LAKE CITY, Mich. – Five DIRTcar Summit Racing Equipment Modified Nationals races contested in Racing Electronics Champions Week No. 5, five wins for the Elite Chassis combo of Nick Hoffman and Will Krup.
Krup did what very few others have done this season on Saturday night at Merritt Speedway – beat Hoffman.
Hoffman was searching for win No. 13 on the season to tie his own single-season win record, but came up just one spot short. Instead, the chassis-builder got another all-Elite-Chassis podium of Krup, himself and the young Hunt Gossum.
Krup jumped to the early lead from the outside pole at the start, taking Hoffman with him. Hoffman stayed at a distance until about the halfway point, when he visibly picked up the pace and closed the gap in lapped traffic.
The battle came to a boiling point with just five laps to go, when Hoffman stuck a nose underneath Krup but could not find the adequate space to make a pass. Krup dropped the hammer again once he recognized the run Hoffman had and sped away on the top side for his fifth career DIRTcar Summit Modified triumph.
“It definitely feels good to get a win,” Krup told announcer Ruben Mireles in Victory Lane. “We’ve been here three times and ran second. The car was great. In lapped traffic, the track was a little tricky. But all-in-all, I had a good car and was able to pull-off the win.”
The finish:
1. K19-Will Krup [2][]; 2. 7-Nick Hoffman [4][]; 3. 99-Hunt Gossum [6][]; 4. 1E-Jeffery Erickson [7][]; 5. 5CS-Curt Spalding [1][]; 6. 4B-Brian Brindley [3][]; 7. 92-Caleb Kill [5][]; 8. 19-Chad Bauer [9][]; 9. 47-Collin Thirlby [11][]; 10. 82-Jacob Poel [17][]; 11. 49-Brian Ruhlman [16][]; 12. 99B-Brent Banning [12][]; 13. 24-Zeke McKenzie [10][]; 14. 12M-John McClure [15][]; 15. 60-Nate Wilbur [14][]; 16. 4-Logan Beckwith [18][]; 17. 9-Garrett Rons [20][]; 18. 1X-Wyatt Baker [13][]; 19. 81-Rick Swartout [19][]; 20. 22-Jim Patterson [21][]; 21. 77-Joe Rokos [8][]; 22. 1-Brian Przepiora [22][]