25 of 40. Jerry tried different lines, but most
mostly running low on the track. What a great job by Jerry and
the crew. If a , could a, would a , started up front, we had a
car to run with anyone. Needless to say, no one was unhappy to
leave Perris California. Hoping for better results at Manzy
next weekend. The "Big Money Car" will be run there. We are
about 31 points behind in the quest for National Championship
#9.
Tim Waechter
VP Marketing Hoffman Racing |
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NIGHT TWO OF
THE BUDWEISER OVAL NATIONALS |
Tight, tight, tight on
Thursday night to loose, loose, loose Friday night. That is how
things went. Jerry broke the 17 second bracket Friday in
qualifying, at 16.897, unfortunately so did 16 others that were
faster than us. Starting 5th in heat race number 2, Jerry was
unable to make up any ground and again missed the transfer spot
and we were relegated to the B Main. Starting 8th , things were
looking shaky for awhile until the car started to come in and
Jerry started flying. There was quite a battle for the transfer
spot with Jerry getting by Rodriguez on lap 9 and he was
catching the lead group when laps ran out. We were in the A
Main, abling us to save our last provisional. Jerry started
13th in the A Main. About half way in the 25 lap feature, Jerry
found a line in 1 & 2 that enabled him to pass and catch the
4-8th place cars by the end of the race. Jerry was running 1
high and using th! e diamond technique through 2 and rocketing
down the backstretch. A 9th place finish did not guarantee us
one of the 12 starting positions for Saturday's A Main , mainly
due to the provisional we took Thursday night. We think we will
start around 13th in the B Main, with 12 cars transferring to
the 50 lap feature. We believe that we did pick up a few
National points and are around 28 back with 4 races to go.
Tim Waechter
VP Marketing Hoffman Racing |
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RESULTS FROM
THE FIRST NIGHT OF THE BUDWEISER OVAL NATIONALS-PERRIS
CALIFORNIA |
The Team went into the Oval
Nationals with high expectations , but came out of the first
night very frustrated. Rob and Dan could not get the car "freed
up" all night. After hot laps they worked to free the car, but
a disappointing 22 nd fast time showed the crew that there was
more work to be done. Jerry bicycled the car several times
during the night . Starting 4th in the 2nd heat Jerry ran 4th
until lap 9 of 10 and was passed for the transfer position by
the eventual A Main winner Mike Spencer. This put us in the B
Main, Rob worked again to free up the car. Jerry made contact
with the turn 2 wall after starting 11th in the semi. This put
us out of the race , and caused the Team to use the first
provisional of the year. Starting at the rear of the A Main,
adjustments were made during several red flag periods including
changing a left rear tire, and starting last again. ! ;Jerry
worked his way to a 14th place finish. The car got better as
the A Main progressed and the track wore down. A record was set
for flips in a USAC event for a night's racing activity.
Misfortune by others allowed us to slip just a few more points
behind in the chase for the National Championship. We think we
are 33 points back in second place. Taking a provisional did
not give us any points toward making the A Main Saturday night,
so the Team has a lot of work to do tonight.
Tim Waechter
VP Marketing Hoffman Racing |
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DAN IS
HEADING WEST FOR 2 BIG WEEKS OF RACING TO WIND UP THE POINTS
SEASON |
Dan is the "Lone Ranger"
heading West with the red Hoffman rig. The total load includes
2 cars, numerous spare front ends, rear ends, fuel, misc. spare
parts, body panels,and numerous tires. It all fit and Dan left
Saturday for the planned 3 day drive. The first night Dan
stayed in Oklahoma, last night in Arizona, and should make
California tonight. The remainder of the crew will fly out this
week. Jerry will drive the 1 car effort both at Perris and
Manzanita. We are only 30 points out of the lead for our 9th
National Championship. To say the least we are hungry for
another title, we want it bad. All the races to include
preliminary nights are points races. I will report by race
starting with the Thursday night Perris race.
Tim Waechter
VP Marketing Hoffman Racing |
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RESULTS FROM
FALL HARVEST CLASSIC-TERRE HAUTE 10/6-10/7/06 |
The weather was beautiful
for the 2 nights of racing at "The Action Track". The format
was 2 complete programs, with the top 6 finishers in Friday
nights A Main to transfer automatically to the A Main Saturday
night. The track was rough and had some substantial ruts
Friday. There were spots that were slimy and a few feet away it
was dry, this was before a car took to the track. Jerry
qualified 4th quick, going out mid pack. This put us in the 4th
heat, starting 8th. Jerry did a great job working through
traffic, finishing 2nd to Mat Neely. This transferred us to the
A Main, starting outside 2nd row. The A Main this night was 20
laps. Jerry hung in there , fought , and finished 3rd, holding
off Wise, Darland, and Cottle. Being in the top 6 put us in a
good position for Saturday.
All we had to do Saturday was
hot laps, a dash race for the top 6 qualifiers from Friday
night, and the A Main. We were 2nd quick in hot laps. The dash
was held after the 4 heat races. Starting outside 2nd row
again, the car was good for the first half of the 8 laps .
Jerry appeared to be making up ground on the leaders , when a
problem developed in the car. Wise passed us for 3rd coming out
of turn 4 . When the car got in the pits Jerry got out and said
something had happened to the car. It was discovered that the
right rear shock had failed completely. It had lost all
compression and had no rebound. Jerry did a remarkable job
bringing the car home 4th given the circumstances. Jerry tried
a number of lines in the A Main. He tried high and low in turns
1&2, this was our slowest part of the track. We were good in
3&4, Jerry ran against the fence at times, a! nd mid track at
other times. The 5th place finish was not what we wanted, but
turned out to be a good points night. The Stewart Team had a
tough go in the A Main, allowing us to cut the points deficit
almost in half. We now head out West for the last 6 points
races of the year in pursuit of Hoffman's 9th National
Championship.
Tim Waechter
VP Marketing Hoffman Racing |
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RESULTS FROM
LAWRENCEBURG NON USAC RACE 9/30/06 |
The Team ran this race for
the big winner's purse of $10,000 and close proximity to home.
The format included drawing 2 pills, one for the heat races and
one for the feature. 70 sprint cars showed for the event. We
drew # 56 for the heat race and #11 for the feature race.
Starting 8th in the 4th heat, Jerry ran high and low and was
the class of the field ,winning. No one with a lower feature
number made the feature, so we started on the pole. Jerry led
31 laps until a fellow USAC competitor of ours decided to run
over Jerry on the front stretch and spin him. Jerry did a great
job collecting the car, kept it going and was now 4th. A red
flag allowed Rob and Jerry to talk, and they decided to try the
high line the rest of the race to go for the win. That didn't
work out for us and we slipped 2 more spots when the 50 lap
event ended.
CONGRATULATIONS TO SAM AND AARON PIERCE ON THE SILVER CROWN WIN
IN KANSAS CITY
Thanks to Sam Pierce for helping
us out and carrying our sponsors at the final Silver Crown race
of the season in Kansas City. Maybe this is a good omen for the
future as Aaron won the pole and led every lap to win the race.
Congratulations and thanks for your help!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Tim Waechter
VP Marketing Hoffman Racing |
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USAC SPRINT
NATIONAL WIN #68 COMES WITH NEW TRACK RECORD AT MOPAR THUNDER AT
THE BIG E |
 This weekend had it
all. Terrible weather, new track record, record setting
National win, mud , mud and more mud, 18 hours in one stretch at
the track, a 4:00 a.m. feature start time, and mud. We also
were without Dan who was attending his sister's wedding.
Thankfully Jake Simmons was able to help out this weekend.
Thanks Jake , you were a big part of our win.
Running 2 cars is always a
challenge. Friday' schedule was supposed to include hot laps,
qualifying and heat races for all 4 divisions. Rain hit with 8
sprint cars yet to take time, including Jerry in the points car.
Tracy was 13th, having gone out early when the track was
slower. The qualifying was reset to be completely rerun on
Saturday. The crew got there around 11:00am for a 1:00pm start
of activities. Hot laps commenced early at 12:30 with a threat
of rain. The results were spectacular for the Team with Tracy
qualifying 5th. Jerry went out late and set a new track record
of 14.712. Jerry
 drove the wheels off the car , what a thrill.
Of course both cars were in heat number 1 starting side by side
in the last row. Jerry got through traffic and ran away with a
big win. Tracy got stuck behind slower cars, finally got by,
but ran out of laps. Starting on the outside of! row 1 in the B
Main, Tracy got a great start and dominated to win and transfer
to the A Main. Rain interrupted activities several times and
the start time for the Sprint A Main was around 4:00 am Sunday
morning. Tracy started outside front row, with Jerry starting
6th. Tracy got a great start on the first start and led the
pack into 1&2 only to see a yellow flag. Rob Cheney got into
Tracy spun and took out 2 cars. Josh Wise now moved up to
inside pole . Tracy got the good start again, only to see a
yellow on lap 2 involving Jerry and Stenhouse. The car needed a
new front end, radius rods, drag link etc. Tracy led the way
again on the restart and had the field covered by a straightaway
by lap 14 when rain hit again. The crew had time to fix Jerry's
car during the break. Of course there was a discussion on how
the track would change when racing returned. Obviously the
correct changes were made. When! the race resumed 90 minutes
later, Tracy took the green flag and led every lap. Josh took a
look several times, but could not get by Tracy. As the laps
clicked off the car got faster and Tracy won the race. A tired
crew celebrated in victory lane .
