QUINCY, Ill. — While Nick Hoffman’s perfect DIRTcar Summit Racing Equipment Modified Nationals season is still intact, it was certainly challenged Wednesday night at Adams County Raceway.
After the drop of the green on the 25-lap feature, Hoffman slipped back to fourth after Elite Chassis customer Kelly Kovski made the pass on him for third inside the first five laps of the race. A yellow was thrown shortly after, which Hoffman used to return the favor on the ensuing restart.
“I kinda did a bad job in the first five laps at picking the correct lane,” Hoffman said. “I could’ve just fell in line and rode in third, which, looking back on it, probably would’ve been the smarter thing to do, but I was trying to run out the middle of the racetrack and it just go super dirty.”
Hoffman next set his sights on Kenny Wallace in second, catching and passing him the same way four laps later. That left only leader Tyler Nicely to go.
Hoffman and Nicely raced side-by-side for several laps, swapping the top spot back-and-forth a couple times before Hoffman used the lapped traffic to get away with the lead for good.
“[Nicely] was running the middle lane, kinda where I wanted to be, and I was able to make enough speed around the bottom to at least show him the nose,” Hoffman said of his pass for the lead on Nicely. “I was really surprised he didn’t come down and try it. There were plenty of times where he could’ve come down and ran the bottom, but he didn’t.”
In the end, Hoffman mastered Adams County for his 63rd career Summit Modified victory, while Kyle Steffens zoomed ahead on the final restart, taking four positions in two laps to claim the runner-up spot. Nicely rounded out the podium.