BUSTI, N.Y. — Nick Hoffman’s first trip to Stateline Speedway will always be memorable.
The Mooresville, N.C., driver led all but one lap Tuesday night to score his first World of Outlaws CASE Construction Equipment Late Model Series triumph.
Hoffman and Gordy Gundaker brought the 24-car field to the green flag as both drivers fought for the top spot on lap one.
Gundaker had the early advantage on the inside, nosing ahead of Hoffman on the backstretch and holding that momentum as they finished the first lap.
But on lap two, it was a different story.
The “Thrill from Mooresville” kept his Tye Twarog Racing No. 9 car rolling on the outside, this time his momentum pushing him ahead of Gundaker exiting turn two.
That burst of speed allowed Hoffman to clear Gundaker as they entered turn three, pulling ahead to lead lap two.
“I knew he had to take off first, but I knew if I could just roll speed through the middle of the racetrack and keep him pinched down where he couldn’t circle, I knew I could maybe clear him after a lap or so,” Hoffman said.
“That’s kind of what happened there. I was able to stay to his outside, and obviously, we’re buddies, so he isn’t going to run me into the fence. I was able to roll speed fast enough to get all the way alongside him coming to the first lap and then clear him off of [turn] two.”
It was a lead Hoffman wouldn’t relinquish. And despite a late charge from Max Blair, it was enough to put his name in the history books as the 101st different winner in World of Outlaws CASE Late Models history.
“It’s just really unbelievable to do it at a place I’ve never been before,” Hoffman said. “Obviously Max [Blair] was going to be the heaviest hitter here. I feel like everyone was looking at him as the guy to beat.
“Our race car is so good right now. We just have to keep it rolling.”
Blair settled for second, hoping to grab a second World of Outlaws win at Stateline.
The Centerville, Pa., driver moved past Gundaker for second on lap 12 before he made a last-ditch effort to get by Hoffman in the final five laps.
As Hoffman caught the back of the field, Blair swung his Rocket Chassis to the top of the racetrack but couldn’t get enough grip to make the pass.
Blair said he thought if the race stayed green, he might’ve had a shot at passing Hoffman.
“I gave it one last effort with a couple of laps to go, there just wasn’t enough left,” Blair said. “I think if it would’ve stayed green earlier in the race when there was lap traffic when you could still move around a little bit, maybe we had a shot at it, maybe we didn’t.”
“We’ll take second and roll on down the road.”
Bobby Pierce took advantage of a lap-25 restart to move from fifth to third, grabbing his second podium finish of the season.
Pierce quickly moved to the top when the green came out, getting around Madden.
After he cleared the Series points leader, he only needed a few more laps to get around Gundaker, thundering his Longhorn Chassis into third on lap 29.
“Fortunately enough, those guys got kind of bottled on the bottom,” Pierce said. “I hit my marks pretty good, but not great. But it was enough to get around Madden. Then I got next to Gordy, and on the next lap, I passed him.
“It was a really good run for falling back to fifth.”
Gundaker crossed the line fourth and Chub Frank rounded out the top five.
The finish:
Feature (40 Laps): 1. 9-Nick Hoffman[2]; 2. 111-Max Blair[3]; 3. 32-Bobby Pierce[4]; 4. 11-Gordy Gundaker[1]; 5. 1*-Chub Frank[7]; 6. 44-Chris Madden[6]; 7. 96V-Tanner English[5]; 8. 40B-Kyle Bronson[8]; 9. 97-Cade Dillard[10]; 10. 44H-Dave Hess Jr[13]; 11. 3S-Brian Shirley[12]; 12. B5-Brandon Sheppard[14]; 13. 19R-Ryan Gustin[15]; 14. 25-Shane Clanton[16]; 15. B1-Brent Larson[11]; 16. 99B-Boom Briggs[24]; 17. 30-Todd Cooney[9]; 18. 36-Logan Martin[21]; 19. 9K-Mike Knight[22]; 20. 28-Dennis Erb Jr[17]; 21. 1ST-Johnny Scott[18]; 22. 76-Steve Kania[20]; 23. 14W-Dustin Walker[23]; 24. 9S-Breyton Santee[19]