Nick Hoffman celebrates a $5,000 victory and the Iron-Man weekend sweep.
What won the race: Reclaiming control when mid-race pacesetter Adam Stricker suffered a flat tire on lap 38, pole-starting Nick Hoffman of Mooresville, N.C., fought off R.J. Conley over the final three-lap dash to win $5,000 on Saturday night at Atomic Speedway, giving him the Valvoline American Late Model Iron-Man Series weekend sweep. Hoffman led twice for 17 laps (1-14, 38-40) for his second Iron-Man victory in as many nights and the third of his career.
Key notes: Second-starting Stricker led laps 15-37 before the flat tire ended his night, relegating him to 14th. ... Fifth-starting R.J. Conley inherited the runner-up spot on the lap-38 restart and finished 0.943 of a second behind Hoffman. ... Seth Daniels advanced seven spots and finished fourth. ... Ryan Missler overcame a heat race crash to finish 11th. ... Rusty Schlenk was among the first retirees when he pulled off from seventh on lap 13. ... The main event was slowed by four cautions and lasted 23 minutes, with 13 drivers running at the checkers. ... Tyler Carpenter scratched after hot laps.
On the move: Austin Lay of Florence, Ky., started 22nd and finished eighth.
Winner's sponsors: Hoffman’s Tye Twarog Racing Longhorn Chassis is powered by a Clements Racing Engine and carries sponsorship from NOS Energy Drink, C&W Trucking, Petroff Towing, Tye Twarog Performance Parts, Lonewolf Petroleum, Haulin’ Haskells, Tri Valley Equipment Sales, Allgaier Performance Parts, Bilstein Shocks, Eibach Springs, Lincoln Smith Racing and KBC Graphix.
Points chase: After Atomic: 1. Rusty Schlenk (522); T2. Ryan Missler (457); T2. Seth Daniels (457); 4. Rod Conley (451); 5. Devin Shiels (412).
Current weather: Clear, 73°F
Car count: 29
Fast qualifier: Nick Hoffman
Time: 13.248 seconds
Polesitter: Nick Hoffman
Heat race winners: Nick Hoffman, Adam Stricker, Caiden Black, , , , ,
Consolation race winners: Rob Anderzack, , ,
Provisional starters: Ryan Missler, Austin Lay, Gregg Haskell, ,
Next series race: August 10, Wayne County Speedway (Orrville, OH) $5,000