Jerry
Coons Jr. and Hoffman Auto Racing have been named non winged:
Driver of the Year and Owner of the Year for 2008,
respectively. This Honor was granted by the National Sprint
Car Hall of Fame ! (more)
Some great racers passed on last year, most all of them I
had met or seen, some I called friends. We also lost a young
photographer early last year. One of the first photographers
to really help me out with my early web sites for Sarah Fisher
and Winchester Speedway. Bob's talent was recognized and he
went on to make his mark mostly with the NHRA. I will
always remember
Bob Hesser for help,
friendship and that great smile! Paul
Gretzinger, Web Master
WINCHESTER -THE OLD GIRL WAS FAST
10/4/09
History was made at Winchester Speedway on Sunday. The
track
was cool and lightening fast. We were 3rd quick in hot laps ,
running a time of 14.3. We used both sets of tires in practice
and Rob picked the set to qualify and race on , for the
stagger that set gave us. It sure was the correct pick as
Jerry blistered the track with a time of 14.040. That was the
fastest we have ever been
at
Winchester. Congratulations to Cole Whitt for breaking the old
track record and to our friend Tracy Hines for breaking the 14
second barrier . Tracy has had this as a personal goal for
many years and it was fantastic to see him so happy after
achieving this unreal goal.
We ran the feature set up in the heat race , which was
basically
meaningless , and finished 3rd. The feature was a heck of a
race. Starting 3rd Jerry drove hard for all 40 laps. The top 4
cars were basically under a blanket most of the race. Some of
the cars got pretty wide. Battling nose to tail and wheel to
wheel we were right there but unable to improve our position.
A great finish to end the Midwest USAC season.
THE FALL NATIONALS AT THE BURG 10/2/09
We missed it in qualifying resulting in a 15th quick
time . This put us in a very tough heat, with the likes of
Hines, Ballou , Jones and Short. There was a tremendous battle
for the transfer spot which Jerry won and we transferred. The
track got better as the race progressed, widening out through
the heats and the B Main. We started 12th in the feature.
Jerry had a heck of a battle with Tracy for many laps. The car
actually got better as the race progressed and was really good
the last 10 laps. That was too late as we finished 7th .
Tim Waechter
VP Marketing Hoffman Racing
513-284-1519
twbigt69@gmail.com
We
thought we had reached the 74 win plateau after the win in a
USAC sanctioned National Sprint Car Series event at The Burg
on 9/12. It was announced at the track (by the USAC
announcer), but we were informed that because USAC decided to
make it a non points race (after being scheduled as a points
race for most of the year), it didn't count as a National win.
Go figure and we missed the memo.
That all time record win came at the Big E in one of the
biggest races of the year-The
4 Crowns. Another bad pill draw was overcome with a great race
car and a masterful job by Jerry. We were in the last practice
and qualifying group, as the midgets and sprint cars ran the
track it slowed
substantially.
Overcoming that obstacle, Jerry's qualifying time of 17.555
was good for 7th quick. For some reason the car "went away" in
the 3rd heat and we struggled finishing 6th. That started us
5th in the B Main. The car was much better and Jerry finished
3rd . Rob and Dan discovered that the right front shock had
lost rebound . Changing that shock and making stagger and
front end adjustments resulted in a rocket ship for the A
Main. Lady luck was on our side when a faster qualifier was
unable to transfer and we started on the pole. Jerry got a
great start on both initial starts and was in a groove running
high and low passing lapped cars. Numerous yellows and a red
didn't phase the Team as Jerry led every lap for a big win.
Jerry and Tracy Hines were amazing to watch as they weaved
their way through heavy traffic. Congratulations to Tracy on a
2nd place finish.
"I
might mention we had a couple of new crew members help us for
this special race. They worked out very well, they did not
have great vision but their sense of smell was uncanny, we may
keep them to help adjust the fuel mixture."
A busy weekend coming up. We will run both nights at the
Burg and Winchester Sunday. See you there.
A field of 60 cars gathered at Bloomington Friday night for
an MSCS race. The format is much different that what we are
used to with USAC. The draw makes a huge difference. We drew
pill #90 which put us at a big disadvantage. No qualifying was
held, six heats were run and only the top 2 from each heat
transferred to the A Main. We were in heat number 6 starting
in 6th spot. It was a tough heat race . Jerry managed to get
around 2 cars , finishing 4th but not transferring. A C Main
and 2 B Mains were run. We started 6th in the 2nd B Main, had
a good car all night and this race was no exception. Jerry won
going away.
This put us in the A Main starting 14th. Several incidents
before the green flag ever flew , all involving cars in our
row, moved us up to 6th before any laps were scored. The car
was a rocket ship again. Very few changes were made during the
night, a minor stagger change and a few minor tweaks. Jerry
drove his heart out again, searching for the fast line and
battled his way to the front. We were catching Jon and were
within a lap of the potential lead when another red flew and
ended our quest for a victory. The 2nd place finish in a deep
field, with all the top USAC Teams present, was another step
in the right direction. We are feeling that the testing we
have done on a dry slick track is making a difference. See you
at the BIG E.
