MANSFIELD — The payday was bigger, thanks again to Dan and Brenda Niss.
The Mansfield Speedway dirt track was better, thanks to owner Matt Tifft and his team, which spent the night making upgrades.
And then racer Nick Hoffman brought the house down on the richest night of the circuit on a picture-perfect night for racing.
Hoffman passed pole sitter Garrett Alberson on a restart with 11 laps to go and held on to win the World of Outlaws Late Model Series Blaster 57 Special feature Saturday before a packed house at the track on the city’s north side.
The winner’s cut was supposed to be $57,000, but local philanthropists Dan and Brenda Niss sweetened the pot for a second night in a row. Their donation guaranteed the winner $100,057.
Even before the Niss family got involved Saturday night, the feature already offered the biggest purse of the season at more than $240,000 in total, with $57,000 going to the winner and $5,700 just to start the event.
Friday’s main event didn’t go off without a hitch, however, as poor track conditions caused lengthy delays. Tifft and his team stayed up most of the night addressing the problems, most notably a hole that formed in the top of Turn 3.
“That really took us by surprise,” Tifft said. “Our track crews worked until about 4 a.m.”
By all accounts, the track was in much better condition by the time the green flag flew Saturday night.
And the 34-year-old Hoffman from Mooresville, N.C., didn’t disappoint.
Alberson held the lead for the first 46 laps, but a yellow flag brought the field together with 11 laps remaining. Hoffman overtook Alberson and held on to win by 1.464 seconds.
“It’s unreal,” Hoffman said. “I came here for the Dirt Million [in 2018], those were my first couple starts in a Late Model, and hell, that was eight years ago now. Been through a lot of stuff, a lot of different car owners, great car owners. If it wasn’t for all of them, I wouldn’t be here either.
“Man, I just don’t know what to say. Thank you Matt Tifft for putting up the extra money.
“Racetrack had character, I had a little bit of a different tire combination on than I feel like the rest of the field. So I knew that the late part of that race, it would come to me. Just pressured and pressured and was able to get by [Alberson].”
“You never know if these days are going to come,” said Hoffman, who picked up his sixth World of Outlaws win of the season and the 17th of his career. “It’s just unbelievable. I’m lost for words.
“I’ll remember this forever.”
Alberson, a 37-year-old resident of Las Cruces, N.M., was in control most of the evening, but couldn’t hold off the hard-charging Hoffman.
“I just made one mistake at the wrong time,” said Alberson, who took home $25,000. “That one really stings.
“I’ve just got to stop making mistakes. I know we can win these races.”
Hudson O’Neal finished third, 3.137 seconds behind Hoffman. O’Neal passed Tyler Erb, Friday’s feature winner, late to collect the $15,000 third-place prize.
“The racetrack was a lot better than it was last night,” O’Neal said. “Me and Ty raced side-by-side for the last 10 laps or whatever it was.
“All in all it was a solid weekend for us.”
(The World of Outlaws Late Model Series contributed to this report. Visit the series website for more information on all of the World of Outlaws racing action.)