Dirt on Dirt - Hoffman earns $10,000 victory on 34th birthday

May 1

Mississippi Thunder Speedway,

Fountain City, WI

Sanction: World of Outlaws Late Model Series (Dairyland Showdown second prelim) - $10,000

Information provided by: Series and track reports (last updated May 1, 11:10 pm)

Hoffman earns $10,000 victory on 34th birthday

Dairyland Showdown second prelim

Nick Hoffman
Ryan Gustin
Tyler Erb
Ethan Dotson
Brent Larson
Drake Troutman
Daulton Wilson
Trey Mills
Bobby Pierce
Tim McCreadie
Dallon Murty
Dennis Erb Jr.
Clay Stuckey
Dustin Sorensen
Tristan Chamberlain
Logan Zarin
Justin Duty
Jonathan Davenport
Frank Heckenast Jr.
Cade Dillard
Jake Timm
Eli Johnson
Michael Leach
Dylan Thornton

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Nick Hoffman (9) takes control from Ethan Dotson (74x) on the 16th lap.

What won the race: Taking control as Ethan Dotson hopped the turn-one cushion on the 15th lap, fourth-starting Nick Hoffman of Mooresville, N.C., led the rest of Friday's 30-lap Dairyland Showdown second prelim at Mississippi Thunder Speedway. Hoffman beat Ryan Gustin by 0.586 of a second for the $10,000 payday, his 16th career World of Outlaws Late Model Series victory and fifth this season. Hoffman ended Bobby Pierce's three-race winning streak and wrested the series points lead back from Pierce, who finished ninth.

Quotable: “I woke up this morning and I was like, ‘Man, I'm tired of screwing around.’ This car's been up in the trailer and I think its win percentage is around 75 percent now,” Hoffman said. “It hasn't raced since Volusia and I just wanted to bring it back out to see how good it was again because I planned on racing it in a couple of weeks in Delaware … this thing was just really good.”

Key notes: Celebrating his 34th birthday, Hoffman went from fourth-to-second on the opening lap, then stalked Ethan Dotson until his lap-15 bobble. ... Hoffman's five WoO victories matched his season totals for each of the past two seasons. ... Ryan Gustin reclaimed the runner-up spot on lap 16 but never challenged Hoffman in the race's second half, as he finished without a left-front nosepiece after clipping an infield tire and causing damage that obscured his vision until the piece went flying to draw a caution. ... Dotson, who drew the pole starting position following heat-race contact with Pierce, led the opening 14 laps before fading to finish fourth. ... The race was slowed by three cautions, the first on lap seven for debris from Tim McCreadie's right-rear spoiler after contact with the turn-four wall; McCreadie finished 10th. ... Jonathan Davenport spun on lap eight following contact from Pierce as they raced three-wide with Dallon Murty while battling for 10th; Davenport avoided major damage, but could only rebound to 18th. ... Gustin's debris drew a lap-26 yellow. ... Lone retiree Dylan Thornton departed during the lap-26 caution. ... Cade Dillard finished 20th after receiving the final provisional staring position as the fastest qualifier who failed to transfer out of a heat race or consolation. ... The 30-lapper lasted 15 minutes with 22 starters completing the distance. ... The three-day Dairyland Showdown concludes with Saturday's 50-lap, $40,000-to-win finale.

On the move: Winner Nick Hoffman of Mooresville, N.C., started fourth; Trey Mills of St. Augustine, Fla., started 11th and finished eighth.

Winner's sponsors: Hoffman’s Tye Twarog Racing Longhorn Chassis carries sponsorship from NOS Energy Drink, C&W Trucking, Petroff Towing, Tri Valley Equipment Sales, LoneWolf Petroleum, Haulin’ Haskells, Holdren Construction, Pivotal Propane, Bilstein Shocks, Eibach Springs, VP Racing Fuels, Rockwell Security and Wehr’s Machine.

Points chase: After Mississippi Thunder Friday: 1. Nick Hoffman (2,636); 2. Bobby Pierce (2,630); 3. Tyler Erb (2,452); 4. Tim McCreadie (2,446); 5. Drake Troutman (2,433); 6. Ryan Gustin (2,422); 7. Ethan Dotson (2,401); 8. Daulton Wilson (2,388); 9. Dustin Sorensen (2,327); 10. Dennis Erb Jr. (2,287).

