PHENIX CITY, Ala. — In his first visit to East Alabama Motor Speedway, Nick Hoffman wasted no time making it feel like home.
With Friday’s Chattahoochee Clash being the track’s first World of Outlaws Late Model Series presented by DIRTVision race in 20 years, Hoffman was one of several drivers turning their first laps around the “Playground of Power.”
But the Mooresville, N.C., driver looked like anything but an East Alabama rookie as he wrestled the lead away from Daulton Wilson with three laps remaining to win his fourth World of Outlaws race of 2026.
“For me, I’ve raced at so many new racetracks across the country, I don’t know what to expect as far as perfect,” Hoffman said. “Here, you just kind of go back to your notebook, look at places that are similar and try and circle those. They did a great job, can’t believe I’ve never been here before. It’s only five and a half hours from the house for me, just never been here.”
For most of the 40-lap contest, it looked like Wilson was on his way to the first World of Outlaws win of his career and his first triumph behind the wheel of the Big Frog/Viper Motorsports No. 58V.
Hoffman challenged him down low going into Turn 1 lap after lap, but Wilson held strong on the top each time. Between lap traffic, restarts, and anything else East Alabama threw at him, it appeared nothing could keep Wilson out of the lead.
But Hoffman’s presence behind him never wavered, and that meant he was ready to pounce when the opportunity came.
Coming to the two-to-go signal, Wilson jumped the cushion in Turns 3 and 4, leaving enough room for Hoffman to slip by on the bottom. Wilson got back in his rhythm in the final two laps, but it was too late, as he could only watch Hoffman drive home to the 15th World of Outlaws win of his career.
“There late in the race, after that last restart, I got him to where he committed to that top,” Hoffman said. “I just kept bombing it in there just to show him my nose in [Turns] 1 and 2 thinking maybe he would peel off that top a little bit in [Turns] 3 and 4 and he never did. I just pressured him enough to have him make a mistake there. I knew he would be pretty good here, this track is pretty similar to Fayetteville [Motor Speedway], which is what he grew up on.”
Wilson knew he had one hand around the trophy in the closing laps until ultimately falling short. However, his second-place finish continued his recent hot streak that now stands at five-straight top 10s, and Wilson remains confident that the his first Series win is on the way.
“I was leading going down the back straightaway and all my warning lights came on,” Wilson said. “I just lifted and went down there and missed the racetrack. We’ve got to figure out what’s going on there, that kind of sucks.”
Friday’s race signaled a big step in the right direction for Tim McCreadie, who finished third for his first podium since the first World of Outlaws night of Federated Auto Parts DIRTcar Nationals. Jonathan Davenport and Chris Madden completed the top five.
The finish:
Feature (40 Laps): 1. 9-Nick Hoffman[3]; 2. 58V-Daulton Wilson[1]; 3. 9M-Tim McCreadie[2]; 4. 49-Jonathan Davenport[4]; 5. 44-Chris Madden[5]; 6. 22*-Drake Troutman[9]; 7. 12-Ashton Winger[6]; 8. 32-Bobby Pierce[13]; 9. 16-Sam Seawright[8]; 10. 74X-Ethan Dotson[12]; 11. 19R-Ryan Gustin[20]; 12. 14-Trey Mills[7]; 13. 1-Tyler Erb[18]; 14. 49M-Luke Morey[19]; 15. 28-Dennis Erb Jr[16]; 16. 20TC-Tristan Chamberlain[15]; 17. 1Z-Logan Zarin[11]; 18. 19-Dustin Sorensen[14]; 19. T1-Todd Morrow[21]; 20. B1-Brent Larson[23]; 21. 7-Tyler Thomason[22]; 22. 55E-Eli Johnson[24]; 23. 44D-Dalton Cook[17]; 24. 22-Chris Ferguson[10]
