ST. LOUIS — Nick Hoffman started on the pole and led all 25 laps to win the late model feature on the opening night of the Castrol Gateway Dirt Nationals Thursday at The Dome at America’s Center.
Driving the familiar No. 9 machine, Hoffman earned $5,000 for beating Jason Welshan to the checkered flag by 2.959 seconds.
Hoffman, Welshan and third-place Jadon Frame earned guaranteed starting positions in Saturday night’s $30,000-to-win main event.
Freddie Carpenter and Mike Harrison rounded out the top five.
Hoffman was the fast qualifier for the 63-car field with a lap of 12.778 seconds.
The finish:
Nick Hoffman, Jason Welshan, Jadon Frame, Freddie Carpenter, Mike Harrison, Gordy Gundaker, Bobby Pierce, Kyle Hardy, Bob Gardner, Rusty Schlenk, Josh Boller, Chad Zobrist, Shannon Babb, Jason Zobrist, Ryan Wilson, Luke Bennett, Alan Westling, Jack Riggs.