BUTLER TWP — Never say never, but it's getting close.

Dave Hoffman has been sitting on 299 career feature wins in dirt track racing for 12 years. No. 299 came at Lernerville Speedway in 1998.

No. 300 might never come for the Renfrew resident, but a pair of Hall of Fame inductions have occurred since he last held a checkered flag. Hoffman, 62, was inducted into the Pittsburgh Circle Track Club Hall of Fame in 2006 and joined the Lernerville Hall of Fame during the speedway's annual banquet Saturday night at the Butler Days Inn.

Hoffman hasn't run regularly at a racetrack since 2006 and hasn't raced at all in three years.

"If the right opportunity in a decent car came along, I'd do it again," he said of returning behind the wheel. "But there's not much of a market for 62-year-old race drivers out there."

Through four decades of racing, Hoffman built a car only once: a Street Stock for his son Bobby, who also served as his father's crew chief for more than 15 years.

Hoffman made a career of driving and winning for various car owners. Among them were Ron Stanley, Bill Protzman, John Reno, Jim Minton, Gary Henry, Dave Hallet, Tub Tessean, Bob Brockett, Tom Glass, Skip Bertges, Gator Harris, Mel Stella, Art Osmer and Charlie Fend.

"I always took care of the car I was driving," Hoffman said. "I always had a hand in it because I worked on them, too."

Hoffman lives in Florida during the winter months. His daughter, Saundi, the flagger at Marion Center, accepted the induction on his behalf.

"Dad could jump in just about any car and take it to the front," Saundi Hoffman said. "He has the ability to adjust and make it work.

"It's an honor seeing him be one of the first inductees into the Hall of Fame. Don and Helen Martin and the racing community did a lot for us when my mother, Mary, was really sick. We've never forgotten that," she added.

While accepting the induction, Saundi Hoffman dedicated it to her cousin, Tim Hoffman, who died of cancer in October.

She has a special checkered flag ready to present to her father upon that 300th victory.

"He better come get it," she said. "I want to see him do it at Marion Center so I can flag it. He almost got it about five years ago, but Dave Satterlee passed him on the last lap.

"It was nice seeing Herb Scott and Pee Wee Flick get inducted this year, too," she added. "They were Late Model drivers who raced against my dad."

Hoffman was the Lernerville Late Model points champion from 1975-77 and again in 1991. He won championships for Tessean, Brockett and Harris during those years.

He's also won track championships at Raceway 7, Schmuckers Speedway and North Hills, along with three Pittsburgh Circle Track Club crowns during his career.

Hoffman's racing career began in 1965 in a six-cylinder coupe at Butler Speedway.

"My neighbors, Reid and Dean Double, raced over there and I used to go help on their cars when I was 14," Hoffman said. "That was my introduction to racing.

"I've got a lot of great memories, but the biggest might have been winning a 100-lap feature at Mercer, driving for John Reno and Jim Minton around 1970 or so."

In other Lernerville banquet highlights:

n Randy Hanovick of Mars in Street Stocks, Steve Feder of Butler in Modifieds, John Garvin Jr. of Sarver in Late Models and Dan Kuriger of Freedom in Sprints won the 2009 Most Improved Driver Awards.

n Mike Norris of Sarver won the Hard Luck Award.

n Bob Lipinski won the Sportsmanship Award, Corey McPherson the Rookie of the Year Award.

n Lynch Racing won the Milestone in Racing Award. Ed Lynch Jr. won his 100th Lernerville Sprint feature last season.

n Jack Sodeman Jr. and Terry Young of Butler, Ryan Moyer of Harmony and Hanovick were presented checkered flags to commemorate their first career feature wins in 2009.

The 2010 Lernerville season begins March 26. The Clearview Mall Car Show takes place this weekend.

LERNERVILLE SPEEDWAY HALL OF FAME INDUCTEES

2010Earl Bauman, Dick Bailey, Pee Wee Flick, Dave Hoffman, Ed Lynch Sr., Jean Lynch, Ralph Quarterson, Herb Scott

2009Don Martin, Bob Wearing Sr., Lou Blaney, Blackie Watt, Dick Swartzlander