Doug Hoffman Beats Stewart & Blaney At New Egypt
New Egypt, NJ (August 22) - Doug Hoffman of Allentown, PA, made his second
win at New Egypt Speedway a big one, beating NASCAR Winston Cup stars Tony
Stewart and Dave Blaney and a bevy of the Northeast's best short-track stars
to hit for a $6,500 score before a capacity crowd in Thursday night's Down &
Dirty 100, sponsored by CARQUEST Auto Parts.
"It's really hard to beat the home track advantage here but Dieter (Schmidt)
gave me a perfect car," said Hoffman, an infrequent New Egypt competitor who
last won at the central Jersey half-mile in 1999. "Halfway through the race,
it looked like the middle groove was starting to turn brown again. So I
tried it - and was able to drive by everyone, running the middle of the
track. Man, was that car perfect!"
Sam Martz and Keith Brightbill, in Bucky Kell's #2GR, jockeyed back and
forth for the early lead until defending track champ Keith Hoffman assumed
the point on lap 16. Brother Doug Hoffman, meanwhile, was pressing in third
and on lap 24 it became the Hoffman show, with Doug usurping the lead and
Keith holding second. In a side-by-side battle for the memory banks, the top
two reversed positions on lap 39, with Frank Cozze briefly demoting Doug to
third. But Doug would have none of it, and on lap 56 Doug found that golden
middle groove and got out front to stay. With everyone battling behind him,
Doug stretched his advantage to as much as a full straight in the last half,
while Jimmy Horton - driving Rick Grosso's backup car - and Cozze, Keith
Hoffman and Keith Brightbill swapped spots. At the double checkers, it was
all Doug, followed by Horton, Keith Brightbill, a late-blooming Tim Tanner
Jr. and Billy Pauch in the Biever #114, rebounding from a lap 5 pileup.
Brian Weaver, Kenny Brightbill, Keith Hoffman, Roger Laureno and Rick Grosso
completed the top 10.
The night's big draws, Tony Stewart and Dave Blaney, didn't fare as well.
Starting 15th and 16th on the grid, both were eliminated in different
crashes - Blaney on lap 39 and Stewart five laps later. Both spent time
talking to the fans prior to racing, rehashing stories from their
dirt-trackin' days; during the evening, Stewart did a live broadcast from
the track for QVC.
A field of 43 Modifieds from six states competed in the night's activities.
Heat races were won by Keith Brightbill, Billy Pauch, Frank Cozze and Doug
Hoffman. Rick Grosso and Tom Hager took the pair of consolation races.
Fastest time trialer was Kenny Brightbill.
The night's companion Super Stock Invitational was won by Somerset, NJ's
Mario Page, his eighth of the year. Brother Rich Page, Al Cheney III, Ron
Coverly and Brian Wagner chased the invincible Mario to the stripe.
Racing returns to New Egypt this Saturday night, August 24, with AMSOIL
Synthetic Lubricants sponsoring a four-division card of big-block Modifieds,
Sportsman, Super Stocks and SS Sprints. Also on the August 24: the
long-awaited Match of the Mouths, a match race between announcers Nick Leach
and Pete Wortman. Gates open at 4 pm, with first race at 6. Adult admission
is $15, children 7-12 are $5, and kids 6 and under are free. For more
information, call the speedway office at (609) 758-1900.