 It was great fun to be pitted
next to the Wilke Pac crew. Congratulations to the Wilke's and
Tracy for the big midget win. The Team will now run the non
sanctioned races at Lawrenceburg next Friday and Saturday. Time
to catch up on sleep. Great job by everyone.
Tim Waechter
VP Marketing Hoffman Racing
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RESULTS FROM
THE IOWA SPEEDWAY 9/16 - 9/17 |
The new Iowa Speedway is a
beautiful facility, and fast. The track surface is very smooth.
The Hooter's Cup cars ran Friday night a 250 lap race and had
huge tire issues. So there was a concern for our race on tire
wear. We were fast off the truck, the fastest in practice 1.
We were the only car under the 22 second mark. Coming off the
track Tracy related that his head was buffeting so badly that he
could not see going down the straightaways. Rob and Dan did a
great job building a wind screen on the spot on pit row.The cars
were reaching speeds of 175mph plus down the straightaways.
Qualifying was in 3 groups based on practice imtes. We were in
the fastest group . We were on the top of the board until the
last lap when Hagen drafted off of Tracy and ran a faster speed
by .048 seconds on the 7/8 mile track. The group qualifying is
great for the fans and exciting , but the fastest car is n!
times always rewarded. Although we broke the old World's record
for the fastest time by a sprint car on a closed track, we were
2nd quick. There was a warm up session Sunday morning, that was
not scheduled until that morning. The crew scrambled to the
track, and we were 5th quick, running on a full fuel load.
Tracy started outside front row. The game plan was to conserve
tires early, and if the pace was to fast ,to lay back . Tracy
was running 3rd by lap 6 , and 4th by lap 12, running times in
the 22.7 second range. We started dropping back in the field
by lap 18-22. We ended up a very disappointing 11th. Tracy got
"loose in", and when the car came in after the race the crew
discovered that the left front spring had worked its way off the
shock. This would have caused the loose in condition. It was a
bitter pill to swallow for all of us, after being so fast early
. It made for an even longer trip home, driving the 9 hours
home. This dropped us out of the Championship lead, 20 points
behind going into the 4 Crown this weekend. We will run 2 cars
with Jerry and Tracy.
Tim Waechter
VP Marketing Hoffman Racing |
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A NIGHT TO
REMEMBER- RYAN NEWMAN DRIVES THE
HOFFMAN KROGER/TIDE/BOUNTY/PRINGLES/MOPAR CAR
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|
 The call came
to Richard late last week from the PRA. Would we be interested
in Ryan Newman driving the Big Car at ORP on 9/13. That was an
easy decision. After competing with Ryan for years, having him
in a Hoffman car would be an opportunity to take advantage of
immediately. The crew pulled long hours preparing the car.
Ryan was fitted in the car a few hours before hot laps . We
were 5th at the end of practice, 0.2 off the quick time. Right
before we qualified, a car dropped a ton of oil in turns 1 &2,
this hurt our time . We ended up 15th quick in a field of 26
cars. At the drop of the green Ryan showed why he is a NASCAR
star. It was a thing of beauty to see Ryan weave his way,
passing cars high and low, working his way in 18 laps to 8th
before the rains hit and ended our chance to race with Ryan to
the finish. It would have been interesting. The real story
of the night is the great time we all had with Ryan and his
friends Cory Tucker, and "Junebug". Ryan is a fine young man who
hasn't changed a bit with fame and fortune. He is a pleasure to
be around and work with. Corey and Junebug were great. We are
trying to get Richard to spot like Junebug with a Southern draw
and use terms like , "bubba", "come on", "your good".
Ryan thanks for driving the
car . We all hope we can do it again some day.
(more photos soon)
Tim Waechter |
|
RESULTS FROM
LUCAS OIL SPEEDWAY-WHEATLAND MO. 9/8/06 |
The Lucas Oil Speedway is
touted as the Diamond of Dirt Tracks. I think we would all agree
on that. It is a beautiful facility with all the amenities ,
jumbo TV screen and all. Also on this night the track was smooth
and very fast. Only 16 cars made the trip to Wheatland MO.,
which was a 10 hour trip for the Hoffman Team. We were in the
first practice grou(p . It was tough to figure out how fast we
were since the track was very slimy for our group. We drew a
pill in the middle of the pack, and when Jerry turned a lap of
15.530 he set a new track record. That didn't last long as 5
more cars broke that record as the track got faster and faster.
We ended up 6th quick, which would put us on the pole if we
transferred for the A Main. Two heats were run. We were in heat
number 2 and going into the heat, a semi was planned. While the
cars were on the track USAC decided that a v! ote of the fans
would determine if a B Main were to be run. The vote was no
according to who ever was counting. Of course no one told the
drivers in heat 2. The battle was on with Jerry trying to come
through the pack with Levi Jones. The car was good through 1,2
and 3, but pushed coming out of 4. Levi got into the back of
Jerry, turned us into the wall and Levi flipped. The Kroger/Tide
car was hurt . The crew did a remarkable job changing the rear
end, and practically all the "bolt on" pieces on the left side
of the car. The left side header also was damaged. The car was
ready in plenty of time for the A Main. Jerry started on the
pole and got a great start leading the pack through turn 2, only
to see a yellow flag for a restart-we are not sure why. Restart
number 2 saw Wise and Darland pass Jerry and we were running 3rd
by lap 2. The battle ensued after a lap 7 red flag. Jerry passed
Darland for 2nd on lap 15 and got by Josh on lap 17 for the
lead. ;The left front was lifting off the track, so adjustments
for rebound in the front shocks were made during a second red
flag. Jerry was running high in turns 3 &4, Wise got under him
on lap 20 and put a slide job on Jerry. The choices were to spin
Josh , hit the wall, or back petal to avoid contact. Jerry made
the right choice and ended a strong 2nd. The 2nd place finish
put the Team back in first place in the National Championship
hunt , 5 slim points in the lead. It was a long trip home,
driving through the night, arriving home at 11:00am. Our
thoughts and prayers go out to Bryan Clausson, hope to see you
back at the track as soon as possible. We are looking forward to
this weekend at the new Iowa Speedway.
Tim Waechter
VP Marketing Hoffman Racing |
RYAN NEWMAN
TO DRIVE KROGER/TIDE/BOUNTY/PRINGLES
MOPAR AT O’REILLY RACEWAY PARK ON 9/13/06 |
Loveland, OH (Sept 6, 2006)
-- Hoffman Auto Racing announced today that NASCAR star Ryan
Newman will drive the Team’s “Big Car” (old style Silver Crown
Car) at O’Reilly’s Raceway Park in the PRA race on 9/13.
“It will be a thrill to see Ryan in our
Kroger/Tide/Bounty/Pringles/MOPAR Car. We competed with Ryan in
his years in the USAC Sprint and Silver Crown series. Now we can
admire his driving skills in our family car. We have followed
Ryan’s career with great pride knowing that his success has been
a real Newman family effort,” said Richard Hoffman, President of
Hoffman Racing.
Ryan Newman is a 2001 Purdue University graduate with a degree
in vehicle structure engineering. He began his USAC career in
1995 and won rookie of the year honors in the National Midget
Series and again the next year in the Silver Crown Series. In
’99 he was the Silver Crown Series National Champion . Ryan’s
association with Roger Penske began in 2000. Ryan won his first
Cup race in 2002. He has won 34 Bud Poles since 2002.
Hoffman Auto Racing (HAR) competes in the Sprint Car and Silver
Crown Divisions of the United States Auto Club (USAC). HAR was
founded in 1929 by August (Gus) Hoffman. Three generations of
Hoffman’s are involved with the Team, including Gus’s great
grandchildren A.J. and Lauren, who have begun their
quartermidget careers. HAR is the all time leader in USAC
National Sprint Car Team victories with 67, and National
Championships with 8. Hoffman Auto Racing is currently in
contention for the 2006 Championship. HAR also has 7 Silver
Crown victories, for a total of 74 National wins. HAR celebrates
77 years of competition this year.