Tim Waechter
VP Marketing Hoffman Racing
513-284-1519
twbigt69@gmail.com
ENOUGH FUEL TO RUN FOR 50 MINUTES OR
70-80 LAPS, BUT NOT ENOUGH TO WIN , ANOTHER HEARTBREAKING
NIGHT IN A FORGETTABLE YEAR FOR HAR
We had a good car all night. The track prep
for Terre Haute for this race was much improved and the track
stayed dust free all night. We were fast in hot laps which
translated to a 4th quick qualifying time of 20.39, 0.2 off
quick time. Not much was changed throughout the night , left
rears to change stagger and a rear bar.
Jerry came from the 6th starting position in heat 4 to capture
a 3rd place finish and transfer into the A Main.
The A Main was a 3 ringed circus. As always we were one of the
first cars to push to try and move the program along. This
ultimately cost us a win. A lack of push trucks caused us to
run a minimum of 10 laps before the field was lined up and
ready for the green. Starting 3rd Jerry stayed at the front of
the field the entire race. We had nothing for Levi, but we
were probably the second fastest car in the A Main. A lack of
coordination between the track and USAC caused long delays for
numerous yellows. The wrecker at times took 8 -10 yellow flag
laps to even reach the scene of an accident. During the late
stages of a race that would ultimately take nearly an hour to
run, Levi was allowed to not only stay on the track with a
flat right rear, but also hold his lead for a restart with a
flat right rear(which eventually exploded) and having passed
the pace car twice. Numerous pleas from multiple teams for a
red flag for a fuel stop, as usual, went on deft ears of USAC
officials. Cars started to run out of fuel . After taking the
lead when Levi blew his tire, we ran out after taking the
white flag in the lead. The fastest car did not win, nor the
second or third fastest. To be clear, we had plenty fuel to
run a race that would last 4 times a normal race , or 60-75
laps, but not enough to finish this debacle. The great racing
and good track conditions were overshadowed by poor
officiating and extremely poor logistics for cleaning up the
track after an incident. A real shame for the fans and race
teams.
Tim Waechter
VP Marketing Hoffman Racing
513-284-1519
twbigt69@gmail.com
Our
home track has not been kind to us lately. WE had a
great car which ended in a wreck our last USAC race at
the "Burg". We did win a weekly show while testing some
new set ups earlier this year. The format was not what we
are used to with USAC but one we have run this year
including Oskaloosa. We about 0.2 off the fast time in hot
laps. With no qualifying we went right into the first
heat after drawing pill # 41 which actually put us 21st of
the 32 car field. That started us 6th in the first heat.
Jerry had a great battle with Chad Boat and eventually
closed within a 1/4 car length of Chad Boesplug when the
checkered flew. We were tied with Dave Darland as the
high point car after the heat races. The 1st qualifying
race was the most competitive of the night with Hines ,
Jones, Short and Bland. Starting 6th again Jerry moved
to P 4 by lap 2 and was unable to advance more . The
combination of finishes made us the 6th highest points car
and started us , once again 6th in the A Main.
Jerry got a great
start as he did all night and was in P 2 by lap 2 after
diving low and taking 3 positions. A yellow caused us to
give up a spot on lap 2, but Jerry was back in P 2 by lap
5. Jerry got a big run on Cad Boat on lap 6 after quite a
battle and took the lead. Jerry was able to run high, low
or mid-track to pass lapped cars in a dominating
performance. The car had tremendous forward bite and was
a rocket down the straight-aways. The win was much needed
by the Team and a big pay day didn't hurt either. Our
mojoe is back and we are looking forward to Terre Haute on
9/12.
It always seems to bea
hot one at Salem and this year was no exception.The
"24 hours of Salem" as we like to call it seemed that long.
We had a good car in hot laps turning the 4th fastest time
of 15.498. A few minor changes to the car improved our
qualifying position to second quick with a time of 14.509 as
the track was heating up and slowing up. The heat race had
no meaning as everyone got their qualifying time back
regardless of finishing position in the heat. Rob wanted to
get a feel for how the car would handle with a full fuel
load for the A Main so we ran the heat with a full fuel
load. Starting 5th in the A Main we immediately dropped to
P6 as Jerry got the preferred high line then. The 20 car was
holding up P4-6, we finally cleared him on lap 8 of 50. We
were catching Jacob Wilson when a yellow flew on lap 19. As
the green flew we were dueling with the lead pack. Jerry
had a fierce duel with Cole Whitt from l-45 to 50, as we
finished 5th.
Next up is "THE BURG",now a
non points race with a big pay day. See you at the races.
Casey’s General Stores “Ultimate Challenge” Oskaloosa, IA -
August 11th, 09 "2
NIGHTS OF RACING IN IOWA BECOMES 1"
We all were disappointed
when tremendous rains hit Knoxville when the
Teams were checked in and ready to race. The Hoffman Team
was looking forward to a run on this famous track. The rain
out did free up some time on
Monday
and we were
able to tour the National Sprint Car Museum. Of course the
highlight was to see Gus "Old TImer's" plaque in the museums
hall of fame exhibit. What a thrill for all of us. When
Richard
approached the exhibit, the clip of his Father's induction
was playing. Coincidence or was Old Timer saying high to
his Team? We also were able to take in the winged
show at Oskaloosa Monday night. Rains hit there as well,
but before we got a preview of track conditions for our
race, not good.