Current weather: Overcast, 50°F

Car count: 37

Fast qualifier: Tim McCreadie

Time: 13.453 seconds

Polesitter: Ethan Dotson

Heat race winners: Tyler Erb, Nick Hoffman, Ethan Dotson, Ryan Gustin

Consolation race winners: Tristan Chamberlain, Dylan Thornton

Provisional starters: Eli Johnson, Cade Dillard

Next series race: May 2, Mississippi Thunder Speedway (Fountain City, WI) $40,000

Editor's note: Results and race details are unofficial.

From staff reports

FOUNTAIN CITY, Wis. — Live updates and results from Friday’s Dairyland Showdown second prelim night, featuring a 30-lap, $10,000-to-win main event for World of Outlaws Series-sanctioned Super Late Models (results unofficial):

Feature

Taking control as Ethan Dotson hopped the turn-one cushion on the 15th lap, fourth-starting Nick Hoffman of Mooresville, N.C., led the rest of Friday's 30-lap Dairyland Showdown second prelim at Mississippi Thunder Speedway. Hoffman beat Ryan Gustin by 0.586 of a second for the $10,000 payday, his 16th career World of Outlaws Late Model Series victory and fifth this season. Hoffman ended Bobby Pierce's three-race winning streak and wrested the series points lead back from Pierce, who finished ninth.

Feature lineup

(30 laps)

Row 1: Ethan Dotson, Tyler Erb
Row 2: Ryan Gustin, Nick Hoffman
Row 3: Brent Larson, Daulton Wilson
Row 4: Drake Troutman, Tim McCreadie
Row 5: Dallon Murty, Bobby Pierce
Row 6: Trey Mills, Jonathan Davenport
Row 7: Clay Stuckey, Dennis Erb Jr.
Row 8: Michael Leach, Dustin Sorensen
Row 9: Tristan Chamberlain, Dylan Thornton
Row 10: Logan Zarin, Justin Duty
Row 11: Jake Timm, Frank Heckenast Jr.
Row 12: Eli Johnson, Cade Dillard

Consolation race results

(10 laps; top three transfer)

First consolation: Tristan Chamberlain, Logan Zarin, Jake Timm, Cade Dillard, Tim Ward, Sammy Mars, Blair Nothdurft, Chris Simpson, Tyler Bruening, Lance Matthees, Eli Johnson.

Second consolation: Dylan Thornton, Justin Duty, Frank Heckenast Jr., Gordy Gundaker, Chad Simpson, Derrick Stewart, Matthew Larson, Nick Anvelink, Tim Isenberg, Collen Winebarger.

Heat race recap

Third-starting Tyler Erb grabbed control on the opening lap and paced all eight circuits in winning the night’s first heat race by 1.126 seconds over polesitter Tim McCreadie. Second-starting Dallon Murty held on to finish third, while fifth-starting Clay Stuckey claimed the fourth and final transfer spot into the 30-lap main event. … Nick Hoffman earned a flag-to-flag victory in the second heat race, beating third-starting Brent Larson to the checkers by 2.664 seconds. Fifth-starting Trey Mills grabbed third on the sixth lap, relegating outside front-row starter Michael Leach to finish fourth. … Second-starting Ethan Dotson led the opening six laps, then prevailed after a back-and-forth battle with Bobby Pierce over the final two circuits. Pierce executed a slide job to lead lap seven before Dotson’s turn-one slider ended on Pierce's nosepiece, nearly sending Pierce spinning and dropping him to third in the final rundown. Daulton Wilson claimed the runner-up spot on the final lap with Dennis Erb Jr. completing the top-four finishers. … Ryan Gustin cruised to win the fourth and final heat race by 0.371 of a second over Drake Troutman, taking the checkers with a deflating right-rear tire. Jonathan Davenport started and finished third while ninth-starting Dustin Sorensen climbed to take the fourth and final transfer position into the $10,000-to-win Dairyland Showdown second prelim. The night’s lone caution flag flew on the fourth lap for debris after fourth-running Collen Winebarger brushed the turn-two wall; Winebarger continued, but dropped to eighth at the checkers.