Highlights of the Team’s history include:
- 1929-1960 Gus campaigned Sprint Cars and Midgets, his drivers
included Eddie Sachs, and Don Branson
- 1964 Gus’s son Richard became co-owner of the Team
- 1973-1984 HAR fielded Indy Cars, including 7 Indy 500 starts
- 1989 HAR won the first of 8 USAC National Sprint Car
Championships with Rob Hoffman as the crew
chief(’92,’93,’96,’97,’99,’02,’04)
- HAR is the winingest Team in USAC Sprint Car history
- 2003 recognized for excellence by the Ohio State Senate and
House of Representatives
Drivers of note:
Jeff Gordon, Tony Stewart, Tracy Hines, JJ Yeley, Kasey Kahne,
Kenny Irwin Jr, Rich Vogler, Dave Darland, Johnny Parsons Jr.,
Tim Richmond, Jay Drake, Brian Tyler, Robbie Stanley, Eric
Gordon, Steve Butler and Jerry Coons Jr.
Kroger is the nation’s largest grocer, with over 2400 stores and
annual sales exceeding 53
Billion dollars.
Procter & Gamble has annual sales of over 57 Billion Dollars,
and markets 18 brands with
sales over 1 Billion Dollars. P&G brands include Tide, Pringles,
and Bounty.
MOPAR is the exclusive original equipment manufacturer for
DaimlerChrysler’s American brands: Chrysler, Jeep and Dodge
vehicles.
Tim Waechter
VP Marketing Hoffman Auto Racing |
|
RESULTS FROM
TRI-STATE SPEEDWAY-HAUBSTADT INDIANA 9/6/06 |
This race was run under the
MSCS format. That is that the draw has a big part of your
success during the event. The Team drew the best possible pill,
number 1. This meant that Jerry would start on the pole for the
first heat. If we were able to win the heat race from the pole
position, then we would start on the pole for the A Main.
Unfortunately Dave Darland got a fantastic start from the
outside front row, and led every lap to win heat race 1. Jerry
was able to hold on to 2nd place , so we transferred for the A
Main. The feature was 40 laps and one we would like to forget.
The car developed a big push and we finished 6th due to the
problems cars ahead of us had during the A Main. The night was
not a total loss, as we pulled within 2 points in the National
Championship ,in 2nd place. It is a tight race for the title,
with 4 Teams within 17 points of each other. We all are
determined for better things this Friday at Wheatland Mo. A new
track for us, we hear that it is a great facility.
Tim Waechter
VP Marketing Hoffman Racing |
|
GOOD "TEST
SESSION" AT GAS CITY |
The goal of running the
regular sprint car program at Gas City on 8/18 was to test the
new F5 the Team has had since last year. The car has never hit
the track, and became part of the "working inventory" when the
car Jerry was driving was destroyed at Eldora. Jerry then
moved into the car Tracy had driven at Eldora, when the Team had
a 1-2 finish. There is no qualifying at Gas City, so your
starting position in heats is determined by your draw. A poor
draw saw us starting in the back of heat number 2. A new car,
plus racing with drivers we are not familiar with, had Jerry
being very smart and very cautious. A 5th place finish gave the
Team some data to work with for the feature. Starting 14th in
the A Main, Jerry again took it easy and stayed in the 10th-11th
place through the early stages of the race. Jerry avoided
several red flags, including one that was too close for comfort!
Jerry was good in turns 3 &4, not so good in 1&2. Jerry found
a high line in 1&2 with about 10 to go, and was a rocket from
that point on. Jerry worked his way up to 3rd with a few laps
to go. We were clearly the fastest car in the late stages of
the race. Jerry got a run off 4 and passed Tracy at the line
for 2nd place in the 25 lap A Main. A few more laps and who
knows, we believe Jerry would have passed Shane Cottle for the
win. The Team learned a lot about the car, and we had fun,
especially getting on Tracy for the last lap pass. See you in
Winchester this Sunday.
Tim Waechter
VP Marketing Hoffman Racing
|
|
RESULTS FROM
SALEM INDIANA 8/12/06- GOOD NIGHT-WELCOME BACK TRACY AND CHRISTA |
The Team went into the
Saturday event with the objective of winning this race for the
2nd year in a row. Last year we led all 50 laps with Brian
Tyler at the wheel. Things didn't start out the way we had
planned, we were 7th fast in both practice sessions. Numerous
changes were made during the night, with shocks, gear, and
stagger all changed during the event. The car showed
improvement for qualifying, we ended up 3rd, 0.2 off fast time
set by Levi. The heat race was a very nervous time for all of
us, as cars were all over the track. Tracy played it smart and
layed back, making key passes and got to a transfer spot The 50
lap feature saw Tracy starting 4th. At the drop of the green
Tracy was able to get by Clauson for 3rd. On lap 4 Tracy did a
fantastic job saving the car, as Ron Gregory hit the wall in
front of us and came down on Tracy. This put us in P2, and by
lap 19 Tracy was ! on the tail of leader Hagen. On lap 26 Tracy
went for the win by trying a pass on Hagen coming of of turn 2,
Hagen came down on Tracy, which enabled Clauson to pass us for
2nd. Unbelievably a lap later Hagen dropped out with mechanical
problems , sealing our fate for the night. Tracy put distance
on 3rd place and points leader Levi Jones and made a move for
the win on lap 50, but fell a little short of victory. Great
job by Tracy and the Team. Rob, Dan and the Team will be
working on fixing the new Beast and hopefully it will be ready
for Winchester on the 27th. The owner's championship remains
very tight, we could have fallen to 3rd place, but narrowed the
gap below 22 points to first. There is a good chance we will
run at Gas City Friday, in the regular weekly show. The
objective would be to evaluate a new F5 which has not raced yet.
This would be in preparation of running 2 cars for the 4
Crowns.
Tim Waechter
VP Marketing Hoffman Racing |
|
$30,000
WIN AT THE |
|
Ultimate
Challenge Southern Iowa Speedway Oskaloosa, IA
|
|
 Race
Recap: (Coons started 9th) Haudenschild outdragged Sweet
into turn one for the early lead, reaching speeds never seen at a
previous Ultimate Challenge on the still tacky surface. Kaeding
exited early while smoking. Clauson shot under the "Wild Child"
completing lap four before Imperial stopped bringing out a caution.
With the split yellow rule in effect, Clauson was able to keep his
advantage over Haud, Sweet, Droud and a charging Jones. Claus on
pulled away for the next nine laps. Davis Jr. suffered a flat right
rear on lap 14 and slowed. Weir launched over the flat tire head
first into the turn four fence. He was unhurt, but done. Clauson led
Haud, Droud, a charging Coons, Sweet and Jones back to green after
what would be the last stoppage. Coons quickly dove under Droud,
finding the low groove to his liking. After dueling with
Haudenschild for several laps he moved past and disposed of
 Clauson
for the lead on lap 21. He pulled away the last nine circuits,
cashing in the $30,000 payday, the biggest of his illustrious
career. Hagen was the winner of the Keith Hutton hard-charger award,
moving up 12 spots and bringing home a new Winters Rear End.
Stanbrough may have been the fastest car the last few laps, picking
up four spots in the last five laps. |
ADDITIONAL
INFORMATION ON THE BIG $30,000 WIN
First of all Dan and Jerry were
the lone rangers at Oskaloosa. Everyone else
on the Team had to work, imagine that. There was no qualifying ,
rather the passing point system was used. We were in the 3rd heat
and started last. Jerry passed 3 cars , some points were
accumulated for the heat. Then in the qualifying races, we started
outside pole and won the event. This gave us a 9th place starting
position in the A Main, for the big money. Jerry found success on
the bottom, except going high on occasion to pass. The car was
awesome, Jerry was awesome, it was a race where we dominated. There
were only a few changes made to the car all night, front shock
rebound, and stagger. The track was lightning fast, the MOPAR had
great horsepower , what a great night. If you listened carefully you
could hear the shouts of joy at various locations in Cincinnati from
the Team, gathered around computers. Way to go Dan and Jerry.
I guess the rest of the Team will have to stay home the rest of the
year-NOT !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Thanks to Paul Arch for the photos, he
has really come through for us this year !
Tim Waechter
VP Marketing Hoffman Racing |
|
GOOD NIGHT AT
PONTOON BEACH ILLINOIS- FAST TIME 3RD PLACE FINISH |
The Sunday night race in
Illinois makes for a long night and trip back home. Leaving Sunday
morning Richard, Rob, Dan, A.J. and Josh made the trip in 2
vehicles. All of the above except Dan headed home after the race.
Dan and the rig headed for the non-USAC Tuesday night race at
Oskaloosa Iowa. Tri-City was very hard on tires. The Team went
through both rear tires in hot laps , and a new right rear in
qualifying. Jerry did a great job setting fast time of 21.233 on
the 1/2 mile track, just a tick faster than Levi Jones(21.293).
With a field of 24 cars, 3 heat races were run. Jerry starting
last in the 1st heat, made progress through the field and was
catching the 2 lead cars when the checkered flew. This transferred
us into the A Main. Starting 6th with the invert Jerry had a good
start, and worked his way to 3rd position when the leader Clayton
flipped on lap 19. Jerry! got a great restart on new leader Wise
when the red flew again for another flip. Jerry tried new lines
going for the win on the restart and as a result lost 2nd spot to
Neely, and finished 3rd. Dan took off for Oskaloosa, and the crew
headed home for work. USAC schedules like this make it very tough
on those working for a living outside of racing. The owners point
championship is very tight, with 4-5 cars under a blanket for the
Title. The next 2 races are on pavement, with Tracy back in the
car. See you at Salem!!!!!!
