We Speak Cars & Racing

Hoffman Leads Every Lap At Charlotte For First World Finals Win And 20th World Of Outlaws Victory

Published

55 minutes ago

November 8, 2026

Nick Hoffman raises his helmet in Victory Lane at The Dirt Track at Charlotte

Nick Hoffman celebrates his first World Finals win at Charlotte. Photo via the World of Outlaws.

Nick Hoffman finally won his home state’s biggest dirt track race Friday at The Dirt Track at Charlotte, leading all 35 laps from the Bilstein Pole to claim his first World Finals feature and his 20th career World of Outlaws Late Model Series victory, holding off Jonathan Davenport and Ryan Gustin in his final World Finals weekend with Tye Twarog Racing.

Nick Hoffman is finally a winner of his home state’s biggest dirt track race.

The Dirt Track at Charlotte has been the premiere showplace for the sport in the Carolinas from the day it opened in 2000, and Dave Smith Motors World of Outlaws World Finals has been its signature event since 2007. Hoffman has fond memories of attending the event as a fan for several years, and it’s been one of his most wanted trophies in his past four years as a full-timer with the World of Outlaws Late Model Series presented by DIRTVision.

Hoffman has always had a knack for racing at Charlotte, as evidenced by his three World Short Track Championship titles in his DIRTcar UMP Modified days. That open-wheel success had started to translate to the Late Model as of late, as Hoffman entered Friday’s program on a streak of five-straight finishes of seventh or better at World Finals. But when he won his Heat Race and drew the Bilstein Pole for the Feature, Hoffman knew he had his best chance yet to finally break through.

Hoffman didn’t let the opportunity pass him by. The NOS Energy Drink No. 9 was the class of the field throughout the 35-lapper, leading every circuit on the way to the checkered flag. Ryan Gustin stayed within a second of Hoffman to keep him honest, particularly in traffic, but he never got close enough to go for a race-winning move. Jonathan Davenport got around Gustin for second with four laps remaining, but by then, it was too late to get to run down Hoffman.

In his final World of Outlaws weekend as the driver at Tye Twarog Racing, Hoffman climbed out of the car in Victory Lane surrounded by Twarog and plenty of other friends and family members.

“I have a couple great memories of sitting in those grandstands watching Scott Bloomquist win the Colossal 100 here,” Hoffman recalled. “And then Jimmy Owens was so good. Hell, there was one year that Jason Feger came down here and put on a show running above the cushion. That’s one thing tonight, they did a hell of a job to turn this racetrack around. If you would have told me four or five hours ago that it would turn out like this, I would have called you a liar. Pretty wild that it got slick and didn’t get rough.”

Behind Hoffman, Davenport and Gustin, Ricky Thornton Jr.’s bid for an eighth-straight Late Model win ended in fourth, while Chris Madden rounded out the top five.

RACE NOTES:

Chris Madden won Heat 1.

Dallon Murty won STAKT Products Heat 2.

Ryan Gustin won Keyser Manufacturing Heat 3.

Chris Ferguson won Jarrett Rifles Heat 4.

Nick Hoffman won WIX Filters Heat 5.

Trey Mills won Heat 6.

Tim McCreadie, Drake Troutman and Ethan Wilson won the Last Chance Showdowns.

Nick Hoffman won the Bilstein Pole Award.

Ricky Thornton Jr. won the FOX Factory Hard Charger Award.

Daulton Wilson won the MD3 Rookie of the Race Award.

Jonathan Davenport was the Air National Guard Second-Place Finisher.

Ryan Gustin was the WIX Filters Third-Place Finisher.

Ricky Thornton Jr. was the ARP Fourth-Place Finisher.

Chris Madden was the MSD Fifth-Place Finisher.

Dallon Murty was the Swift Springs Sixth-Place Finisher.

Max McLaughlin was the Penske Racing Shocks Seventh-Place Finisher.

Brandon Sheppard was VP Racing Fuels Eighth-Place Finisher.

Bobby Pierce was the COMP Cams 10th-Place Finisher.

Ethan Dotson was the Quarter Master 11th-Place Finisher.

Tim McCreadie was the Cometic Gaskets 12th-Place Finisher.