Carquest Down & Dirty Modified 100
New Egypt Speedway - New Egypt, NJ
Thursday - August 22, 2002
FIN/START/CAR#/DRIVER/TEAM/SPONSOR/LAPS COMPLETED
1/8/5/Doug Hoffman/Allentown, PA/Lincoln Auto Body/100
2/11/H24/Jimmy Horton/Whitehouse Sta., NJ/Grosso Racing/R&R Land
Developers/100
3/2/2GR/Keith Brightbill/Sinking Spring, PA/Statewide Highway Safety/100
4/4/18/Tim Tanner Jr./Ivyland, PA/Tanner Bros. Dairy Store/100
5/13/114/Billy Pauch/Frenchtown, NJ/BRB Racing/Mrs. T's Pierogies/100
6/12/9R/Brian Weaver/Windsor, NY/Decker Logging/Quality Hardwoods/100
7/9/19/Kenny Brightbill/Sinking Spring, PA/Tabloid Graphics/IMI/100
8/5/6/Keith Hoffman/Whitehall, PA/Berman Freightliner/100
9/3/36/Roger Laureno/Ivyland, PA/Tanner Bros. Dairy Store/100
10/24/R24/Rick Grosso/Belle Mead, NJ/R&R Land Developers/99
11/25/44C/Jimmy Chester/Newfield, NJ/C&H Motorsports/H&R Flooring/99
12/26/301/Darren McCaughey/New Egypt, NJ/Rogers Appliance/99
13/21/54/Eddie Bohn/Freehold, NJ/Reid Sod Farm/Downs Ford/99
14/17/59/Tad Cox/Dublin, PA/CTC Construction/99
15/30/8/Rich Scagliotta/Bound Brook, NJ/Adamsville Maintenance/99
16/19/8M/Steve Moss/Flemington, NJ/Adamsville Maintenance/99
17/6/58S/Shawn Reimert/Oley, PA/Kochel Equipment Co./99
18/18/11/Gary Velenger/Hamilton, NJ/A1 Economy/Flesch Roofing/93
19/27/44H/Gary Hager/Stewartsville, NJ/Johnny's Truck Stop/86
20/7/44/Frank Cozze/Wind Gap, PA/Carquest Auto Parts/78
21/10/2GRX/G.R. Smith/Folsom, NJ/Statewide Highway Safety/59
22/23/43/Tom Hager/Easton, PA/Fatzinger's Used Auto Parts/59
23/15/20/Tony Stewart/Rushville, IN/Team Goewey/GE Silicone XST/44
24/16/74/Dave Blaney/Hartford, OH/Knoth & Hastings/Smith Bros./39
25/20/26/Ryan Godown/Ringoes, NJ/Venus Tile & Marble/39
26/22/7JR/Jimmy Reppert/Hamburg, PA/Harmony Hill Assisted Living/26
27/1/3/Sam Martz/Whitehouse Sta., NJ/Tri-State Locating Svc./Cedar Fence
Dist./24
28/29/18P/John Pakenham/No. Brunswick, NJ/Midco Waste Systems/14
29/14/704/Ricky Elliott/Seaford, DE/Trenton Mack Sales/9
30/28/02/Brian Truppi/Branchburg, NJ/Speed Palace/2
EVENT SUMMARY:
LAP LEADERS: Martz (1-5), Kth.Brightbill (6-7), Martz (8-15), K.Hoffman
(16-24), D.Hoffman (25-38), K.Hoffman (39-55), D.Hoffman (56-100).
FAST TIME: Kenny Brightbill (17.329)
HEAT WINNERS: Keith Brightbill, Pauch, Cozze, D. Hoffman
CONSI WINNERS: T. Hager, R. Grosso
HARD CHARGER: Rich Scagliotta
TOTAL CARS ENTERED: 43
DNQ: Kenny Huchko/Jackson, NJ, Brian Payne/Binghampton, NY, Ryan
Watt/Phoenixville, PA, Doug Liedl/Hillsborough, NJ, Gene Stravinsky/New
Egypt, NJ, Dennis Price/Prospect Park, PA, Scott Reid/Freehold, NJ, David
Van Horn/Harmony, NJ, Wade Hendrickson/Lawrenceville, NJ, Scott
VanGorder/Somerset, NJ, Donny Radd/Ringoes, NJ, Bob Worthington/Mt. Laurel,
NJ, Mike Lyons/Hightstown, NJ.
SUPER STOCK INVITATIONAL (15 laps): 1.Mario Page 2.Rich Page 3.Al Cheney
III 4.Ron Coverly 5.Brian Wagner 6.Wayne Pfeil 7.Bill Miscoski 8.Jon Hewitt
9.Brian Nixon 10.Ron Barnstead 11.Kevin Bifulco 12.Tom Bentz 13.Jason Saredy
14.Weldon Collier 15.Jake Roveda 16.Jim Hewitt 17.Allan Hurley 18.George
Quinlan 19.Mick Search.