It is safe to say that 2020 did not unfold anywhere close to what we expected.
It is safe to say that 2020 did not unfold anywhere close to what we expected. Starting off ordinarily enough, the year quickly took a turn with the appearance of the COVID-19 pandemic.
A spring filled with uncertainty eventually led into a summer filled with racing. Our team at Hoffman Auto Racing was able to win the 2020 USAC National Sprint Car Series championship, but not without some serious trials.
Winning championships is often about minimizing the effects of problems and, fortunately, we were able to that, as well as stay focused when things were not going our way.
The season started off great with my fourth Tulsa Shootout victory, and we were able to start the USAC season with a bang as well, winning the first two events in Ocala, Fla.
We had struggled over the past few seasons at Ocala and had worked extremely hard making small changes to improve our performance. Although Bubba is a unique track, that does not necessarily reflect on the rest of the season, it is crucial to get a strong start in the points battle.
After Florida and one midget race, the season came to a screeching halt. The pandemic and lockdowns produced an extremely uneasy period of time for everyone. Making the most of our time off, Xia Xianna, the kids, and I traveled to Oklahoma for six weeks and spent some great time with family and friends.
Our race promotion debut was approaching, and we worked tirelessly with Port City and USAC to host the inaugural Werco Manufacturing T-Town Midget Showdown presented by B&H Contractors, which was a great success.
During the hiatus, Fatheadz Eyewear came on board as our primary sponsor for the remainder of the season. Once our points season resumed, we had very good speed and posted two consecutive top-fives.
After a mediocre run at Haubstadt (Tri-State Speedway), our bad luck streak began. Early at Plymouth Speedway, we were involved in wreck and were able to garner a ninth-place run after extensive work area repairs.
While running comfortably in second at Terre Haute (Action Track), with a handful of laps remaining, we had a magneto failure. We changed mags for the next event at Lincoln Park (Speedway), and our night was going smoothly until we had another magneto failure and another DNF.
We changed engines for the following night, shook the bad luck and picked up our third win on the season.
With our momentum restored, we traveled to Knoxville for my favorite event of the year, the Corn Belt Nationals. The preliminary night went well, and we ran second behind Tyler Courtney.
The finale was plagued with weather delays, but after a late night we were able to pick up our second consecutive Corn Belt title and the $25,000 payday, which was great for our team.
Justin Grant was having a phenomenal season heading into Indiana Sprint Week. He had yet to finish outside of the top five, and had a commanding point lead. Our Sprint Week was up and down.
After having to come from the rear at Gas City (I-69 Speedway) on the opening night, we had several solid runs and were in a position to contend for the title going into the finale at Tri-State Speedway.
After changing an engine before the feature, we had a self-induced mechanical issue that resulted in a DNF. That brought our Sprint Week title hopes to an end and, seemingly, our chances at a national championship as well.
We found our stride once again and posted two second-places and a fourth at the Kokomo Smackdown. Due to a bad luck run of his own, Grant lost a large chunk of points and we were able to take the lead in the standings.
Two Sprint Week dates were made up and, after a disappointing 10th at Bloomington, we grabbed a second at Putnamville. In the originally-scheduled race on the same night, we picked our fifth win of the season and maintained a slim nine-point lead over Chris Windom.
A weekend at Terre Haute and Haubstadt saw Windom pick up a win, as well as the point lead. The following weekend, however, we posted a pair of runner-up finishes and regained the lead heading into the final event at Lawrenceburg.
During one of the most stressful nights of my career, the event at Lawrenceburg went extremely well for us. After originally running second in the feature, we were awarded the victory after the winner came up light at the scales.
To win not only the championship, but also the race at Lawrenceburg, was extremely special as it is the “hometown” track for the Hoffman family.
I was honored to represent Rob, the entire Hoffman family, the team, and all of our great sponsors this season and help record their 12th USAC National title. Our season was proof that no matter how bleak things appear, it is best to keep working hard, as you never know when the tides may shift in your favor.
For the first time in 14 years, I did not make to the trip out west to compete in the final races of the season. I look forward to our slightly-extended off-season to spend a little extra time with my family, and get a head start on preparing the No. 69 for 2021.