David Gravel fastest on sprint car practice night
BARBERVILLE, Fla. — Feb. 9, 2016 — A sizzling Nick Hoffman heated up the 45th Annual DIRTcar Nationals at Volusia Speedway Park after powering his way to the lead early in the 20-lap feature event and claiming another Gator trophy for his growing collection.
Kenny Wallace, a former NASCAR Xfinity Series driver and current NASCAR broadcaster, started the feature from the pole position but lost the lead once the green flag dropped to Trent Young.
Young controlled the lead for a handful of laps before conceding the top spot to Hoffman following a brief fight for the lead. Hoffman quickly escaped from the rest of the field, pulling out to a sizeable lead and capturing the opening night of DIRTcar Nationals.
“We just made the right changes before the feature,” said Hoffman, a native of Mooresville, N.C. “We can’t stop here, we need to win a few more of these before the end of the week…this Gator is going in my pond with the rest of them.”
The World of Outlaws Craftsman® Sprint Car Series and Arctic Cat All Star Circuit of Champions took to the track Tuesday night for an open practice session. 23-year-old David Gravel was the fastest driver during the three practice sessions, with a trip around Volusia at 13.814 seconds.
The night was Gravel’s first with new team CJB Motorsports.
“It’s definitely something that takes time, but so far so good,” Gravel said of his new team. “We made good adjustments tonight and it seemed like we were all on the same page. If we keep that going I think we’ll have a good week.”
Nightly doubleheaders at Volusia run through Sunday, Feb. 20. On Wednesday night, the Arctic Cat All Star Circuit of Champions and DIRTcar UMP Modifieds take on night two of DIRTcar Nationals with full racing programs.
For more information and updates on the DIRTcar Nationals, click DIRTcarNationals.com or follow on Twitter at @DIRTcarNats.
DIRTcar Nationals Statistical Report; Feb. 9, 2016; Volusia Speedway Park; Barberville, Fla.
DIRTcar UMP Modified A-Main (20 Laps) – A-Main – (20 Laps) – 1. 2-Nick Hoffman ($1,000), 2. 10Y-Trent Young, 3. 36-Kenny Wallace, 4. 90-Jason Beaulieu, 5. 56-Tyler Nicely, 6. 10-A.J-Fike, 7. 7-Justin Allgaier, 8. 51-Brandon Green, 9. 49-Brian Ruhlman, 10. Z8-Max McLaughlin, 11. 72X-Brian Papiez, 12. 14T-Tyler Clem, 13. 67-Garrett Stewart, 14. 13-Jacob Hawkins, 15. 7-Jeff Thomas, 16. 45J-Johnny Broking, 17. 0J-Bryce Jewell, 18. 72-Todd Neiheiser, 19. 33-Jeff Matthews, 20. 77S-Stephen Schnapt, 21. 17T-Tyler Evans, 22. 36L-Jamie Lomax, 23. 64JR-Billy Workman Jr, 24. 77-Ray Bollinger.
DIRTcar Nationals Day-by-Day Schedule (Grandstands open at 5 p.m.)
Wednesday, Feb. 10 – Arctic Cat All Star Circuit of Champions Sprints & UMP Modifieds
Thursday, Feb. 11 – Arctic Cat All Star Circuit of Champions Sprints & UMP Modifieds
Friday, Feb. 12 – World of Outlaws Craftsman Sprint Car Series & UMP Modifieds
Saturday, Feb. 13 – World of Outlaws Craftsman Sprint Car Series & UMP Modified Gator Qualifying 1
Sunday, Feb. 14 – World of Outlaws Craftsman Sprint Car Series & UMP Modified Gator Qualifying 2
Monday, Feb. 15 – DIRTcar Late Models & UMP Modified Gator Championship
Tuesday, Feb. 16 – DIRTcar Late Models & UMP Modified Triple 20’s
Wednesday, Feb. 17 – DIRTcar Late Models Swamp King Champ & Super DIRTcar Series
Thursday, Feb. 18 – World of Outlaws Craftsman Late Model Series & Super DIRTcar Series
Friday, Feb. 19 – World of Outlaws Craftsman Late Model Series & Super DIRTcar Series
Saturday, Feb. 20 – World of Outlaws Craftsman Late Model Series & Super DIRTcar Series
2016 DIRTcar Nationals is supported by Budweiser, Daytona Harley-Davidson, Hampton Inn-Palm Cost, Ring Power CAT, and Safety-Kleen. The World of Outlaws Craftsman® Sprint Car Series and World of Outlaws Craftsman® Late Model Series is brought to fans by official partners: Bad Boy Buggies (Official Side-by-Side Vehicle), The Kenny Wallace Dirt Racing Experience (Official Racing Experience), Hoosier Racing Tires (Official Racing Tires), Lincoln Welder (Official Welder), and VP Racing Fuel (Official Racing Fuel). Additional support is provided by Arizona Sport Shirts (Official Apparel Company of WoO Late Model), DirtonDirt.com (WoO Late Model Hard Charger Award), McCarthy’s One Hour Heating & Air Conditioning (Raye Vest Memorial Pill Draw Award-WoO Late Model), and Chevrolet Performance. Contingency sponsors include: ASI, Beyea Headers, Bicknell Racing Products, Bilstein Shocks, Butlerbuilt, Cometic Gasket, Comp Cams, Edelbrock, Fox Shocks, JE Pistons, JRI Shocks, KSE Racing Products, Mobil 1, MSD Performance, Penske Racing Shocks, Ohlins Shocks, QA1, QuarterMaster, Sweet Manufacturing, Superflow Dynos and Wrisco Aluminum Manufacturer. Sponsors include: Capital Race Cars, Club 29 Chassis, Impact Racing Products, Intercomp, Motorsports Safety Systems, Racing Electronics, Rocket Chassis, S&S Volvo, and TNT Rescue.
