Suffice it to say, then, Hoffman’s credentials qualified him for the job at NASCAR Tech. Pro Motor Engines faced an uncertain future when its owner, longtime NASCAR team owner Mark Smith, died in 2017. Hoffman realized his best chance to stick around the sport he loved was to put his expertise to use in a new way — teaching.
“One of my students just told me that this spec engine program is way better than any other program that they’ve been in, because it’s so hands-on,” Hoffman told SPEED SPORT. “We’re building race engines and they get to see the cars racing (on television) using engines that they’ve actually built. I tell them that, you know, to be able to assemble engines for a living is awesome. The only bad thing is that your life goes by so fast, because we enjoy doing this every day.”
Hoffman’s enjoyment is twofold: Like crew chiefs and driver coaches tasked with developing young hotshoes, Hoffman is responsible for educating the next generation of engine-building legends — masterminds who could evoke memories of past engine shop idols like Yates and Waddell Wilson.
Hoffman also has a personal interest in the program. His son, Nick, races dirt late models and modifieds. Under the hood of Hoffman’s machines is an engine built by his father’s students. Through Labor Day, the students’ engines fared quite well for the 28-year-old Hoffman, who guided them to an incredible 32 DIRTcar modified victories this season.
“Darrell lets our students physically do everything on these engines,” Dodson said. “And, then, Darrell was building Nick’s engines at his house where he does engine work. He suggested that we let the students do that. So, we took on their program and we won three championships in 2019 with Nick.”
The younger Hoffman — who also designed his own chassis — garnered his third straight Summit Modified Nationals crown this year thanks to a series-best 19 victories.
“It’s unbelievable,” Darrell Hoffman said. “To be in a situation where, you know, we’ve raced modifieds in the Midwest, but I think that Nick took it to a totally different level. To win a championship and still be able to build the engines and have them be that reliable, and to have the students be involved in it, seeing how they enjoy being able to watch the success and be part of it, is just awesome.”
At this point, it’s a bigger surprise if Nick Hoffman doesn’t win a dirt modified race in which he competes.
“Having Nick on board, using our engines and watching the way that he carries himself is great,” Dodson told SPEED SPORT. “I mean, he’s getting noticed all over the country for what he’s done. We’re just glad that he wants to fly our flag. Between Darrell and Nick, they just have this great midwestern work ethic. They exemplify that work ethic. They’re both dedicated to being the best.”
In addition to his son’s on-track exploits, Darrell Hoffman’s daughter, Ashley, owns Millbridge Speedway — a one-sixth-mile dirt oval in nearby Salisbury, N.C., known for producing the best in outlaw kart racing.
“It’s a family affair on the race track and in the engine shop,” Darrell Hoffman noted.
The extended family, Hoffman said, is made up of customers from a cornucopia of different racing series. Nick Hoffman’s dirt-racing exploits only encompass a small amount of NASCAR Tech’s scope.
Sprint car teams as well as those competing in the NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour, the ARCA Menards Series and the ARCA Menards Series’ East and West regional divisions lean on the expertise of NASCAR Technical Institute’s best and brightest to power their cars to success from coast to coast. So do Burt and Jason Myers, two of Bowman Gray Stadium’s preeminent modified racers.
Don’t let the “spec engine” part of the program’s name fool you, either. There’s more to it than building and maintaining one type of power plant.
“It’s called the spec engine program only because when this originally started, it (consisted of students building) only a spec engine,” Hoffman said. “Then, when I came here, I started venturing out to bring in other forms of racing to make it a basic race engine program. Engine shops are generally going to do a variety of race engines. And that’s what I kind of wanted to do — something along the lines of, ‘Let’s make it like a regular race engine job.’”
What started as a way to help students learn basic engine-building skills morphed into a program unlike anything that preceded it.
And, while Larson’s first NASCAR touring series title certainly boosted his career nearly nine years ago, it might’ve had an even bigger impact on Dodson and NASCAR Technical Institute’s fortunes.
“It was pretty special. That trophy is still in the shop,” Dodson said. “That’s one you don’t forget.”