NITRO WARRIOR AL HOFMANN SUFFERS FATAL HEART ATTACK
Al Hofmann died last night (March 20) of a heart attack. Hofmann was a racer’s racer. What he lacked in finesse in both his driving and his personality could fill a book.
“I first met Hofmann when he was driving the ‘China Syndrome’ Vega,” DRO editor Jeff Burk said. “I was immediately impressed by any nitro driver who had the sense of humor to name his Funny Car after a movie about a nuclear melt-down incident. Al Hofmann was the easiest interview in the world and certainly not a man who was comfortable in a coat and tie eating finger food and Champagne. He didn’t suffer fools easily. In many ways interviewing Al reminded me of the interviews I’ve done with A.J. Foyt. Don’t ask stupid or personal questions and you’ll be fine.
“Al did most of his talking with his right foot,” Burk continued. “He had a serious ‘war’ with arch-rival John Force at the Indy Bud Shootout and won that race in 1992, 1994 and 1995. He was a warrior in the truest sense of the word. Professional drag racing is not likely to see his like again soon and that’s too bad. He will be missed.”
DRO statistician Jim Hawkins compiled a synopsis of Hofmann’s career. Al didn't have a lot of success in the 80's...at the old Montreal events, Al and his low budget car "shored up" the 15-car field in 1987 and qualified #14 (and, yes, there were only 14 cars) in the 1988 event. These stats, from at the old Montreal events. Those were the only events he qualified for in those two years and the 80's were low-buck/hard-luck days.
Then in 1990, things started to turn around after some sponsor money. From 1987 through 2002, Al ended up with a 233-212 record, eight #1's. He qualified in 227 events, was in the top eight 127 times, 15 event wins and 17 runner-ups. Al won 19 rounds at the first Pomona event and driver-wise was most successful against Tom Hoover going 23-2 against Tom.
One trivia item...Al never beat the Bruce's (Sarver and Larson)...going 0-5 against Sarver and 0-4 against Larson. (DRO file photo) [3/21/2008]
AUTOGRAPH SESSION ADDED FOR VEGAS NATIONAL EVENT
A free NHRA driver autograph session will kick off the annual NHRA SummitRacing.com Nationals at The Strip at Las Vegas Motor Speedway. The event will take place from 7-8 p.m. on Thursday, April 10, at The Palms Resort Casino at 4321 W. Flamingo Road in Las Vegas.
Several show cars will be on display and drag racing fans will have the opportunity to meet their favorite drivers, including 2007 NHRA POWERade Drag Racing Series champions Tony Schumacher, Tony Pedregon and Jeg Coughlin Jr. – as well as Hillary Will, David Grubnic, Jim Yates, Justin Humphreys and Kenny Koretsky. Many more drivers are expected to join the list as the event draws near. The event at The Palms also will feature several fan-interactive attractions. [3/21/2008]