By Dick Jordan
The Hoffman Auto Racing family, whose patriarch Gus Hoffman was inducted into the USAC Hall of Fame Saturday, will be seeking its third “Tony Hulman Classic” victory Wednesday when the AMSOIL USAC National Sprint Cars visit the Terre Haute (Ind.) Action Track.
It’s the 44th running of the historic race and series point leader Brady Bacon will be the driver seeking Dynamics, Ind.’s third win. Rich Vogler won it in 1989 and Jerry Coons Jr. in 2010.
Dynamics, Inc. leads all USAC Sprint car owners in terms of career feature wins, with Bacon recording their 83rd win in February in Ocala, Fla. The team history of victory dates back to Jim Hemmings’ victory at Salem, Ind. in 1961.
Wednesday night’s race finds Bacon holding a seven-point lead over Bryan Clauson, who will also seek his first “Tony Hulman Classic” victory. Dave Darland, the 1993 winner, is currently third in the standings.
Bacon should be among pre-race favorites, due to the fact that he finished second behind Coons in last year’s 30-lapper.
2014 AMSOIL USAC National Sprint Car Standings: 1-Brady Bacon-459; 2-Bryan Clauson-452; 3-Dave Darland-431; 4-Tracy Hines-425; 5-Justin Grant-412; 6-Chase Stockon-409; 7-Jon Stanbrough-396; 8-Hunter Schuerenberg-367; 9-Chris Windom-314; 10-C.J. Leary-274.