Tim Waechter
VP Marketing Hoffman Racing |
|
A WEEKEND OFF
MEANT RELAXATION AT DALE HOLLOW FOR THE TEAM |
 A
rare weekend off meant a great time at Dale Hollow Lake in Kentucky.
Richard and Linda, Tim and Diane, and Dan were guests of the Chris
Hoffman family at their palacial estate on Dale Hallow Lake.
Boating, swimming, food and drink meant a terrific weekend. Thanks
to Chris and Sue for the hospitality. |
|
RESULTS FROM GAS
CITY- 5TH NIGHT OF INDIANA SPRINT WEEK JULY 19 |
Again Rob pulled a good pill.
The down side is that the track is so slimy in hot laps, that it is
hard to tell how good the car will be. We were okay in qualifying,
running a 12.8, 0.3 off fast time again set by Brad Sweet. Changes
were made before the heat race, including a gear change. The choice
proved to not be the best, as Jerry drove the car hard to finish 4th
in the 4th heat. The track was dusty all night, the feature was no
exception. Starting 11th Jerry moved forward getting a good start ,
only to see a yellow come out immediately. Once the green flew
again, we moved up to 9th when the yellow came out again on lap 2.
Jerry was 7th by lap 4, again moving to the front. The remainder
of the A Main was a struggle. We believe that the power steering
unit is overheating causing other components to overheat. The car
would not turn in the latter parts of the race. We fell back to
10th at the finish. Now we move on to our "home track" of
Lawrenceburg for night 6 of ISW. We are close to the lead in the
National Championship.
Tim Waechter
VP Marketing Hoffman Racing |
|
NIGHT 4 OF
INDIANA SPRINT WEEK- KOKOMO 7/16 |
It is a typical Indiana Sprint
Week , with temperatures soaring into the mid 90's, humidity , as
Jerry says "this isn't Arizona". We again drew a good number , and
again hot laps in the first group gave us a slimy track. Again we
had a very good car all night. Jerry drove a tremendous qualifying
lap, 2nd quick at 13.217. Brad Sweet was in his own world,
qualifying at 12.866. The heat race was again a challenge, starting
in the back, Jerry drove an unbelievable race. He had the entire
crew in awe , he was aggressive, confident, in full control. It was
a tough heat, finishing 3rd transferred us into the A Main. Starting
5th, at the start of the A Main the inside line got off to a poor
start, with nowhere to go, we dropped to 10th in short order. By the
lap 6 yellow Jerry had moved up to 8th. Jerry was engaged in a
heated battle with Hockett and got the pass by the lap 15 yellow.
Jerry had moved up to position 5 by the lap 20 yellow. The last 10
laps saw yellows and reds. Jerry was driving hard and catching the
lead pack running in 4th, when the car got low coming out of turn 4,
got in the air, and stopped. The left front tire was flat, Rob and
Dan got the tire changed before the green flew with 4 laps to go.
Jerry passed 4 cars in the remaining laps salvaging a 15th place
finish. It was another wild Sprint Week race, great hard racing,
before packed houses. See you at Gas City.
Tim Waechter
VP Marketing Hoffman Racing |
|
NIGHT 3 INDIANA
SPRINT WEEK HAUBSTADT. |
|
Indiana Sprint Week for the Team
so far has been a testament to consistently good cars . Haubstadt
was no exception. The motor started to lay down in the last lap of
hot laps. A spark plug was found to be fowling because the gap was
being closed by a piston strike. A fix was put in place ,but the
same issue occurred in qualifying on the 2nd lap. Jerry was able to
run the 6th fastest time 0.3 off the fast time set by Josh Wise.
The spark plug problem was fixed by Rob and Dan and did not occur
again. Heat race number 2 was very competitive with the car getting
better and better and closing on Kruseman who won the heat. The 2nd
place finish transferred the car into the A Main. Jerry drove hard
in the feature battling at the head of the pack the entire 30 laps.
Jerry was pushing leader Levi Jones early for the lead. We again
were very competitive , but not good enough to win, finishing 4th. !
That makes a 6th, 3rd and 4th place finish in Indiana Sprint Week.
That puts the Team and Jerry in 2nd place for Sprint Week, only 5
points from the lead. On to Kokomo Sunday night. |
|
NIGHT 2 INDIANA
SPRINT WEEK- BLOOMINGTON |
The Team was looking forward to
returning to the sight of last year's win during Sprint Week at
Bloomington. Again we had a good car, hot lapping was tough to
tell how good we were because the track was so slimy. Rob, Dan,
Richard and Jerry kept an eye on the track and made appropriate
changes for qualifying. Jerry's time of 11.422 held as fast time
for most of qualifying, and we ended up 3rd quick. The 3rd heat
race was very competitive , Jerry hung in, battling and got a
transfer spot with a 4th place finish. The feature was a real
treat for the fans. We were involved in a heated battle for many
laps with Mat Neely . Close racing was the norm for the 30 laps.
Jerry drove hard and earned a hard fought 3rd place finish.
Tim Waechter
VP Marketing Hoffman Racing |
|
NIGHT 1 OF
INDIANA SPRINT WEEK-NORTH VERNON INDIANA |
Everyone on the Team hopes for
the last 6 races of Indiana Sprint Week to be less hectic than night
1. Drawing an early pill usually means a good track and a
deteriorating track for cars going out later in the session. As 56
cars drew for position we thought our draw of number 20(qualifying
9th) would be a positive for us. The track rutted up in turn 3
early on in the high groove. We learned little in the hot lap
session as the track was very slick. We were the fast time in
session 1 for qualifying with a time of 14.553. The track actually
got faster as qualifying continued. We were hanging in there at 6th
quick until the 2nd last car went out. We ended up 7th quick, 0.15
off quick time. The third heat race was to say the least "wild".
Jerry was running in a transfer spot comfortably when a car ahead of
us lost it and Jerry had no place to go. The car was okay but w! e
were now in the rear of the field. Jerry made some aggressive moves
to get to a transfer spot when a back marker cut him off going into
turn 3 and sent the car into the wall. The front axle was junk, so
the thrashing began to get the car ready for the semi. What a
heroic job by the crew, including Jerry to get the car together.
Things were scary in the semi, interrupted by yellows and red flags
Jerry held on for 3rd. Starting 7th in the A Main, Jerry ran from
5th-9th place during the many yellows and red flags. After the last
red flag the car "came in" and Jerry was catching the lead pack ,
and passed Clauson at the start/finish line for 6th place at the
checkered. On to Bloomington for night 2.
Tim Waechter
VP Marketing Hoffman Racing |
|
Toledo 7-8-06
Toledo Speedway –
7th Annual “Hemelgarn/Super Fitness Open Wheel Classic” |
|
The car was pretty good out of the
hauler, running 5th quick in practice. The car was not quite as good
for qualification lap and was 9th quick. This was Marc Jessup first
time in the car and working with the team. We started pretty far
back in a loaded heat and sending us to the semi. Marc was
able to win the semi and seemed to have a better feel for the car.
We started the "A" 4th row outside and and was not able to advance.
Apparently some in car adjustments were made around mid race and the
car was running some good laps and staying with the front group and
a 9th place finish. Tim is out of town and his full report will be
up later.
A FEW MORE
THOUGHTS ON TOLEDO AND SPRINT WEEK
Toledo was one of those nights
were qualifying had a lot to do with determining your fate for the
night, unless you had an incredible car. We had a good car with a
first time driver. The 9th place qualifying time set the tone. If
we had qualified more toward the front I do not believe anyone would
have passed us. Passing was definitely at a premium , with the top
6 qualifiers finishing in the top 6, the winning pass was made due
to a lapped car blocking the leader. This week starts the stretch
of the year that goes a long way in determining the championship.
We are excited in having the hottest driver in open wheel racing in
the car for Sprint Week. Go get um Jerry.
Tim Waechter
VP Marketing Hoffman Racing |
|
NATIONAL USAC
WIN #67 COMES APPROPRIATELY AT THE "SALUTE TO THE RED, WHITE, AND
BLUE KROGER SPRINT/MIDGET CLASSIC" IN COLUMBUS |
 What a Team. We have had the
misfortune of severely wrecking 2 cars the last 3 races, including
a new Beast pavement car. So a decision was made
that there was not
time to fix the new Beast before the Columbus race. The race was
sponsored by Kroger, so we wanted a win badly. Thanks to a real
Team effort, the "old" pavement car was put together in short order.
It was stripped to the frame. Thanks to heroic efforts by Dan
Launderville, Rob, Jake Simmons(thanks for coming back to help out)
and the entire Team the car was ready for Columbus. The old girl was
fast. Following the 2 hot lap sessions we were 6th quick.
