Eldora Speedway
Hoffman inches closer to pal (and Eldora master)
By Kevin Kovac
DirtonDirt senior writer
Nick Hoffman finished second in an Eldora semifeature. (Zach Yost)
ROSSBURG, Ohio (Sept. 5) — If Nick Hoffman needed a confidence boost heading into the 55th World 100 finale at Eldora Speedway, his runner-up finish in Friday’s second 25-lap semifeature provided it.
It was the way the 33-year-old driver from Mooresville, N.C., placed second — by keeping $12,000 winner Jonathan Davenport of Blairsville, Ga., in sight, proving he’s developing the chops to perhaps challenge the Eldora master. | Complete World 100 coverage
“This is what it’ll pretty much be like tomorrow, late in that race, and just to be able to pace him and kind of keep the same lap times going, it means a lot,” said Hoffman, who started his Tye Twarog-owned Longhorn Chassis on the pole position alongside Davenport and ran second to the five-time World 100 winner for the entire distance. “It was just a matter of he got by a lapped car a little quicker than I did or whatever.”
While Hoffman spun his tires at the initial green flag and immediately ceded the lead to Davenport, he wasn’t blown away in the caution-free race by the 41-year-old superstar. He lost ground during one stretch but closed back in late in the race, at one point threatening to overtake Davenport in lapped traffic before finishing 1.340 seconds behind.
“When we were in clean racetrack, he was able to get almost a straightaway on me,” Hoffman said. “I started to search around a little bit, found a little bit of speed doing that, and then he gets in that lapped traffic and the wake of their air slows him down even more and backs him up to me a little bit. Then I’m basically right there with him.
“Especially the last couple years, he’s been so fast here, but I felt like there was places that I’m a little better than he was, and then he was, you know, better in other places. He could have been just messing with me, too. He’s so good at just controlling the pace of the race and if he has to take it up a notch he does. You don't know until you’re actually able to show him a nose, and I wasn't quite able to do that yet tonight.”
But Hoffman was close, and he said that “was really cool because, you know, we work together and he’s a reason for a lot of my success I feel like.”
Considering Hoffman’s relationship with Davenport, sharing the front row for the semifeature with him was a thrill. In fact, heading to the green flag alongside an established standout like J.D. took him back to another milestone in his career.
“When I was probably 14, I went to Volusia (Speedway Park in Barberville, Fla.) and I started on the front row of a (UMP modified) B-main with Jared Landers, and Landers, at that time, was a bad ass in a modified,” Hoffman said. “So to me, that was like, I don’t know, a career moment. And now me and J.D. are good buddies and (Davenport’s team owner) Lance Landers, I got to stay at their shop two weeks ago, so it was kind of cool just to be lined up with them.”
Hoffman was the top points earner in preliminary action and spun a six on the invert wheel, putting him in the sixth starting spot in Saturday’s first heat. He’ll have to hustle to reach a transfer position and start near the front in the 100-lapper, but, even if he has to rely on his high-points provisional to get in the feature, he feels good about his chances if he can continue circling the track like his pal.
“Me and J.D. drive very similar, so a lot of stuff that we do is similar,” said Hoffman, whose career-best finish in five World 100 feature starts is 12th in the first of 2021’s double events. “So like tire-wise and stuff, they’ll be on that old (style) 4 (hard-compound tire), I can almost guarantee it. I’ve kind of married myself to this new tire — so, just to each their own — and we’ll just try and put together 100 clean laps. In the Dream (three months ago) I wasn't able to do that. I knocked the spoiler off of it right away (though he still finished third), but I feel like me as a person, I’ve come a long way to try and slow myself down at the beginning of that race.”
Davenport acknowledged that Hoffman’s speed has gotten his attention.
“He had me a little worried,” Davenport said after capturing his second straight semifeature. “He was really good in that heat race, so I don’t know if it raining (briefly before their 25-lapper) helped me and hurt him or whatever. I was actually kind of planning on letting him get out front and kind of judge off of him if it hadn’t rained, but then after the rain, it was so fast to begin with, you get so separated here pretty quick, so I tried my best to get the lead at the start.”
When Davenport was asked if the friendly advice he offers Hoffman is making his buddy a bigger threat to him at Eldora, he laughed.
“I know,” Davenport said with a smile. “I’m gonna have to quit helping him.”
Davenport, who is scheduled to start fourth in Saturday’s fifth heat, noted that Hoffman doesn’t seem to have that cushion-pounding tendency in him that many of his contemporaries possess, setting him up for success at Eldora.
“For whatever reason, the way he grew up racing as a young guy, he don't do that,” Davenport said, referring to running the top of the track. “It’s kind of cool to watch how he drives and how he grew up and everything. Definitely kind of odd.”
