CONCORD, N.C. — In each of his first three seasons on tour with the World of Outlaws Late Model Series presented by DIRTVision, Nick Hoffman has taken another step toward the top of late model racing.
His rookie campaign in 2023 included his first series win and the MD3 Rookie of the Year Award. The following year, he upped the ante to five victories. Then in 2025, five more World of Outlaws wins followed, as well as the inaugural Coltman Farms Racing Cup title, a runner-up in the overall standings and podium finishes in the sport’s two biggest races, the dirt late model Dream and the World 100.
After coming up 56 points short of Bobby Pierce in the final points tally, Hoffman believes he’s capable of finding even more speed and dethroning the “Smooth Operator” in 2026. The Tye Twarog Racing crew has been working toward that goal since before the end of the 2025 season, and it’s a grind that won’t stop until it’s time to head south to Volusia Speedway Park in January.
“You can never be prepared enough, I guess,” Hoffman said. “We have one car sitting here completely ready that’s in pretty good shape, and we’re building new cars too right now. I feel like our stuff’s in decent shape, but you can never be prepared enough. I’ve got to get more crew guys and more crew help, that would help our program. But crew guys are the toughest thing to find right now.”
When the season commences at DIRTcar Sunshine Nationals (Thursday-Saturday, Jan. 22-24) and Federated Auto Parts DIRTcar Nationals (Thursday-Saturday, Feb. 12-14), Hoffman and the rest of the World of Outlaws roster will be in for a new, yet familiar challenge. Shortly after the tour left Volusia in 2025, truckloads of dark gumbo clay were brought in to recreate the surface that was heralded by drivers and fans alike in the past.
While no super late models have turned a competitive lap on the new dirt, the track has hosted plenty of thrilling DIRTcar UMP Modified races during “Fab 5” weekly competition and at the Reutimann Memorial. Given Hoffman’s integral role in the modified world as owner of Elite Chassis, he’s received plenty of feedback from customers about what lies ahead at the “World’s Fastest Half Mile.”
“The guys I’ve talked to that have either made laps or raced on it say it’s more similar to what we had before, which is good,” Hoffman said. “I don’t know what to expect. We had a really good package there for what we’ve been racing on for the last couple years, and I think it’s going to change our program just a little bit. But at the end of the day, the infield wall and the outfield wall are still in the same spot, and I’ve been able to win there throughout the last 13 years now.
“I’m excited to get back either way, but I think they did a great job with the surface, it looks great. I do hope it’s closer to what we had before where the track would fall off more drastic. Back in the day, it used to start off Mach speed, probably the fastest racetrack we would go to in the country and then slow down two or three seconds. I think that’s when the racing was best, and hopefully it does that for us this year.”
Following a quick trip further south to Hendry County Motorsports Park, four of the next five weekends in the spring will be contested at tracks across the southeast. That itinerary would have been nightmare fuel for a past version of Hoffman considering his historically lackluster results on red clay. But Hoffman flipped that script last fall with his first late model win in the south at Needmore Speedway and a strong weekend to close the year at World of Outlaws World Finals, which has him feeling much more optimistic about his chances of starting the year on the right foot.
“A couple of those places, East Alabama [Motor Speedway], Volunteer [Speedway], I’ve never even been to, so it’s hard to say, but I just feel like our stuff is pretty good right now in any situation,” Hoffman said. “It’s just capitalizing on some of the bad nights. There were a couple places that you run in the 20th to 25th range, and you can’t let that happen.”
Aside from a potential championship bid and plenty more race wins, there’s one more goal at the top of Hoffman’s list going into the new season – winning one of late model racing’s crown jewels. He’s had numerous close calls, most notably in the 2024 Prairie Dirt Classic that saw a last-lap lead swap leave Pierce overjoyed and Hoffman heartbroken.
Some call Hoffman the best active late model driver without a crown jewel on their resume. While he’s proud of that recognition, he would love nothing more than to remove his name from consideration in 2026.
“It’s probably one of my main priorities,” Hoffman said. “Nowadays, there’s eight or 10 of them in the country, and I feel like we can win any of them now. There was a couple of them that, if you asked me a year ago or two years ago, I’d be like, ‘Yeah, there’s probably no shot we’ll win that.’ But now, being as good as we’ve been at Eldora [Speedway], Fairbury [Speedway]. For instance, I’ve won a lot of Mod races [at Fairbury], but never figured I’d be great there, especially in a Late Model. It’s just not my style of racing, but I’ve been up front both years there.
“It’s very difficult to win those races, but I feel like we’ve been really close and knocking on the door. Just need a couple things to go our way to actually get it done.”
