OFFICIAL PRESS RELEASE
ROCKFORD SPEEDWAY – NSTC
Contact: Kevin Ramsell (608) 219-5912, Gregg McKarns (815) 633-1500
HOFFMAN READY TO DEFEND HIS NSTC TITLE
By:
Kevin Ramsell
Wednesday, August 30, 2006 (Loves Park, IL) – Eddie Hoffman is getting
ready to come back and once again defend his Chicago International
Trucks National Short Track Championship at the Rockford
Speedway.
The
Wheaton, IL driver is a three-time and defending NSTC champion.
Hoffman picked up the titles in 2001, 2004 and 2005. He is hoping to
become the first driver since Steve Carlson to win it three years in a
row. Carlson, a seven-time champion, won NSTC three times in a row
from 1998-2000.
“That’s always a special race,” Hoffman recently stated. “It’s close
to home and the National Short Track Championships have been around
ever since I have been playing in Deery’s playground there in the
back. It’s been cool, a good Series (CRA Super Series) and has
paid good money over the last few years and had plenty of cars.”
Last
year, Hoffman led wire-to-wire in the 250-lap main event. But, it
wasn’t an easy task for the Chicagoland veteran. He lost his power
steering within the first 25-laps of the event.
“Good
thing I still pick up a hockey stick,” Hoffman recalled. “I really
didn’t think I was going to make it. We really didn’t have time to
make any changes. If you go to the back at Rockford, you can pretty
much forget about it. So I had to decide to tough it out to make it or
we weren’t going to make it. I had to drive the car differently than I
wanted to.”
Hoffman held off challenges from Eddie Van Meter, Steve Rubeck, and
Jeff Lane to pick up his second NSTC title in a row, third overall.
Hoffman is looking forward to the 41st Annual Chicago International
Trucks National Short Track Championships. This year’s event returns
to the traditional 200-lap format that was used from 1966-87.
“They
have shortened it this year, which I like to see the long ones where
you have to manage your tires and brakes,” Hoffman stated. “It just
puts the pressure on to get up there right away. Rockford is a
difficult track and it’s hard to pass on. There is not a lot of
grip. It’s largely a driver’s track. You got to have a good car but
the driver comes into play there quite a bit.”
A
total of ten divisions will be competing over the three-day event on
September 22-24 at the Rockford Speedway. A total of 689 laps of
feature racing will be taking place along with qualifying and last
chances races. The CRA Super Series, Mid-American Series, and
the Big 8 Series are among the ten divisions competing.
Event
and ticket information can be found at
