Nick Hoffman never knows when to stop working.
The Mooresville, NC driver is set for a busy nine days in his home state between helping Elite Chassis customers at World Short Track Championship (Oct. 30-Nov. 1), rolling out his No. 2H Midget for the Justin Arion Hauling Xtreme Outlaw Midget World Championship (Nov. 3-4), and capping off his third World of Outlaws Real American Beer Late Models presented by DIRTVision campaign at World of Outlaws World Finals (Nov. 5-8).
Hoffman gained early notoriety through his success around the DIRTcar UMP Modified ranks, driving his No. 2 Elite Chassis throughout the 2010s and up until the end of 2022, when he announced the transition to Late Model racing with the World of Outlaws.
While Hoffman had to juggle his time between working on his Late Model and Modified, his completed race shop in North Carolina has helped him manage all his work under one roof. Elite Chassis has stayed at the top of UMP Modified racing, with 2025 achievements including Tyler Nicely winning his second DIRTcar Summit Racing Equipment Modified Nationals crown, Cole Falloway taking his first DIRTcar National title, and Charlie Mefford winning Features at the Prairie Dirt Classic at Fairbury and the Dirt Track World Championship.
“I’ve built my whole program around bigger race tracks most of the time,” Hoffman said. “They’re tracks that keep your momentum up, and as a driver, that’s what I was always good at, and still I’m good with Late Model racing like that. So, I’ve built the cars around that mold, and those racetracks fit our style.
“I feel a lot of those guys like Cole (Falloway), Tyler (Nicely), even Charlie (Mefford), and Will Krup, I kind of mentor them a little bit throughout the years of things I would do different, and just help them out on the driving aspect. It obviously shows as far as wins and accolades. I mean, Cole won the national title this year, and at the beginning, I don’t think that was even on his radar. We’ve been really good for the last 10 years of Modified racing, and I tell people, ‘The Late Model side is number one, and my goal in life is to be successful at this. But when I’m at the shop, I’m working on Modifieds.’
He’ll bear wrenches and words of wisdom for Elite Chassis drivers competing for a win in the 10th anniversary of the World Short Track Championship. Hoffman said the three-day event has evolved into a crown jewel with increased purses across all divisions and the stage for lesser-known drivers to make waves in Concord, NC.
“It’s a really cool event,” Hoffman said. “It’s paying more for the Modifieds, up to $8,000 this year, and I’ve been fortunate to win that race a few times. Right down the street, so it’s cool when all my buddies come into town, all my customers are able to see my new shop and hang out with them a little bit is a pretty fun weekend.
“It’s become one of the crown jewels of dirt Modified racing, as far as UMP Modified racing goes. The racetrack’s always really good. I’ll be out there all three nights and just help my guys out, and hopefully we can win that one too. I’m just trying to build my business so that when I’m done racing at the end of my career, I got something to fall back on.”
Next, “The Thrill from Mooresville” will get to strap on his helmet for the fourth year with the Xtreme Outlaw Midgets presented by Toyota for their two-day season finale at Millbridge Speedway on Monday-Tuesday, Nov. 3-4.
Racing at the smallest track on the national Midget Series’ schedule with a 1/7-mile measurement, it serves as the most helpful guide for Hoffman to get refamiliarized with the car and competition before he chases a Golden Driller trophy in January at the 39th Chili Bowl Nationals presented by NOS Energy Drink.
“I’m super excited to run the Midget again,” Hoffman said. “I always say every year that I wanna race it more, and it never works out that way to be able to do that. Most of the time, my car stays in Illinois, I’m not able to race it as much, and it kind of shows once I get to Chili Bowl.
Millbridge, I’ve got a million laps around that place, I kinda know what my expectations are. I feel like I can be pretty competitive and run up front. I’m looking forward mainly to get laps in the thing again to get me prepared for Tulsa. You just never know what you’re gonna get with these Midget kids. They’re all really good, really talented, so you gotta be ready to throw elbows as much as they will.”
Racing against the top drivers in Midget racing at the smallest track on the 2025 schedule, Hoffman’s experience around the family-owned and operated track by his sister and husband-in-law, Ashly and Jeremy Burnett, helps give him an expectation of the curveball that the track can provide in the two nights of season finale.
“You can expect a big cushion right up on the wall, and that’s pretty much where we’ll have to be,” Hoffman said. “But, you’ll get a couple guys that can creep around the infield, but I wouldn’t expect the racetrack to be much different, no matter what. We’re gonna have a big cushion, gonna be banging off the wall, so I’m excited.”
Then, his junior year as a driver with “The Most Powerful Late Models on the Planet” ends when the Tye Twarog Racing machine tackles the 4/10-mile Dirt Track at Charlotte on Wednesday-Saturday, Nov. 5-8.
Hoffman has seen the progress made over the past three years, as he has been a full-time driver on the national tour, priding himself on going head-to-head against the top drivers in the sport.
Hoffman’s 2025 resumé shows uncracked pressure across multiple leagues. He owns five World of Outlaws wins, stands as the only driver to finish top five in every Late Model Feature at Eldora Speedway, won his first DIRTcar Summer Nationals Feature at Wayne County Speedway, and took top-five finishes at the Prairie Dirt Classic and USA Nationals. However, he’s itching to have a crown jewel win in his possession.
“You go to these big races and I don’t care if it’s Late Models, Modified, Street Stocks or whatever, you’re only as good as the guys you race against,” he said. “Those races like the World (100), the (Dirt Late Model) Dream, World Finals, even Volusia, you get all those guys from every Series come in and race, and you got all the best in the world in one place. I’ve always prided myself on that.
“(World Finals) is a very difficult race. I feel like there’s more eyes on that race than probably any other World of Outlaws race, just because it’s at the end of the year, you got all our fans from the Sprint Cars, Late Models, and Big Blocks all in one place. So, winning one race, I think would put me over the threshold of the next tier of a Late Model guy.”
You can see Hoffman enjoying the “Tarheel State’s” fall slate of speed at World Short Track Championship (Oct. 30-Nov. 1), Justin Arion Hauling Xtreme Outlaw Midget World Championship (Nov. 3-4), and World of Outlaws World Finals (Nov. 5-8).
If you can’t make it to the track, you can watch all the action live on DIRTVision – either online or by downloading the DIRTVision App.