Jordan Koehler was the Quarter Master 13th-Place Finisher.

Jadon Frame was the ARP 14th-Place Finisher.

Kyle Bronson was the Arizona Sport Shirts 18th-Place Finisher.

Feature (35 Laps): 1. 9-Nick Hoffman[1]; 2. 49-Jonathan Davenport[10]; 3. 19R-Ryan Gustin[3]; 4. 20RT-Ricky Thornton Jr[18]; 5. 44-Chris Madden[6]; 6. 13-Dallon Murty[4]; 7. 8M-Max McLaughlin[11]; 8. 1S-Brandon Sheppard[13]; 9. 1-Tyler Erb[8]; 10. 32-Bobby Pierce[12]; 11. 74X-Ethan Dotson[25]; 12. 9M-Tim McCreadie[19]; 13. 114-Jordan Koehler[15]; 14. 81F-Jadon Frame[16]; 15. 5-Drake Troutman[20]; 16. 58V-Daulton Wilson[26]; 17. 28-Dennis Erb Jr[27]; 18. 40B-Kyle Bronson[9]; 19. 6-Hudson O’Neal[7]; 20. 8-Kyle Strickler[17]; 21. 14-Trey Mills[2]; 22. 5J-Braden Jones[14]; 23. 19-Dustin Sorensen[28]; 24. 1Z-Logan Zarin[30]; 25. 11-Austin Smith[23]; 26. 16-Ben Watkins[24]; 27. 5W-Ethan Wilson[21]; 28. 11R-Josh Rice[22]; 29. 20TC-Tristan Chamberlain[29]; 30. 22-Chris Ferguson[5]

Yankowski Holds Off Williamson In Charlotte Thriller To Clinch Super DIRTcar Title As Youngest Champion

Published

46 minutes ago

November 8, 2026

We Speak Media

Alex Yankowski celebrates the Super DIRTcar Series championship on the podium at Charlotte

Alex Yankowski, right, lifts his Super DIRTcar Series championship trophy at The Dirt Track at Charlotte. Photo via the Super DIRTcar Series.

Alex Yankowski made his plan pay off Friday night at The Dirt Track at Charlotte, beating Mat Williamson by just 0.036 seconds to win at the World Finals and mathematically lock up the 2026 Super DIRTcar Series championship, setting him up to be crowned the youngest champion in Series history on Saturday night.

Alex Yankowski had a plan in 2026. Just win races and the Super DIRTcar Series points would take care of themselves.

That’s exactly what the Covington Township, PA driver did Friday night, narrowly holding off Mat Williamson at The Dirt Track at Charlotte for his second Dave Smith Motors World Finals victory and fifth Series triumph of the season.

With the win, “Kid Rocket” has mathematically secured the 2026 championship and will officially be crowned the youngest champion in Series history on Saturday night.

“What a sigh of relief,” Yankowski said. “To get this championship is just an unbelievable feat. It’s always been the Northern guys beating up on us. I know Doug Hoffman got one. There’s a lot of people that aren’t with us that I wish were today.

“I’m really proud of this whole group. We’re going to keep plugging. To win it and to clinch it is something special.”

Felix Roy, the SRI Performance and Stock Car Steel Pole Award winner, led the field to the green in the 30-lap Feature, beating Jack Lehner into Turns 1 and 2. But behind the Napierville, QC driver, it didn’t take long for Yankowski to start moving forward.

Yankowski had the runner-up spot by Turn 2, while Williamson followed to take over third by the time they completed Lap 1. Williamson lurked behind the top two, but in the first half of the race, Roy and Yankowski battled for the top spot.

Roy played defense through the race’s first half, holding off challenges from the No. 84Y, whether it was Yankowski trying to power around the outside, or diamonding the corner and trying to pass Roy low. While Roy held off every attempt, things changed for the 2023 Series Rookie of the Year when a caution came out on Lap 15 for Paul Mancini.

When the race resumed, Roy fired on the outside lane, but Yankowski started better and he pulled even with the No. 91 as they entered Turn 1. Roy held off Yankowski again as they exited Turn 2, but Yankowski found his opportunity as they raced down the backstretch.