Osky has been a good track
for HAR, winning the $30k race and finishing
3rd 2 years ago. The car was good in hot laps, 2nd quick at
a 18.9 fast lap. It was obvious from hot laps that the
track would eat tires again. Every time we hit the track, we
ruined a right rear along with 3 left rears for a total of 7
tires for the show. It isn't that Richard was not
pro-active trying to get proper track prep. The program was
the format of the Bandits. We drew pill 12 and stated
inside row 2 for the 2nd heat. Finishing position and
passing points determined who made the A Main. The car was
fast and Jerry finished 2nd in the heat. Jerry felt a
vibration which kept him from winning. The crew rebalanced
all the rear tires before qualifying race 1.
Jerry finished 4th after starting 4th. However another
motor problem had developed and the crew had to bust it to
change engines for the 3rd time this year. Jerry helped the
Team and the change was made in plenty of time for the A
Main. The total of our points had us starting 14th in the
big race. Jerry began to move forward and had a heck of a
race with Tracy for a number of laps and passed him for P9
by lap 12. Jerry ran there with P 10 not even close. The
car again moved forward after a red on lap 16, passing 2
cars in the 2 laps including nipping Josh Wise at the line.
A great effort by the Team.
The
welcoming committee for Dan Launderville as he returned to
his home in Iowa was overwhelming. It was great to see
his Mom and Dad again. The schedule for the day was
changed the night before the race. We were in Iowa when
we found out that practice was not until 2:40p.m. rather
than 10:00a.m. We were 5th quick in the first session and
6th in the second, 6th overall. Rob made spring changes
and a motor change for qualifying. It paid off big time
as Jerry cut a lap of 21.728 on the big 7/8 mile track.
Our quick time in practice was 21.9. Only minor changes
were made for the 50 lap race. Shane Hmiel got the jump
on us at the start and led every lap of the race. Jerry
got pressure from Jacob Wilson on lap 4-8, but Jerry
pulled away from third place by lap 18. By lap 24 Jerry
was running laps of 21.99, as fast as the leader and was
closing in by the break at lap 30. Jerry told the crew of
a vibration developing in the car during the break at lap
30. Nothing was obvious during the refueling break. By
lap 39 of the second segment the car was vibrating so bad
that Jerry had to pull in and we were done. Another
massive disappointment for the Team. We drove all night
to get home and Dan and Rob stayed at the shop and tore
down the car. The motor and numerous parts are in for
check and repair.
The Team went testing on a
dry slick dirt track Monday August 3rd with encouraging
results. Back to Iowa this week and early next.
WEEK 2 OF INDIANA SPRINT WEEK
TERRE HAUTE JULY 15 2009
A ton of rain fell in the a.m. at Terre Haute, regardless of
that the track was drying and slowing when we qualified. Jerry
ran 3rd quick at a 21.7 lap. Starting outside of row 4 Jerry
was 5th by lap 1 and 4th by lap 2 and got by Stanbrough for P3
by lap 4 and ended up winning heat race 3 with a great run.
Starting the A Main outside row 2 , the car looked a little
tight. Jerry was running high in 1&2 and low in 3&4. We were
catching Hagen on lap 7, Whitt and Levi by lap 11. Jerry got
by Hagen for P2 on lap 19 and set out for the leader Brad
Sweet. There was no pressure from P3 and Jerry ran hard
pulling up to the side of Brad on several occasions. The P 2
finish was the best to date in Sprint Week and we were
optimistic for the other 3 races.
KAMP SPEEDWAY JULY 16 2009
We were set for a great night considering we were coming off a
2nd place finish at Terre Haute and we were the 2 time
defending champion at Kamp. We drew pill # 16 , in the second
group. Jerry cut a fast time of 13.5, 0.4 off fast time and
good for only 11th quick. We started heat race 3 outside row
3. We got caught up in someone else's mess when the 12 car
flipped , Jerry got hit and spun. Damage to the front end hurt
Jerry's effort to transfer , he was making progress when he
spun coming out of turn 4. The crew changed front ends before
the A Main. Starting 6th in the B Main Jerry tried several
lines and eventually finished 3rd. Starting deep in the A Main
, it was hard to see the action on the track, with dirt and
rocks flying. A 12th place finish was very disappointing.
BLOOMINGTON JULY 17 2009
One of our favorite track's was a disappointment in track
conditions and finish. We drew a pill mid pack and turned in a
poor 21st fast qualifying effort. Jerry started heat 1 inside
row 2 after making spring changes on the front of the car
after qualifying. Jerry tried several lines on the track and
ran off the track finishing 6th and not transferring. Looking
for an answer the Team changed drive line and rear ends before
the B Main. A great job by all, getting finished in time for
the push off. Finishing 11th in the B Main caused us to take
our first provisional of the year. A 16th place finish ended a
miserable night.
HAUBSTADT JULY 18 2009
Qualifying 8th was a decent start to the night. The pack was
tight we were only 0.1 off the fast time. Heat race 4 saw
Jerry in a great duel with Tracy finishing 2nd to the TSR car.
The A Main saw the Hoffman car starting P 8. As we saw way too
much during Sprint Week we fell through the field. Jerry tried
several lines on the track to no avail as we finished 13th to
end a completely forgettable 2009 Sprint Week. The Team will
have a few weeks off before we head back to pavement racing at
the big track in Iowa.