Qualifying was held in groups using transponder speeds. Tracy cut
a fast lap of 13.543, good enough for 2nd quick, and tied with some
guy named Newman, I think hi! s first name is Ryan. He runs some
stock cars somewhere. It was great to see Ryan again. Tracy moved
up in the heat race, finishing a comfortable 3rd. We all assumed
that passing would be at a premium on this short track. Thankfully
we were wrong. Tracy started 5th, inside 3rd row. He made a good
pass on Santos on lap 5, moved to 3rd on lap 10, moving the car
inside/outside. Tracy passed Wise on lap 14 for 2nd, and after a
caution on lap 15 was on Clauson's rear bumper. Shades of ORP I am
sure were in all our thoughts. Tracy was masterful working Clauson
outside, the 2 ran side by side in IRL fashion for 2 laps before
Tracy made the pass for the lead. From there Tracy moved away from
the field, for a big win. Quite a celebration ensued, with Rob's
children in victory lane, it was terrific. Way to go Tracy, good
luck in Chicago this weekend in the Busch car. Next stop is
Toledo
Saturday night! , Marc Jessup will make his debut in the car since
Tracy is in Chicago . Alright Marc, 2 in a row is the goal.
Tim Waechter
VP Marketing Hoffman Racing |
|
RESULTS FROM
O'REILLY RACEWAY PARK JULY 1 2006, ANOTHER FAST CAR, ANOTHER WRECKED
CAR |
The crew with Tracy's help put
the fast set up on the car for the race at the newly renamed
O'Reilly Raceway Park(formerly IRP). The car was the fastest in
both practice sessions. Rob and Dan made minor tweaks on the car
with feedback from Tracy before qualifying. Tracy's fast time of
20.627 was 0.15 faster than Josh Wise , winning fast time for the
2nd time in the last 3 pavement races. Again minor tweaks were made
to keep up with the track before the heat race. Tracy showed how
fast the car was again by going from last to first and winning heat
race 1. Starting 6th in the feature, due to the invert, Tracy
passed 2 cars on lap 1 and was heading to 3rd place on lap 2 , Tracy
had the inside spot in turn 2 when a car came down on Tracy, sending
the car into a spin . The car shot up the race track and was struck
on the drivers side by at least 2 cars. Thankfully Tracy was not
hurt, aside from bum! ps and bruises. The car however is a
different story. The damage is so severe that there is not time to
fix it before the Columbus race. So the backup car was rolled out
and the crew spent long hours Sunday putting it back together.
Thanks to the crew for a great effort to be ready to race July 4th,
and July 8th at Toledo. Remarkably we are still 2nd in the points
championship, now 56 points back. Never give up has been this
Team's motto for 77 years, it never has been more true than today.
See you in Columbus. (Note postponed to July 5th Rain Date)
Tim Waechter
VP Marketing Hoffman Racing |
|
RESULTS FROM
RICHMOND INTERNATIONAL RACEWAY 6/23/06 |
 The
car was fast off the truck in the first practice session, we were
3rd quick with laps under the 20 second bracket. Tracy could run a
quick lap, but not consistently. So the Team made some significant
changes for the 2nd practice period, shocks, springs, and gearing.
The result was a slow down of overall speed and 13th quick in the
session. Rain interrupted the rest of the day so qualifying was
cancelled and the fastest practice speed of the 2 sessions was your
qualifying time. We were 5th quick with a time of 19.951. The
track did a wondeful job of drying the surface numerous times only
to see rain fall again. We were looking at staying an extra day at
Richmond when a
window of clear weather developed and the track was dried and we
were able to race about 10:00pm. The race was 60 laps, broken up to
a 31 lap segment and a 29 lap segment, with a fuel stop in between.
The cars were lined up s! traight up for the feature. The car was
very tight and we dropped to to 10th by the end of the first
segment. A few changes were made for the second segment and the car
got much better. Tracy was able to pass on the high side and worked
his way
 up
to 5th place when the car got loose and Tracy was unable to advance
any further. The second half was good and we finished on a high
note. The Team moved to 2nd place in the National Championship only
18 points back. See you at IRP this Saturday.
Tim Waechter
VP Marketing Hoffman Racing |
|
TOUGH WEEKEND
ENDS WITH A ROUGH NIGHT AT THE BIG E |
|
Our fate really was sealed with
the draw, we pulled "Pill" number 40, the last number. The car was
fast in hot laps, but it was obvious that the track was going to be
a problem. The fast time for the night was Josh Wise, who went out
5th, with a time of 15.5. The track got slower and slower, the real
issue came with a red flag, and the track set for another 30 minutes
or so, drying out. To show how good a car we had , Jay Drake and
Levi Jones went out right before Jerry, and both were in the 17
second bracket. Jerry did a heck of a job running a 16.822 ,
hanging it out in turns 3&4. Jerry blistered the field in heat
number 2, again showing what a good car we had, coming home with an
easy win, pulling a classic slide job on 2 cars at once. We started
16th in the feature, Jerry did a great job avoiding a pile up in
turn 1. Jerry was unable to avoid the pile up on the restart, cars
! stacked up ahead of him, Jerry was hit from the rear, and hit the
wall. Tony Elliot ended up on top of Jerry . The car is a mess and
probably done for good. The 23rd place finish dropped us from the
lead in the championship to 3rd place, 40 points from the lead. We
are looking forward to a great run in Richmond next weekend. |
|
RESULTS FROM
LIMA-THE FIRST NIGHT OF THE "BUCKEYE NATIONALS" |
The Team struggled at Lima,
qualifying 10th. The car was better in the heat race, as Jerry
finished 2nd and transferring to the A Main. As Jerry pulled into
the pits the motor quit. Rob, Dan, and Richard looked over the car
and decided to error on the conservative side and make a motor
change before the A Main.
The crew did a fantastic job
changing to the backup MOPAR in about 30 minutes. We just never got
hocked up and pretty much finished up where we started in 9th place.
Tim Waechter
VP Marketing Hoffman Racing
|
|
WINCHESTER
6/11/06 FAST TIME THEN CAME THE RAIN |
 Rain
threatened the entire area Sunday, but it looked like we might get
lucky. Hot laps went off with a few adjustments made in between
sessions. We were running in the high 14 second bracket or low 15
second, good for about 6-7th quick. Stagger, spring , cross weight
and ride height adjustment were made for qualifying. The changes
were right on target as Tracy's first lap
was a 14.6, with the second lap of 14.3, by far the quick time .
There was 1 car in the 14.4 second bracket, but the majority of
quick cars were in the 14.6-14.7.
Rain began to fall when the stock cars were qualifying, ending the
day a few hours later. The race has been rescheduled for 8/27, a
twilight race. |
|
HISTORIC
NATIONAL WIN #66 COMES AT ELDON MO. AS "COONDOG" SWEEPS THE NIGHT |
|
We certainly did not have the
fastest car as hot laps and qualifying progressed. The crew took
feedback from Jerry and kept tuning the car. Jerry qualified 6th
quick , but 0.7 seconds off quick time of 13.55 by Levi. Starting
7th in the heat race , Jerry dominated the race winning in an
impressive manner. He ran low or high depending on the turn and the
condition of the track. Starting on the pole, Jerry ran away from
the field, leading by as much as 7 seconds. A red flag on lap 22
erased the big lead. 4 lapped cars were in between Jerry and the
2nd place car of Mat Neely for the restart. Jerry took off again on
the drop of the green and won by almost 2 seconds. Jerry did a
great job during the race disposing of lapped traffic and reading
the track, adjusting his line. Earlier in the evening Jerry won
the midget feature. What an impressive night for Jerry,
congratulations. &! nbsp; |
|
THE 4TH
GENERATION OF HOFFMAN RACING ENTERS VICTORY LANE |
 AJ
Hoffman, Rob's son, Richard's grandson, and Gus's great grandson won
his first quarter midget race on 6/4. Starting 5th, in true Hoffman
fashion, AJ drove hard for a big win. Aj is also working on
Grandpa Dickies sprint car |
|
LAUREN HOFFMAN
DRIVES IN HER FIRST RACE |
Granddaughter Laura Hoffman, Rob
and Laura's daughter, began her racing career in 1/4 midgets on 6/3.
Lauren did a great job her first time out, finishing 3rd in the
feature. Way to go Lauren.
Tim Waechter
VP Marketing Hoffman Racing |
|
RESULTS FROM THE
58TH LITTLE 500 5/27/2006 |
If you are a race fan, you
owe it to yourself to see the Little 500. It is wild, crazy, scary,
fun, racy, emotional all wrapped up into one two plus hour Sprint
Car race. I was busy during the race , so all these facts are from
memory. Early in the race we ran in the top 10, working our way up
to 7th at one point. Tracy was cruising, keeping the car under him
and saving the tires. After the 130 lap mark we had trouble .
Tracy called in saving the car was slowing and something was wrong.
