Doug Hoffman

Pennsylvania racing veteran Doug Hoffman, 52, began his racing career as a lark in the summer of 1977 at the now defunct Dorney Park Speedway, near his home in Allentown, driving a Late Model #60over to victory his fifth time behind the wheel. He won there and at Evergreen Speedway, another asphalt track, before making the decision to switch to dirt, putting together a small-block Mod to run at Grandview and Big Diamond speedways.

Quite an undertaking for a Pennsy farm boy who knew nothing about racing until he first set foot at Dorney Park. Unlike many of the famous drivers he would go head-to-head with in his later career—Billy Pauch, Jimmy Horton, the Johnson brothers, who all grew up in their fathers’ race car shops—Hoffman was not a second generation driver. But he was good. Real good. And his driving talent got the attention of some very high-profile mentors: notably, Budd Olsen, the former driving great turned chassis builder; and motor man Butch Sentner of Superior Automotive.

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Pennsylvania racing veteran Doug Hoffman, 52, began his racing career as a lark in the summer of 1977 at the now defunct Dorney Park Speedway, near his home in Allentown, driving a Late Model #60over to victory his fifth time behind the wheel. He won there and at Evergreen Speedway, another asphalt track, before making the decision to switch to dirt, putting together a small-block Mod to run at Grandview and Big Diamond speedways.

Quite an undertaking for a Pennsy farm boy who knew nothing about racing until he first set foot at Dorney Park. Unlike many of the famous drivers he would go head-to-head with in his later career—Billy Pauch, Jimmy Horton, the Johnson brothers, who all grew up in their fathers’ race car shops—Hoffman was not a second generation driver. But he was good. Real good. And his driving talent got the attention of some very high-profile mentors: notably, Budd Olsen, the former driving great turned chassis builder; and motor man Butch Sentner of Superior Automotive.

“Budd took me under his wing,” Hoffman remembered. “I was at Big Diamond and Grandview, getting wrecked every week, and he said, ‘Why don’t you come over to Bridgeport, where there’s a lot of room to move around?’ The next season, I had 29 wins.”

That was the beginning of Hoffman’s legendary Modified career.

Subject ID: 81112

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