Tim Waechter
VP Marketing Hoffman Racing
RESULTS FROM THE FIRST WEEK OF INDIANA SPRINT WEEK
Lawrenceburg 7/10/09
We have not had the best of
luck at our home track recently. We had a good car in hot
laps and that translated to qualifying as Jerry was 8th
quick cutting a lap of 14.027 a full 0.5 of the fast time.
The car looked good in heat race 4 , transferring with a
2nd place finish. The car looked really good in the A
Main. Starting 8th Jerry got a great start and was 6th by
lap 2. He got a great run down the back stretch and saw
an opening going into turn 3 went for it and one of those
racing accidents happened. A car came down on Jerry and
the car flipped hard and we were finished for the night.
Thankfully Jerry was okay with a few bruises and banged
up knees. When we got the car back to the shop and had it
stripped down by 1:30a.m., we found too much damage to fix
before the next sprint week race.
GAS CITY 7/11/09
We were in an early
session in hot laps and the track was very greasy, so we
didn't learn much from practice. The car we were running
has been a car we run on the larger tracks for the reason
that it doesn't seem to have the sidebite of the car that
was wrecked at the Burg. That certainly held true in
qualifying as we were the last car to make the show by
qualifying 32nd. This of course makes the rest of the
night very tough. Jerry started on the pole in heat race
number 4 and ran away , leading every lap running
consistent laps of 12.5. There were some very good cars
in the heat, so the changes that were made for the heat
race paid off. Starting deep in the field of the A Main
because of a poor qualifying time made a good finish very
tough. We ran between P 16-18 most of the race . Jerry
tried lines high and low everywhere on the track but it
was very hard to pass. The 14th place finish was tough to
take, but we worked hard and had the car ready for Kokomo.
KOKOMO 7/12 09
Rob pulled pill number 6
which turned out to be a good draw. The track was very
greasy for hot laps as was Gas City. It appeared to come
in early in qualifying. Jerry broke his own track record
by running a lap of 12.766 , that lasted only for a brief
period of time as the next car out broke the record again.
But a second place in qualifying started out the night on
a very positive note. Running heat race 2 Jerry tried
every line to get to the front to no avail. We started on
the pole for the B Main after a spring and stagger change.
Jerry had a heck of a race with Josh Wise for a number of
laps , we were running high and he was low, Josh
eventually won out and we transfered with a 2nd place
finish. A lack of side bite again plagued us in the A
Main dropping to P 10 by lap 10. We eventually finished
9th , our best finish of Sprint Week to date. The Team is
repairing the "short track" car and will run it at Camp,
Bloomington and Haubstadt. We are looking for a big
bounce back beginning with one of our favorite tracks,
Terre Haute, Wednesday night.
Tim Waechter
VP Marketing Hoffman Racing
513-284-1519
THE SECOND
NIGHT OF A TWO RACE PAVEMENT WEEKEND-RESULTS FROM TOLEDO JULY
3 2009
It
has been 2 years since we have raced at Toledo. Overall it
was a better night than Winchester , but not what we want.
The car was good all night , but not great. We were
overall 4th quick in the 2 practice sessions, with a 14.7.
The track seemed slower for qualifying. Jerry ran a 14.8
which was good for 4th quick, Cole was fast at a 14.7.
There was going to be no semi, so there was no point in
taking chances in the heat races. Jerry made a great pass
on Santos coming out of 4 for 4th place in heat 2.
Starting
inside row 2 for the A Main, we were being held up and Bobby
East got by us on lap 7. The challenge we had all night was
getting the car to turn in the middle of the turns while not
sliding the rear end. That same opportunity, while better
challenged Jerry the rest of the A Main. Tracy got by us on
lap 28. We got back the spot when Tracy spun on lap 40 for
a 4th place finish. We made up further ground in the race
for the championship by pulling within 50 points of the
leader going into Indiana Sprint Week. A new paint scheme
will be debuted at Lawrenceburg.
Tim Waechter
VP Marketing Hoffman Racing
RESULTS FROM
WINCHESTER JULY 2 2009
We were 3rd quick in practice
one running a 14.58 and 5th quick in practice 2 with a 14.4.
Qualifying was a disappointing time of 14.5 only good for 10th
quick. We ran 2nd in heat number 2 . A throttle linkage
problem caused us to pit before the start of the A Main and
start at the rear. Jerry got back to his earned starting
position by lap 8. An 8th place finish was a motivation to get
better for Toledo. Congratulations to our friend Tracy for a
great turn 4 pass coming to the white flag for a big win.
Earlier he just missed the track record in qualifying.
Tim waechter
VP Marketing Hoffman Racing
RESULTS FROM THE 16 HOURS OF
RICHMOND 6/26/09
Arriving at the track at 8:00am for sign in and leaving at
midnight for a 10 hour drive home makes for a long day.