He pulled in and while the crew checked the car we did fuel,
getting a full load. Nothing was detected so Tracy was sent back
out, only to come back in a few laps later under the green with the
same problem. An injector nozzle had worked itself loose and was
killing the power in the engine. The crew did a great job fixing
the problem, but we lost 18 or so laps to the leader. We also could
not change tires on the stop since Rob, Dan, and Jake were fixing
the problem.. The engine was good , but old tires hurt us until our
next pit stop. A full load of fuel and 3 new tires in about 18
seconds was a fantastic job by the crew. The second half of the
race we were faster than anyone in the field except maybe Brian
Tyler. One more pit stop, for tires only, after lap 400 only made
Tracy faster. He was passing cars high and low. Our 6th place
finish, 18 laps down is no indication of how good a car we had.
Tracy drove a remarkable race, being patient and aggressive at the
same time. Congratulations to the crew for unbelievable pit stops,
and to Rob for a great race strategy. I have the feeling we will be
back for our 3rd Little 500 next year.
Tim Waechter
VP Marketing Hoffman Racing |
|
LITTLE 500
QUALIFYING |
|
After a hectic Wednesday ,
Thursday morning came way too soon for the Team. Back at the track
at 10:00am for Little 500 practice from 11:00am-1:00pm. There were
too many set ups tried to detail here, practice is to try and find
more speed. A set up was agreed upon for qualifying with sticker
tires. The first lap was in the 11.4 range, with the next 2 in the
11.2 range, we never got to see what the last lap was as we called
off the attempt. This turned out to be a mistake as a Team. Even
if the last lap would have been in the 11.4 range, we believe would
have been on the front row. Attempt 2 was much slower with a heat
cycle on the tires, no cloud cover,a slicker track. The 4 lap total
was 45.753 seconds for an average of 11.434 per lap. This was good
for 9th quick, outside row 3. We then loaded up and headed for
Kokomo, which was rained out. We look forward to our second Little
500. |
|
LITTLE 500 PRACTICE,
USAC PRACTICE AND USAC RACE AT ANDERSON 5/24
|
Practice for the Little 500
began at 11:00am and went to 3:00pm. We were fast off the truck,
then experimented with different spring, stagger, and shock
combinations. We learned a lot, getting out numerous times. Then
it was time for USAC practice . The crew agreed to a set up for
qualifying and we were good , 4th quick with a fast time of 11.341.
The heat race was encouraging, with Tracy making outside passes on
a track where it is very difficult to pass. The 2nd place finish
transferred us to the feature. The officials were moving the
program along with a threat of bad weather. Starting 3rd in the A
Main, we fell to 4th as the parade of no passing began. Tracy was
trying to pass high to no avail. About lap 29 Tracy tried a pass in
turn 3 and got tangled up with Bryan Clauson, spinning us out and
sending us to the tail of the field. Rain hit and caused a delay.
Racing ! resumed for a few laps before rain returned and put an
end to the nights racing with 35 laps in the books of the 50
scheduled. Our 13th place finish was not indicative of the good car
we had.
Tim Waechter
VP Marketing Hoffman Racing |
|
RESULTS FROM
CONCORD N.C. DEBUT OF NEW PAVEMENT CAR |
This week presents tremendous
challenges for the Hoffman Team. It started with the weekend race
at a new venue, Concord Motorsports Park in North Carolina. The
Team made the 9 hour trip Saturday morning leaving very early for
practice at the track from 5-10pm. The track has a unique shape,
being a 1/2 mile tri-oval. We were good in the rain interrupted
sessions. We were second and third in the 2 sessions. The new car
was performing well. The practice due to rain delays went to almost
midnight. Sunday was a hotter day and we lost some ground to the
competition in practice. We were 14th and 15th in the 2 practice
sessions Sunday. Numerous changes were made to try to pick up0.3
seconds. Tracy did a good job in qualifying , running our fastest
times of the weekend, but still a disappointing 8th quick. Tracy
made his way through traffic in the second heat and was catching
Brian Gerster when we ran out of laps and finished 2nd . The
feature saw Tracy advance to 7th on the first lap, only to be passed
back a lap later. Being in NASCAR Land I guess we had to have the
BIG ONE, it occurred on lap 16, with a car flipping and the track
being completely blocked . We avoided this one. A few air pressure
changes were made during the red flag period. we missed the BIG ONE
but not the next problem. Tracy was catching the pack in front of
him and it seemed only a matter of laps before Tracy moved up 3-4
positions. Going into turn 3 Bobby Santos lost the car and
collected several cars including us. The car went air born getting
all 4 tires off the ground. The car didn't seem too bad and we got
back out before the green flag flew. Tracy spun twice in the
ensuing green flags. As it turns out, in the accident a bolt in the
front end was cracked and eventually sheered off causing Tracy to
spin. Tracy did a great job keeping the car off the wall. The 18th
place finish didn't make the "drive through the night" trip home any
easier, getting back at 9:00am. The hectic week continues with the
Wednesday night USAC race at Anderson, the Thursday night USAC race
at Kokomo, and the Little 500 Saturday night.
Tim Waechter
VP Marketing Hoffman Racing |
|
RESULTS FROM
CANANDAIGUA N.Y. 5/6/2006 |
|
Not much can be said for the
second race of the weekend swing to the East. The track was
basically a single groove, dry , slick surface which we never got a
handle on throughout the night. We qualified 14th out of a field of
18. This put us in a hole which we did not crawl out of the rest of
the night. A short field meant only 2 heat races. Jerry managed to
finish in a transfer spot in the 2nd heat. Starting 14th in the A
Main, it was a struggle the entire 30 laps. Jerry managed a 11th
place finish. The only good news Saturday is that we retained the
lead for the Championship by 18 points. Another busy weekend ahead
with 2 races, Terre Haute Saturday night and Kokomo Sunday night.
See you at the races. |
|
RESULTS FROM
LERNERVILLE SPEEDWAY, SARVER PA. 5/5/2006 |
The car was good off the
trailer. The 4th quick time of 15.560 was only 0.2 off the quick
time of Josh Wise. A good run for a 3rd place finish in the 1st
heat transferred us to the A Main. Starting 3rd in the Feature
Jerry initially dropped to 5th place. The track went through a
major change in the A Main, going from a good track to dry slick
quickly. Jerry drove hard and smart advancing back through the
field and was catching the eventual winner Darreen Hagen when the
checkered flag flew. It was a good night made even better by the
presence of our good friend "Stush". The crew was well fed by
Stush's famous sausage and peppers. It was great to see Stush and
we look forward to his presence for Indiana Sprint Week.
Tim Waechter
VP Marketing Hoffman Racing |
|
HOFFMAN AUTO
RACING WINS THE "BORDER WARS 2006"- MOVES TO 1ST PLACE IN THE
NATIONAL POINTS-OUR BEST WISHES TO DICKIE GAINES AND JAY DRAKE ON
QUICK RECOVERIES |
RESULTS FROM ELDORA
"BORDER WARS" 4/29/06
The second night of Border Wars
started out well with a fast car off the truck. Rob pulled a good
number and we rolled out 15th to qualify. Jerry ran a smooth line
on both laps and was fast qualifier for the night with a time of
14.856. We drew a tough heat with Marvel, Chaney, Cottle, and
Darland in the race. Jerry started with 8th with the invert, and
worked his way through the field finishing a strong 2nd. Jerry did
most of his passing coming off turns 2 and 4. We started 6th in the
feature with the invert. A number of changes were made for the
feature. At the drop of the green Josh Wise was gone mounting a 7
second lead after just 6 laps. A red flag at lap 7 gave Rob, Jerry,
and Dan a chance to check tire pressures and make a few minor
changes. As the green dropped Jerry was in a heated battle with
Clauson and Chaney, at one point Cheney and Jerry had some wheel to
wheel contact. Cheney got around Jerry on lap 20 for 2nd place. At
this point Bud Kaeding started to come on and got by Jerry on lap
23. The 4th place finish was a disappointment, but was good enough
to win the Border Wars title, and move HAR into 1st place in the
National Points Championship.
RESULTS FROM GAS
CITY , FIRST NIGHT OF BORDER WARS 4/28/06
Gas City was a tough track Friday
night. The track was very dusty and rough. Jerry ended up 7th
quick, with surprise fast times run by Ted Hines and Kyle Nicholas
late in the session pushing us back to 7th. The track changed
dramatically during qualifying. Running in the 3rd heat , Jerry
fought hard for a transfer spot in the feature. Kyle Nicholas was
unable to transfer to the feature , so we became the 6th quickest to
transfer and started on the pole. Massive changes were made to the
car including bars, shocks, stagger, and springs. We were in a
hurry up mode until the track decided to rework the track, this
included tearing it up and watering. Of course this changes set up
plans after we were ready to race. Jerry was second on the first
lap . Local drivers Cottle and Grider fought at the lead with Jerry
running just behind in 3rd. Grider ran up the race track on lap 14
and! Jerry took advantage for 2nd spot. Lapped traffic became a
factor, including suprisingly Darland and Drake. Jerry got around
Darland on lap 26. A red flag on lap 27 gave Jerry an opportunity
on the restart for the win, but he was unable to get by Cottle
despite 2 valiant efforts. Stanborough came into the picture and
passed Jerry when the white flag waved and we settled for a 3rd
place finish.
