CONCORD, N.C. — Historically speaking, two men have singlehandedly dominated the Summit Racing Equipment DIRTcar UMP Modified portion of the Drydene World Short Track Championship at The Dirt Track at Charlotte. Both of them just so happen to be from popular motorsports residence in Mooresville, N.C. – Kyle Strickler and Nick Hoffman.
This weekend, there’s one other Mooresville-native looking to put an end to that string of dominance and begin his own stretch of success at Charlotte.
David Stremme, 2003 NASCAR Xfinity Series Rookie of the Year and owner/founder of Lethal Chassis, has quite an interesting string of results going into the 5th annual event at the fourth-tenths oval. Stremme finished second in 2016, third in 2017, fourth in 2018 and fifth in last year’s 25-lap main event.
Strickler took the checkered flag in the inaugural year of 2016 and again in 2017, while Hoffman ruled the field in 2018 and 2019. Heading into his fifth event appearance in 2020, Stremme owns the most top-five finishes of any driver in the division without a victory.
So many times, so close to victory — but that’s the nature of this event as so many great names come into town and put it all on the line for the DIRTVision cameras on the big stage. With more than 400 total cars in the pit area last year, Stremme knows just how fierce the competition can be in every division, especially his own.
“It’s going to be tough,” Stremme said. “When you look at the caliber of drivers that come to this event… I don’t know if it’s necessarily looked at, for the Modifieds, as a “crown [jewel]” race, but it’s still pretty big. A lot of guys getting in their last race of the year.”
Last year, Hoffman finished off one of the most dominant seasons in DIRTcar UMP modified history with a flag-to-flag victory, marking back-to-back wins for him in the event. Strickler went on to beat him in the All-Star Invitational just a short while later, while Stremme crossed right behind them in third.
The great runs have been there for Stremme. Most memorably, his charge from 20th to finish fourth in 2018 has shown his strength in traffic around The Dirt Track.
“If you look at the quality of the drivers and the teams that come out of this area and what this race puts on… I think the Modified race is probably one of the best out there, just because of the horsepower versus downforce and the track conditions,” Stremme said.
Since 2014, Stremme has been fabricating his own brand of dirt modified chassis at his race shop in Mooresville – Lethal Chassis. Some of Lethal’s biggest competition over the past few seasons has been Hoffman’s own Elite Chassis, which occupy four of the top 10 spots in 2020 DIRTcar UMP Modified national points standings.
Like so many of the sport’s successful veterans, Stremme is focused on his own craft in the shop and his own affairs on the track. He’ll be gunning for Hoffman just as hard as anyone else in the field.
“I don’t do this racing for a living. We build cars and have fun. We build cars for all four major sanctioning bodies, so I don’t look at just one race and one brand I gotta go after. I look at everybody as a competitor. If it happens, it happens,” Stremme said.
Now in his sixth year of business, Lethal Chassis builds cars for customers all across the country. Eleven Lethal cars have pre-registered to compete in the UMP Modified field at Charlotte this weekend, including the likes of Austin Holcombe, Dan Davies and Curt Spalding.
The DIRTcar Summit Racing Equipment UMP Modified field in Thursday-Saturday night in the 5th annual Drydene World Short Track Championship at The Dirt Track at Charlotte – LIVE on DIRTVision.