Practice was held in the morning and we were 9th
quick at a 20.17 second lap. We got out 4 times in the 45
minute session(scheduled for 1 hour, go figure). The right
rear spring was changed along with a stagger change and we
slowed up a bit. We went back on some changes and made a few
more and picked up substantially qualifying at a 20.112 good
for 3rd quick. The field was very tight with the
first 11 being within 0.2 of each other. The feature saw some
great racing. We were P3 on lap2 battling with
Tracy. We started
to drop as the car had no rear grip and Jerry was P4 by lap
18, P 5 by lap 20 and P6 by the break at lap 30. The break
was timely as the crew made significant stagger changes and
fueled the car. The stagger coming in from the first 30 laps
was much higher than we had seen all day. The car was much
better in the second 30 lap segment. Jerry had a great duel
with Shane Hmiel on lap 35 for about 4 laps. We were catching
the leaders on lap 41 and got past Boby East for P5 on lap 57.
Jerry made significant in cockpit changes during the 2nd
half. A good night for points but not the finish we were
looking for as defending champs of the race.
This is a big week with 2 pavement races before we get into
Indiana Sprint
week. See you at the races.
Tim Waechter
VP Marketing Hoffman Racing
BACK TO THE PAVEMENT AT
KALAMAZOO JUNE 20TH, BRINGS GOOD RESULTS "2nd"
The
pavement track at Kalamazoo is the first in a
series for the pavement car, "Richmond being
next week, with Winchester and Toledo after
that." We qualified 4th and started inside the
front row. We did not get a good green as the pole setter let
the outside row get the jump. Jerry settled into 5th and
picked off
a position whenever he could. We were timing the fastest on
the track but with the lack of straightaway's on the near
circular track made it hard to pass (or easy to get
blocked) depending how you look at it. But 2nd place is where
we finished and that's a pretty good night. Rob, A.J. and the
crew did a great job as usual setting up for a track we had
little information for. So it is off to Richmond next week,
hope to see you there !
Tim Waechter & Webmaster
Hoffman Racing
Thanks to TJ for the Photos !
LAST NIGHT OF THE PA SWING , RESULTS FROM
MERCERRACEWAYPARK-
JUNE 6, 2009
The
last night of the Pa swing became a guessing game on what
would become of a marginally prepared race track. We were
fast in hot laps, 3rd quick on the charts. The
Team made some rather large changes trying to stay ahead of
the race track for
qualifying, bar changes and stagger changes were on the list.
We slowed up to the tune of a 10th place in
qualifying . More changes were made for heat race number 1
where we started outside 2nd row. Jerry avoided a
mess at the start and transferred by
taking
the lead on the restart and never looking back. He was pushed
by Levi, but never gave up the point. The track re-worked the
track before the A Main. The result was a terrible track for
the
feature event. We started 10th and on the 3rd
start we finally got going. I was sitting in turn 4 and you
literally could not see the cars at the start-finish line or
turn 1 , you could pick them up
on the back stretch on the 3/8
mile dust bowl. It was pretty much a 1 lane track, with some
passing at the lead. We finished 8th , to end a
disappointing
Pa. swing. The
next 4 races are on the pavement before we go to Indian Sprint
Week. We may run at the Burg this Saturday to tune up for the
next 2 National races there."
We may have found our biggest PA fan, check out the tattoo
above."
RESULTS FROM BIG DIAMOND RACEWAY MINERSVILLE PA. JUNE 4 2009
Engine problems plagued the Team again on Thursday. Jerry
qualified 13th quick with a time of 16.1, fast time was
15.8. During the first heat the engine went again. This is
the same motor that gave us problems at
Terre Haute, was
rebuilt and put back in the car. A crew consisting of Dan,
Richard, Tommy and Jerry changed the motor with the help of
a few Good Samaritans. The back up motor was in the car in
time for the A Main to push off. Keep in mind the A
Main was over at 8:40p.m.
Jerry started 13th in the A Main. It was a one
groove race track again this year. If you got off the
bottom , you lost spots. Jerry was up to 10th a
one point, tried to go high to make something happen and
dropped back to 12th which is where he finished.
Interesting Jerry fast time in the A
Main was 16.64 , Cole Whitt
won and had a fast time of 16.64. Looking for better things
at Mercer on Saturday night.
Tim Waechter
VP Marketing Hoffman Racing
Tonight's race at Williams Grove, was won by rain.
THE PA. TOUR STARTS WITH TWIN 25’S AT
GRANDVIEWSPEEDWAY,
BECHTELSVILLE PA.
Last year’s feature at
Grandview was rained out
before the A
Main could be run. USAC
and the promoter decided to give the fans a unique format
this year to try to incorporate last years A
Main with this year’s.
So two 25 lap segments were run this year with the
positions at the end of the 50 laps counting for finishing
positions, prize money and points.
A capacity crowd gathered to watch the USAC National
Sprint Cars compete. The car was good in hot laps and
Jerry qualified 7th quick in the 20 car field,
running a fast lap of 14.225, 0.3 off the fast time set by
Tracy Hines. Jerry transferred to the A
Main by finishing 4th
in the first heat. Jerry started 7th in the
first 25 lap segment. He worked his way to 6th
by lap 9 and finished in that position for the first
segment. Jerry got a tremendous start in the 2nd
segment, quickly working his way from P6 to 3rd.