Roy slid in front of Yankowski in Turn 4, trying to take his momentum away. But once Yankowski saw Roy slide up, he crossed over to the bottom and stormed to the lead as they completed Lap 16.

Yankowski raced to a full straightaway advantage through the next 10 laps, but when he caught lap traffic, it allowed Roy and Williamson to close in. And for the second straight night, Williamson made a late charge for the win.

The three-time Series champion found momentum on the inside lane while battling Roy in traffic, diving underneath Roy as they exited Turn 2 to take over second on Lap 29. Then, Williamson set his sights on Yankowski, who was struggling to get by Francois Bellemare, a lap car.

On the race’s final lap, Williamson continued that momentum in Turns 1 and 2, pulling up to the middle of Yankowski’s car. But it wasn’t enough to take the lead. However, Williamson had one more shot as they entered Turns 3 and 4.

Yankowski chose the bottom as they went into the corner, and Williamson followed at first. But midway through Turns 3 and 4, Williamson switched to the outside, trying to power around Yankowski as they exited the corner. Williamson got one last burst of speed off Turn 4, but it wasn’t enough as Yankowski held on to win the $10,000 prize by 0.036 seconds.

“I didn’t know where to be (in traffic),” Yankowski said. “[Bellemare] was sliding himself the whole time so I couldn’t slide him. I couldn’t get under him. And Williamson did a great job trying to take advantage of that.

“I beat myself up all winter long about things I felt I could’ve been better about, and this race team has been unbelievable.”

Williamson settled for second, narrowly missing a win for the second straight night. It’s his fourth-straight top-two Series finish.

Mike Maresca earned his first Series podium of the season, crossing the line third after starting 12th.

Felix Roy finished fourth after leading the first 15 laps, and Ryan Godown rounded out the top five.

UP NEXT: The Super DIRTcar Series returns to The Dirt Track at Charlotte on Saturday, Nov. 7, for the 2026 season finale at the Dave Smith Motors World of Outlaws World Finals. Drivers will compete in a 40-lap Feature, paying $15,000-to-win.

RACE NOTES:
JAM Performance Fastest Hot Lap Award: Jimmy Phelps
Billy Whittaker Cars and Trux Quick Time Award: Mat Williamson
Bicknell Racing Products Heat Race 1 Winner: Mat Williamson
DIG Race Products Heat Race 2 Winner: Tyler Dippel
Wix Filters Heat Race 3 Winner: Alex Yankowski
The Greatest Store on Dirt Heat Race 4 Winner: Felix Roy
SRI Performance/Stock Car Steel Pole Award Winner: Felix Roy
Behrent’s Performance Warehouse One Lap to Go: Alex Yankowski

Super DIRTcar Series Feature (30 Laps): 1. 84Y-Alex Yankowski[4]; 2. 88-Mat Williamson[3]; 3. 7MM-Michael Maresca[12]; 4. 91-Felix Roy[1]; 5. 26-Ryan Godown[5]; 6. 70A-Alex Payne[14]; 7. 1-Tyler Dippel[6]; 8. 98H-Jimmy Phelps[10]; 9. 2-Jack Lehner[2]; 10. 3-Justin Haers[13]; 11. 12-Darren Smith[8]; 12. 35-Mike Mahaney[7]; 13. 33-Eddie Strada[11]; 14. 21A-Peter Britten[15]; 15. 28-Michael Trautschold[22]; 16. 4M-Logan Watt[21]; 17. 99L-Larry Wight[23]; 18. 6-Matt Stangle[9]; 19. 29-Ryan Krachun[30]; 20. 165-Rex King Jr[17]; 21. 7M-Paul Mancini[18]; 22. 9S-Matt Sheppard[27]; 23. 15X-Justin Stone[29]; 24. 11-Matt Caprara[25]; 25. 21M-Bob Mcgannon[26]; 26. 35B-Francois Bellemare[24]; 27. 25-Erick Rudolph[28]; 28. (DNF) 16-Louden Reimert[19]; 29. (DNF) 9-Tim McCreadie[16]; 30. (DNF) 0-Glenn Styres[20]