Heat race results

(Eight laps; top four transfer)

First heat: Tyler Erb, Tim McCreadie, Dallon Murty, Clay Stuckey, Logan Zarin, Jake Timm, Cade Dillard, Tyler Bruening, Eli Johnson, Chris Simpson.

Second heat: Nick Hoffman, Brent Larson, Trey Mills, Michael Leach, Tristan Chamberlain, Sammy Mars, Tim Ward, Blair Nothdurft, Lance Matthees.

Third heat: Ethan Dotson, Daulton Wilson, Bobby Pierce, Dennis Erb Jr., Frank Heckenast Jr., Chad Simpson, Gordy Gundaker, Derrick Stewart, Tim Isenberg.

Fourth heat: Ryan Gustin, Drake Troutman, Jonathan Davenport, Dustin Sorensen, Dylan Thornton, Justin Duty, Nick Anvelink, Collen Winebarger, Matthew Larson.

Time trials

Group A
Driver (car no.), hometown, time (unofficial)
1. Tim McCreadie (9m), Watertown, N.Y., 13.453
2. Nick Hoffman (9), Mooresville, N.C., 13.472
3. Dallon Murty (13), Chelsea, Iowa, 13.499
4. Michael Leach (09), Sun River, Mont., 13.623
5. Tyler Erb (1), New Waverly, Texas, 13.671
6. Brent Larson (B1), Lake Elmo, Minn., 13.760
7. Logan Zarin (1z), Moon Township, Pa., 13.806
8. Tristan Chamberlain (20tc), Richmond, Ind., 13.812
9. Clay Stuckey (15), Shreveport, La., 13.858
10. Trey Mills (14), St. Augustine, Fla., 13.866
11. Cade Dillard (97), Robeline, La., 13.905
12. Tim Ward (4tw), Mesa, Ariz., 13.917
13. Jake Timm (49), Winona, Minn., 13.931
14. Sammy Mars (28m), Menomonie, Wis., 13.940
15. Eli Johnson (55E), Clewiston, Fla., 13.944
16. Blair Nothdurft (76), Renner, S.D., 13.957
17. Tyler Bruening (16), Decorah, Iowa, 13.969
18. Lance Matthees (90), Winona, Minn., 14.123
19. Chris Simpson (32s), Oxford, Iowa, 14.205
Group B
1. Bobby Pierce (32), Oakwood, Ill., 13.724
2. Ryan Gustin (19R), Marshalltown, Iowa, 13.763
3. Ethan Dotson (74x), Bakersfield, Calif., 13.798
4. Drake Troutman (22*), Hyndman, Pa., 13.829
5. Daulton Wilson (58v), Fayetteville, N.C., 13.890
6. Jonathan Davenport (49D), Blairsville, Ga., 13.926
7. Dennis Erb Jr. (28), Carpentersville, Ill., 13.946
8. Dylan Thornton (38T), Orcutt, Calif., 13.969
9. Derrick Stewart (43), Ainsworth, Iowa, 14.046
10. Collen Winebarger (14s), Corbett, Ore., 14.091
11. Frank Heckenast Jr. (99jr), Frankfort, Ill., 14.104
12. Nick Anvelink (15A), Bonduel, Wis., 14.137
13. Chad Simpson (25), Mount Vernon, Iowa, 14.187
14. Justin Duty (15D), Molalla, Ore., 14.278
15. Gordy Gundaker (11), St. Charles, Mo., 14.302
16. Matthew Larson (8), Lake Elmo, Minn., 14.319
17. Tim Isenberg (9T), Marshfield, Wis., 14.367
18. Dustin Sorensen (19), Rochester, Minn., 14.454

Friday’s schedule

(All times local)
2 p.m. - Pits open
5 p.m. - Grandstands open
5:30 p.m. - Drivers’ meeting
6 p.m. - On-track activity begins
- Late Model hot laps
- Modified hot laps
- Late Model time trials (2 laps)
- Modified time trials (2 laps)
Opening ceremonies
- Late Model heats (8 laps)
- Modified heats (8 laps)
Intermission/WoO redraw
- Late Model consolations (10 laps)
Feature events
- Modifieds (25 laps)
- Late Models (30 laps)