He got caught trying a pass high on the track and lost 2
of those spots. The 2nd segment went green to
checkered with Jerry finishing P5. We were catching
Tracy and he
was catching the top 3 when the checkered flew. Levi and
Dave pressed us for a time but fell 2 seconds behind us at
lap 25. Tonight is a big night at Williams Grove. The
Team is anxious to show the
Pa. fans what
a non-wing car can do at the Grove.
Tim Waechter
VP Marketing Hoffman Racing
GREAT TEAM COMEBACK AT THE ACTION TRACK JUNE 20 2009
It was a great Team effort to salvage a night which could have
ended with a poor result. We were not very good in hot laps,
but with input from Jerry, Rob and Dan made adjustments for
qualifying. We had a poor draw, going out mid way through the
last group. The track at that point was not good and getting
worse. That and an engine that starting laying down on the
only lap we ran led to a 22nd fast qualifying
effort , a full second off fast time. Jerry pulled the car in
after only 1 lap as the engine sounded very flat. Pitting in
the infield made changing engines even more challenging. All
the great work Dan has put into planning for such a situation
paid off. A Team effort saw the engine changed in about 25
minutes and the car was pushed back into the infield well
before heat races. The car was very good in the heat race as
Jerry started in the 2nd row. We were running down
Jon Stanbrough as the checkered flew for heat race 2,
finishing second.
The poor qualifying time had us starting 16th in
the A Main. Jerry got a great start and did a masterful job
avoiding a huge pileup on the first lap which saw a red flag
for a flipping Jon Stanbrough. This moved us up a row for the
restart. Jerry got another great start and made a huge move
in turn 4 of lap 1 passing 4 cars. Jerry continued his march
forward holding P6 by lap 7 and P5 by lap 11. Jerry had a
great dual with Bland Jr and eventually got by him for P4 by
lap 18. Jerry fought off a late charge by Chris Windom and
finished a strong 4th with a good car and a great
drive forward. A great comeback by everyone. A special
thanks to our friend Jake Simmons who was a huge help in
changing motors.
We hope
everyone has a safe Memorial Day weekend and that all remember
the meaning of the day.
Tim Waechter
VP Marketing Hoffman Racing
RESULTS FROM
ANDERSONSPEEDWAY 5/2/2009,
100 LAPS
We had tested at
Anderson
recently and could not go faster than 11.8 regardless of
what changes the Team made to the car. It was a very
frustrating day and had us concerned going into Saturday
night. We had an idea of the issue and it seemed to play
out when we got a different batch of tires for race night.
We immediately picked up 0.4 seconds in hot laps, running
11.4 on the first set of tires. Changing to set number 2
and making front spring changes we picked up another 0.1 in
the 2nd session . Those became our race tires
and Jerry qualified at 11.327 which held up for quick time
until Bobby East went out late and ran a 11.243. He was in
his own universe all night. A car count of 17 led to only 2
heats. Jerry started outside row 2 and made a beautiful
outside pass during the heat to finish 2nd.
The A main was a 100 lap race. Jerry started inside row 3.
The first start resulted in a mess in the back of the pack
which caused a restart. Who would have thought on this
tight track that the race would run 100 green flag laps.
Bobby East was gone and eventually won going away lapping
every car up to 2nd place. We fell back to 6th
initially . By lap 18 Jerry was pressing Tracy and Levi.
Car 17 was slowing and hard to pass , Jerry got by on lap
64 and by lap 90 was all over Levi and Bobby Santos. A 5th
place finish was not what we were looking for but proved to
be as good “P” word night. We rolled the car in the trailer
, improved our lap times and made up some ground, overall a
good night.
Tim Waechter
VP Marketing Hoffman Racing
THE LIFE OF A USAC
SPRINT TEAM-RESULTS FROM GAS CITY AND LAWRENCEBURG 4/16-4/19
2009
This was the schedule for the Hoffman Team from 4/16-4/19.
Thursday April 16- Testing at Winchester for the race
scheduled for 4/19.
7:00am-departure for Winchester
9:00am- arrival at Winchester, unload, final prep for the test
12:00pm-still waiting for the track to warm up sufficiently to
start the test, sharing the track with 8 other cars.
12:30pm- the first of 11 times on the track, the test includes
68 hot laps, recording data, making adjustments to get faster
with a well
balanced car .
5:00pm- departure for the race shop.
7:20pm- arrival at the shop. Begin work to “turn around” the
pavement car for the race scheduled Sunday April 19.
11:50pm- get some sleep
Friday April 17- Race at Gas City
11:30am- Arrive at shop to load up for departure
1:00pm- depart for the 3 hour trip to Gas City
4:00pm- arrival at Gas City, unload and final prep on the car.
This was a night where the pill draw had a significant impact
on our result. We drew pill # 29, putting us out 6th from the
end. The track slowed up almost 2 seconds from the early
qualifiers to the last. We ended up 24th quick with a lap of
14.8. The track for the heat races was a one groove track. Low
was the way to go. We were in heat race 4, starting inside row
2. Jerry held P3 through lap 6 with Jones and Hockett trying
the high side while we puttered around the bottom. We
transferred by finishing 4th in the heat. The track was
reworked twice during the event, once before the A Main. The
track got better but still was not a good race track. We
started outside row 7 which tells you how many cars qualifying
faster than us didn’t make the show. Jerry moved forward
moving to P 12 by lap 5, P9 by lap 8 and passed Gardner late
in the race to finish P7.
