Dave Hoffman

This is the first in a series if articles profiling the 2015 inductees into the Butler County Sports Hall of Fame. Dave Hoffman was all about winning — 299 times, to be exact.The longtime Late Model driver and multiple track champion will be inducted posthumously into the Butler County Sports Hall of Fame during the organization’s annual banquet April 25 at the Butler Days Inn.Hoffman died in 2012. Lernerville Speedway honored his legacy the year after by allowing his son, Bobby Hoffman, to drive current Late Model standout Alex Ferree’s Late Model around the track for a lap with Saundi Hoffman officially “flagging” win No. 300.Saundi is the late Hoffman’s daughter and manned the flag stand for many years at Marion Center.“Dave could handle just about anything,” said Tub Tessean, one of many car owners Hoffman drove for. “He was just a good, jolly person all of the time. He never seemed to get down about anything.”And the former Renfrew resident won often.Hoffman never owned his own race car and “he drove for 25 to 30 car owners” at one time or another, his daughter said.Hoffman won the Late Model track championship at Lernerville from 1975-77 and is one of only eight drivers in Lernerville history to win three successive points titles. He was the track’s 1991 points champion as well.He also earned points titles at Raceway 7, Schmuckers Speedway and North Hills Speedway. Hoffman claimed the Pittsburgh Circle Track Club championship in 1986, 1988 and 1989.“He and I got together at the North Hills track,” Tessean recalled. “My driver back then didn’t always come to the track and I was going to drive the car myself. I happened along Dave and he asked ‘Where’s your wheel man?’“When I told him he wasn’t coming, Dave said that if I needed any help, to let him know. He drove for me that night, then the next night.“He became my regular driver starting the following season,” Tessean added.Hoffman and Tessean teamed to win points titles at Lernerville and once won 15 features in one season.“We were leading in points at four different tracks during the same year,” Tessean recalled. “We ran North Hills on Thursdays, Lernerville on Fridays, Knox on Saturdays and Wayne County (Ohio) on Sundays.“Dave simply knew how to win. He excelled on the track. There was a time when all we did was race. We’d go race at Morgantown (W.Va.) on Wednesdays ... It was non-stop for a while.”Tessean said they competed in up to 85 feature races in one season.Bob Brockett was another car owner Hoffman drove for.“He won a couple of (points) titles with me,” Brockett said. “He was good. He had talent, that’s all.“Dave could work on a car, too. He understood cars. I had some drivers and that’s all they did. Dave could do just about everything.”Dale Berndt worked on Brockett’s cars and remembered Hoffman as “always being in a good mood.”“He was competitive, though. He wanted to win all of the time,” Berndt said. “He knew what to feel for in a car and he could express what he wanted in terms of set-up.“He recognized certain things at certain tracks. He was probably the best at Lernerville that way.”Hoffman began racing in 1965 and maintained his career for nearly five decades. His 19 Late Model wins at Lernerville remain among the track’s all-time top ten in that division.Hoffman also received the Sportsmanship Award and Milestone in Racing Award from Lernerville Speedway during his career.The irony of Hoffman’s career is that he rolled and totaled the first car he ever raced on a dirt track.He more than made up for that.Tickets for the Hall of Fame dinner are $30 in advance, $35 at the door. Tickets are available at Bill’s Beer Barn and Snack-N-Pack in Butler, Moses Jewelers at the Clearview Mall, Parkers Appliance in Chicora and Saxonburg Drug.