Tim Waechter
VP Marketing Hoffman Racing |
|
RESULTS FROM
WINCHESTER 4/23/06 |
|
The car Sunday was good off the
truck. The Team got out twice in hot laps, and made minor tweaks to
improve the car for qualifying. Tracy qualified 2nd with a time of
14.214, only .004 off the fast time of Jay Drake. Starting 6th in
the second heat, Tracy worked the field, with the car getting
tighter as the heat went on. Tracy was able to move to second and
finish there behind Aaron Pierce. Tracy started 5th in the feature.
It was tough to make any passes at the head of the pack. Tracy was
in a heated battle with Steele, Jones, and Drake, with Clauson and
Hagen checking out for most of the race. Tracy ran 5th most of the
race, and finally got by Jones for 4th with one lap to go. Next
time out for the pavement car , will be the new car in Concord NC.
|
|
RESULTS FROM
LAWRENCEBURG 4/22/06 |
Our fate was sealed Saturday
night with the draw. When we drew number 62, it became a tough
night after that. The track deteriorated significantly after about
half the field had run their qualifying laps. Times began in the
13th second bracket after qualifier number 17. Our 32nd time
certainly was not indicative of the car we had. Jerry started on
the pole in heat number 3, dropped to third, found a good line, and
won the race. The car looked good in the heat, and Jerry did a
great job hunting for a line that would work for the feature. Of
course with such a poor qualifying effort, we started last, with
Dave Darland who drew a poor pill as well. At the drop of the green
the car "launched", so much so that Jerry had passed 4 cars before
hitting the back stretch on lap 1. Unfortunately that is where our
race ended. The field stacked up ahead of Jerry, he ran up! and
over Dave Darland, flipped and ended "bottoms up". Most importantly
Jerry was okay. The car was hurt enough that the Team could not get
it in racing form in time to rejoin the field. The 22nd place
finish was a hurt to the Team. We are looking for revenge at Gas
City and Eldora on the dirt next week.
Tim Waechter
VP Marketing Hoffman Racing |
|
"NEW BEAST IN
THE HOUSE" |
 A
new Beast pavement sprint car arrived yesterday. Dan drove to Indy
and picked up the 2006. The current Beast we are running is 6 years
old and seems to be hard to adjust on and predict how the car will
respond. So to give us the best chance of winning Richard purchased
the new Beast. The carbon fiber body is quite a bit lighter than
the current car. Dan and Rob began to "build" the car last night
and we hope to have it on the track for the 5/21 race in Concord
N.C. Richard and Tim worked on last year's Silver Crown Car in
preparation for the PRA race at IRP on 5/17. The Team has the dirt
and current pavement sprint cars ready for this weekend. See you at
the races.
Tim Waechter
VP Marketing Hoffman Racing |
|
VERY FRUSTRATING
DAY AT ANDERSON |
 The
statement that "we threw everything at it but the kitchen sink"
would have applied at Anderson. We were running 11.7's in practice,
which was way off the fast cars. So gear change, multiple spring
changes, ride height changes, stagger changes, none of these made
the car competitive Sunday. Our qualifying time of 11.676 was a
good 0.3 off the new track record set by Dave Steele. We started
6th in the first non-qualifiers race, finishing 5th. This meant
that we would start 15th in the Feature. The car was non
competitive all day, making it hard to
even pass lapped cars in the feature. The ultimate finishing spot
of 12th in the A main was frustrating for Tracy and the entire Team.
It seems at Anderson we either are on top of things or really bad.
We will figure it out before the next USAC race at Anderson on
5/24 and the Little 500 on 5/27. We all look forward to the next
race at our Home Track at Lawrenceburg on 4/22 with Jerry in the
car, and then Winchester on 4/23 with Tracy driving.
Tim Waechter
VP Marketing Hoffman Racing
|
|
HISTORIC WIN #64
COMES AS THE HOFFMAN TEAM SWEEPS 1-2 WITH JERRY AND TRACY |
 It has been quite a week for the
Team. It began last Saturday with a victory by Brian Tyler at Miami
in the new Silver Crown Series. We are sponsoring the car. Early
this week Tracy called and asked if we could run a second car at
Eldora. At that the point the car was a painted bare frame. The
crew, especially Dan, Richard, and Rob worked long hours (Richard
painting until early in the am) to get the car ready. Jake Simmons
even came back for a day to help. Thursday the Team was the subject
of a great article in the Cincinnati Enquirer. Thanks to author Ann
Bowman for a tremendous job.
Then came Saturday , April 1, no
April Fool's day. Both cars were in the same warm up session and
were quick. Tracy at 15.2, Jerry at 15.3. Jerry clocked in at
15.069, good for 5th quick. Tracy went out and set fast time with a
14.940, .001 quicker than Jay Drake. Of course both cars were in
the 1st heat. Jerry got to the front quickly and stayed there.
Tracy got hung up behind a slower, erratic car, and used his
experience knowing a top 4 finish was all that matters, and finished
3rd in the heat. The A Main saw Jerry start outside pole, and Tracy
outside 3rd row with the invert. Jerry took the lead immediately
and was on rails, lapping cars by lap 9. Tracy got a good start and
was running 4th when the red flag flew on lap 14. At this point Jery's right rear was starting to blister. Jerry had to hold back
and nurse the tire. Tracy got by Matt Neely on lap 24 and was clo!
sing in on Jerry by lap 26. Jerry saw the scoreboard and that Tracy
was 2nd and knew he had to go. Tracy and Jerry were nose to tail by
lap 29, Tracy tried the classic slide job in turns 3&4 of lap 30.
Tracy could not make the pass hold, raced Jerry clean, and Jerry
took the checkered for a Hoffman 1-2 finish. This is the first 1-2
Team finish in the 77 year history of the Team. What a great night.
What a great job by the entire Team. Everyone worked together to
get the job done. As Richard said "It doesn't get any better than
this." Richard, how about a win at Anderson? See you there.
(more
photos)
Tim Waechter
VP Marketing Hoffman Racing
|
|
HOMESTEAD, Fla. -
Brian Tyler played a waiting game in Saturday’s USAC Silver Crown
100 |
 Brian
drove the Kroger- Tide P&G Brands, Silver Crown car to Victory lane
at Homestead Speedway. Starting seventh Brian save the car for the
end and took the lead with 8 laps to go.
Ed, get well soon !!!! |
|
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3-17-06 At the Hoffman Racing
Shop |
|
|
|
Work continues on the dirt cars,
getting them ready for the Eldora opener. |
|
4TH GENERATION
HOFFMAN BEGINS HIS RACING CAREER |
The 4th generation of the
Hoffman Family has begun his racing career in 1/4 midgets. AJ
Hoffman, son of Rob has raced 3 times in Columbus in the novice
Division of 1/4 midgets. AJ has two 2nd place finishes to his
credit. Car owner Rob has had to purchase a few replacement parts,
but AJ is learning quickly, moving from last to 2nd place on 2/26.
Grandfather Richard is obviously proud and we know "Old Timer" is
bragging about his greatgrandson in heaven. Good luck AJ!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Tim Waechter
VP Marketing Hoffman Racing
|
|
OFF SEASON
REPORT FROM THE SHOP |
 The
work never ends in the off season. Jake Simmons left us to move to
Terre Haute a month ago. Jake was a great addition to the Team, we
wish him well and good luck in his upcoming marriage. The two dirt
cars and the pavement sprint cars have been to the powder coater and
back. New sprint car motors are being built at
Gaerte's and should be ready soon. The body shop is extremely busy
right now finishing the body for the 2 dirt sprint cars. The
pavement body was finished a few weeks ago. The front and rear ends
are in the cars, Big
 Al
has been busy in his shop. Pictured are the cars being assembled,
and a new dirt car which has never been run, we are hoping that we
do not need it this year. We announced the driver line up for next
year. Eldora will be here before you know it.
Tim Waechter
VP Marketing Hoffman Racing |
|
TRACY HINES RETURNS ON PAVEMENT,
JERRY COONS JR. RETURNS IN THE DIRT CAR |
Loveland Ohio (February 14 ,2006)- Hoffman Auto
Racing (HAR), the winningest Team in the history of USAC National
Sprint Car Racing with 8 USAC National Sprint Car Championships, and
63 National feature wins, announced today that USAC veteran and
NASCAR Craftsman Truck and Busch series driver Tracy Hines will
drive a limited schedule in the famous #69 in 2006. USAC star Jerry
Coons JR. will drive the full year in the dirt sprint car.