11:30pm- Strip the car in the pits in prep for the turn-around
for the race Saturday.
Saturday April 18- Race at Lawrenceburg
12:00am- Depart for home from Gas City.
3:00a.m.- arrive at shop, unload, start turn-around of the
car.
3:45a.m.- go home for some sleep
9:00am- Back to the shop to complete car prep for the race
that night.
12:00pm- Go home shower
3:00pm- depart for Lawrenceburg
4:00pm- arrive at the track, register, unload car. Pre race
prep.
This was the first race on the new surface for “the Burg”. The
track was slick for us in group number 1 after drawing pill
#8. The car was not getting in the corner for qualifying which
out us 17th fast for the night. Jerry transferred out of heat
race 1 by finishing 4th. Jerry started inside row 7 for the A
Main and was 10th by the yellow on lap 5. By the yellow on lap
15 we had a heck of a race going with Gardner and Ballou. The
car developed a fire in the rear end area and USAC stopped
Jerry on the track to check out the situation.
It turns out that Jerry had been loosing the brakes. USAC let
us continue but Jerry dropped to the back to avoid any issues
due to a lack of brakes. Jerry finished the race 15th with
brake issues ending a very frustrating few days for the Team.
Sunday April 19-Winchester Race rained out
1:00a.m- Arrive at the shop.
6:00a.m.- If the race had not been rained out, departure for
Winchester .
Tim Waechter
VP Marketing Hoffman Racing
NATIONAL WIN #73 COMES AT THE “BIG E” WITH THE EASTER
BUNNY IN VICTORY LANE
There
is nothing like a National win and adding on to the record
number. To win #73 at Eldora is especially sweet, no pun
intended. The night is a tribute to the communications the
Team has with Jerry and the ability of Rob, Dan and Richard to
adjust the car to track conditions.
We
were not very good in hot laps , in group 2 we turned laps in
the 16.6 range, about 0.7 off the fast pace. Jerry described
the car and Rob and Dan made some significant changes
including bar and stagger. We cut the deficit with the
fastest teams in half , qualifying 6th with a time
of 15.3 seconds, fast time was 15.03. Starting in the back in
heat race 2 Jerry worked his way up to a 3rd place
and transferring, the car was good.
The A main
was a wild event. Starting on the pole Jerry got the jump and
beat Brad Sweet into turn 1 with a slide job and lead lap 1.
Levi Jones caught the lead cars and took the lead with a slide
job on lap 2. A fierce battle ensued with Brad Sweet catching
the 2 lead cars and taking the lead on lap 14 , we dropped to
3rd. We were able to talk to Jerry during each of
4 red flags in the A Main. Jerry started his charge to the
lead , hitting his marks , the car getting better and took the
lead on lap 25 with a great slide job on Sweet. During the
charge Jerry did a masterful job avoiding a big problem when
Sweet hit traffic and almost came to a stop in front of Jerry
in turn 3 . We took the white flag and Sweet made one more
run at us coming out of 2, hit the backstretch wall and
flipped. That left a 2 lap scramble with old friend Dave
Darland. He took a run at us but could not pull it off and we
had a big win.
A great celebration in victory lane left some
great memories. A big week upcoming will keep the Team busy.
See you at
GasCity Friday,
Lawrenceburg Saturday and
Winchester Sunday.
Tim Waechter
Retail Operations Account Executive
Kroger Corporate Team
Office 513-677-8952
Cell 513-284-1519
Paul Arch Photos
THE NEWEST
COONS SUPPORTING HAR
Cale
Coons is already a big supporter of Hoffman Racing. Could
this be the next father-son combination to drive for the Team?
Holy moly how old would Richard, Al and Tim be when Cale is in
the car? How old would our web master be? Never
mind!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Tim Waechter
VP Marketing Hoffman Racing
ANNUAL FISH FRY CELEBRATES 80 YEARS HOFFMAN RACING
The
annual fish fry was held March 20th at the race
shop. It was a special occasion because of the 80th
anniversary of the founding of Hoffman Racing. It was made
very special by current HAR driver Jerry Coons Jr., and past
drivers Jim Hines, Steve Butler and Jon Stanbrough attending.
As always a great time was had by all. A special thanks to
Dennis Neal for attending and taking the great pictures for
our history books. Dennis’s web site is
andenimages.photoreflect.com.
Tim Waechter
VP Marketing Hoffman Racing
Office 513-677-8952
Cell 513-284-1519
THE HOFFMAN TEAM MAKES THEIR ANNUAL VISIT TO 700 WLW “THE BIG
SHOW”
The
Hoffman Team appeared on the KOI racing show with “Segman”
Dennison, Dennis Neal and Bobby Schmidt on Sunday 8 march.
This has become an annual visit which we totally enjoy. Seg
and the boys are the best. We really appreciate their
hospitality and support of local race teams. Thanks to all
the race fans that kept the lines full for the 2 hour show.
Tim Waechter
VP Marketing Hoffman Racing
SUMMARY OF THE TRIP “OUT WEST”
Our “beloved” web master Paul did a great job summarizing the
results of our trip “Out West”. Thanks Paul. Overall we had
a very competitive car every night. At Manzy we were in a
position to win a big race when a competitor flat took us out
with a move that was dangerous to say the least. Thankfully
Jerry was okay. The result of the damage to the car was 2
days worth of work to rebuild the car. We had 2 backups
available but this car seems to perform better on the “big
tracks”. The other thing that sticks out in my mind is the
poor track conditions we faced at several tracks. The first
night at Manzy was terrible. The tire bill for Teams was
beyond ridiculous. We went through 4 right rears, 4 left rears
and a right front for a race paying nothing to win. The
second night track prep was much better. Las Vegas was
another terrible racing surface. Hard slick could not begin
to describe it. Perris did a good job but the program ran
very late due to over watering during the event. Pit passes
were $40 for members and $50 for non-members. Why? The purse
was a regular purse we run for in the
Mid West. My personal opinion
is that to ask National competitors to travel that far to
race, the purses need to justify it and track conditions need
to be acceptable. We look forward to the 2 night show at
Eldora. See you at the races.
Tim Waechter
VP Marketing Hoffman Racing
PERRIS MOTOR SPEEDWAY
2-28
Its always great to put down
quick time, you know right off you have a car that can take
the win. With 50 cars taking time, Driver and Crew still had a
lot of work ahead of them. Jerry was up to the task, he missed
the heat transfer by one car, but won the "B" main to get his
time back. Jerry was able to bring the car in "4th" in the
"A". Again we wish the team a safe trip home especially
Dan who will be driving the rig back. I will have more details
by Monday morning "after my boss" sends his breakdown to me.
Webmaster
LAS VEGAS 2-26
Our first top ten for 09, but
the season is young and we hope to better that at Perris,
winning is always our goal! We qualified 9th Jerry did a good
job transferring 4th in his heat. The feature was not very
eventful one. The bottom took rubber and the high groove was a
very dry cushion, so no one did a lot of passing. Congrats to
Jerry for a good ride in our car and a Feature Win in
his Midget ride.
MANZINITA COPPER ON
DIRT NIGHT TWO 2-21
We had high hopes for
tonight, based on how we were positioned for the Classic.
Jerry pursued the leaders from his 7th place starting
position. He worked his way up to 2nd place, using his driving
skills instead of reckless abandon. With 3 laps to go the
leader got a little to far into the cushion. Apparently
instead of doing the obvious and easing the car off the
cushion, he just yanked the wheel to the left. This as we all
know can send you flying out of control down the speed way
into another groove. Well it was Jerry's and it set him
flipping and ended his race. Thank goodness he was not hurt
from someone else's stupidity. We will put this behind us and
move on to Las Vegas Wed. night. Congrats to Jerry for a
great drive in our feature and another in the Midget Feature
where he came from the back and finished 3rd.
MANZINITA COPPER ON
DIRT NIGHT ONE 2-20
It was a tough night for
tires as the track took rubber during the hot lap session.
Using the group qualifying method we ended up with a 26th
spot. Jerry started in the third row of the heat, and
(literally) drove the tires off the car to get up to 2nd
place. By that time the leader was to far ahead to be caught.
According to the format we then ran a Dash starting 9th of 10
and finishing 7th. This should put us 7th in tonight's
feature. Hats off to the crew, they have to be pretty tired
from changing tires, hope Richard had them in his budget. LOL
A NIGHT OF CELEBRATION WRAPPING UP THE 9TH USAC
NATIONAL SPRINT CAR CHAMPIONSHIP
The
USAC banquet was held at the
Indiana Rooftop
Ballroom on 1/9/09. It was a night of pride for the Team
after achieving another National Championship. USAC did a
great job picking the location and with the video portion of
the ceremonies. The video of the year for HAR and Jerry was
great, thanks to the work of Dean Mills. The Team stayed up
way past our bed time. We were honored to have Linda and
Laura Hoffman, and Diane Waechter present. What a fantastic
night , one we will never forget. The attached photos
highlight the night.
CAVALCADE
OF CUSTOMS FEATURES 2 HISTORIC HOFFMAN CARS
The
Cavalcade of Customs was held in
Cincinnati from
1/9-1/11/09. Two of the cars featured in the vintage car
display were the famous 7 midget 1946 Kurtis
restored and the Buick V6 driven by Rich Vogler and built by
Rob. Some of the Team visited the show Saturday night. The
pictures show the cars on display and the lovely Linda
Hoffman and Diane Waechter guarding the Buick.
Tim
Waechter
VP Marketing Hoffman Racing
4TH GENERATION HOFFMAN BACK IN THE SADDLE AFTER A
LONG LAY OFF
After a lay off of 18 months, 4th generation
Hoffman, A.J. (Rob and lovely Laura’s youngest son, the Great
One’s grandson) got back in a ¼ midget at
Columbus. It was a
typical ¼ midget day, long and cold. A.J. started 9th
in his heat race and worked his way to the front using a
classic passing technique. A.J. finished a stellar 2nd
and qualified for the A Main. A.J. started 3rd in
the A
Main, he and the car next to
him got together at the start and they both had to go to the
rear. Again A.J. was stellar, the tires came in after a few
green flag laps and he was moving to the front. Unfortunately
there were few green flag consecutive flaps. A.J. was passing
a car per lap and finished 5th. Great job A.J. !!!