Tracy Hines is one of USAC’s all time great drivers. He is a past
Silver Crown and Sprint Car Champion(2002 in the HAR car). Tracy was
a top three points finisher in all 3 USAC Divisions in 2003, and has
won 55 USAC National races. He is a holder of the USAC “Super
License”. Tracy continues as a driver in the NASCAR Busch Series.
Tracy will be able to make the majority of the 2006 pavement Sprint
Car schedule.
Jerry Coons Jr. is a native of Tuscon Arizona. Jerry one of USAC’s
most talented drivers. Jerry finished 2nd in the USAC National
Midget Championship for Wilke Motorsports in 2005, even though he
did not run the entire schedule .Jerry will run full time for Wilke
in 2006. In 2003 Jerry finished in the top 25 in all 3 USAC
divisions. Jerry drove for HAR on a full time basis in the dirt
Sprint Car in 2005, winning at Manzanita.
“ This will be our fourth year with Tracy, we have had much success
including a National Championship in 2002, we are happy for Tracy’s
success in NASCAR, and thrilled that he will be able to drive for us
on pavement in 2006” said Richard Hoffman, President HAR. “Jerry is
a USAC star. We had success with Jerry in 2005, and we believe that
he is more comfortable in our car, and together we can win races in
2006. The Team is focusing on winning races and our 9th Championship
in 2006”.
Driver(s) to fill in on the pavement Sprint Car races which present
conflicts for Tracy Hines will be announced at a future date.
Primary sponsorship will continue from Kroger and Tide, with
associate sponsorship from Bounty, Pringles, and MOPAR.
Kroger is the nation’s largest grocer, with over 2400 stores and
annual sales
exceeding 53 billion dollars.
Procter & Gamble has annual sales of over 70 Billion Dollars, and
markets 22
Brands with sales over 1 billion dollars. P&G brands include Tide,
Pringles, and
Bounty.
MOPAR is the exclusive original equipment manufacturer for
DaimlerChrysler’s American brands: Chrysler, Jeep and Dodge
vehicles.
Hoffman Auto Racing competes in the Sprint Car and Silver Crown
Divisions of the United States Auto Club (USAC). HAR was founded in
1929 by August (Gus) Hoffman. Three generations of Hoffman’s are
involved with the Team. HAR is the all time leader in USAC National
Sprint Car Team victories with 63, and National Championships with
8. HAR also has 7 Silver Crown victories, for a total of 70 National
wins. HAR celebrates 77 years of competition in 2006.
Rob Hoffman continues as VP of Engineering and crew chief for HAR.
Dan Launderville, VP of Operations continues in his vital role for
the Team.
Tim Waechter
VP Marketing Hoffman Racing |
|
THE HOFFMAN TEAM
ON 700 WLW RADIO |
 The
Hoffman Team was on the Big One ,700 WLW for 2 hours on Jan 29th
from 7-9pm . Richard, Rob, Dan, Tim, Diane Waechter, Laura
Hoffman, Lauren Hoffman, and
AJ Hoffman all invaded the studios of the Big One. Segman(Bill
Dennison) the host of the show had his hands full with The Hoffman
Team, and David Wyler( Wyler Racing NASCAR Truck Series), and
Shannon McIntosh(up and coming USAC Star). HAR got a number of
phone calls from open wheel fans.
AJ Hoffman was able to show
his newly earned trophy for finishing 2nd in a quarter midget race
on 1/28 in Columbus Ohio.All in all it was a great evening, a lot
of fun with Seg and Dennis Neal. Thanks to all who called in to
the show and listened.
Tim Waechter
VP Marketing Hoffman Racing
|
|
FAST TIME AND
3RD PLACE FINISH IN THE FIRST RACE FOR NEW SILVER CROWN CARS |
 The
6 R Hoffman entry did not get out for practice on Friday, as the car
was still being put together. As you can see the car was unpainted
for the debut race in Phoenix. It is remarkable that the 4 C&R cars
were ready for the race. Brian Tyler was incredible, as the first
time he saw the car was Friday, and the first laps he took in the
car were Saturday. Brian quickly moved up to speed in just a few
laps. This was proven by winning the first pole in history for the
new cars, at 27.518, almost 0.2 quicker than Bud Kaeding who was 2nd
quick. The car would not take off at the start of the race, causing
a restart.
The car did not take off at the restart either, and Brian fell to
3rd by the backstretch of lap 1. That proved to be the race, as
Brian finished there in 3rd. At times Brian pushed Bud for 2nd at
restarts, but he was unable to make the pass. Not a bad start for a
new ca! r . There is 2 months now before the next race in Miami.
The car will be refined and ready for the first race on a 1 1/2
mile track.
Tim Waechter
VP Marketing Hoffman Racing |
|
|
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Loveland Ohio (
January 16 ,2006)—Hoffman Auto Racing today is announcing that the
Team will participate in the new USAC Silver Crown Series in
conjunction with 6R Racing. |
The car is a 6 R Racing, built
by C&R with MOPAR power, driven by USAC veteran Brian Tyler. Primary
sponsorship will be with long time Hoffman sponsors Kroger and Tide,
associate sponsorship will be from Bounty and Pringles. The
Hoffman-6 R contract is for all 9 pavement races and the Hoosier
Hundred at the Indy Fairgrounds.
“ We are pleased to be able to field a car with 6R Racing , they are
total professionals, and we will be able to make a mark in the first
year of this new series. It is important to our sponsors to have a
presence in the new series. The TV package and the addition of
important Kroger markets in Chicago, Kentucky, and Kansas will help
us sell more Tide, Bounty, and Pringles at Kroger stores. I am also
very happy that Brian Tyler will drive the 6 R Racing, C&R chassis.
HAR(Hoffman Auto Racing) and Brian have a great relationship we have
won a number of Silver Crown and Sprint Car Races together, as
recent as last year at Salem Indiana. “ said Richard Hoffman,
President HAR.
6 R Racing is based in Indianapolis Indiana. It consists of 12 local
businessmen in Indy, with Darryl Guiducci and Randy Steenbergen as
the primary operations officers. “ We are happy to be able to team
up with Hoffman Racing this year “ said Darryl. Mr. Guiducci was a
pioneer in the NASACR Truck series and a many year veteran of USAC
Silver Crown and Sprint Car racing. Randy is also a long time
supporter of USAC racing owning cars driven by Jack Hewitt and many
others. His business ,Print Express, also has sponsored many Little
500 winners.
Hoffman Auto Racing (HAR) competes in the Sprint Car and Silver
Crown Divisions of the United States Auto Club (USAC). HAR was
founded in 1929 by August (Gus) Hoffman. Three generations of
Hoffman’s are involved with the Team. HAR is the all time leader in
USAC National Sprint Car Team victories with 63, and National
Championships with 8. HAR also has 7 Silver Crown victories, for a
total of 70 National wins. HAR celebrates 77 years of competition
this year.
Highlights of the Team’s history include:
- 1929-1960 Gus campaigned Sprint Cars and Midgets, his drivers
included Eddie Sachs, and Don Branson
- 1964 Gus’s son Richard became co-owner of the Team
- 1973-1984 HAR fielded Indy Cars, including 7 Indy 500 starts
- 1989 HAR won the first of 8 USAC National Sprint Car Championships
with Rob Hoffman as the crew chief(’92,’93,’96,’97,’99,’02,’04)
- HAR is the winingest Team in USAC Sprint Car history
- 2003 recognized for excellence by the Ohio State Senate and House
of Representatives
Drivers of note:
Jeff Gordon, Tony Stewart, Tracy Hines, JJ Yeley, Kasey Kahne, Kenny
Irwin Jr, Rich Vogler, Dave Darland, Johnny Parsons Jr., Tim
Richmond, Jay Drake, Brian Tyler, Robbie Stanley, Eric Gordon, Steve
Butler and Jerry Coons Jr.
Kroger is the nation’s largest grocer, with over 2400 stores and
annual sales exceeding 53
Billion dollars.
Procter & Gamble is the world’s leading consumer products company,
has annual sales of over 63
billion dollars and 22 billion dollar brands. P&G brands include
Tide, Bounty, and Pringles.
Tim Waechter
VP Marketing Hoffman Racing
|
|
NEW CAR HITS THE
HOFFMAN STABLE OF RACE CARS-HAPPY NEW YEAR |
 |
 |
 |
|
The new race car pictured is the
latest to join the Hoffman stable of cars. The 1/4 midget is owned
by Rob Hoffman and will be driven by his son A J Hoffman and
possibly his daughter Lauren. The car carries the name of Robbie
Stanley. Big Al has done some front end work , Rob has gone through
the car completely and it is ready to run the first race in Columbus
in mid January. Dan and Jake had good vacations and are back to
work. The body shop has 1 fuel tank completely finished, and 2
others in the process. The pavement Sprint Car body with the
exception of the hood and nose are stripped and ready to paint. No
word yet on the driver line-up or plans for the New Silver Crown
Series. We should have announcements very soon. |
Tim Waechter
VP Marketing Hoffman Racing |
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