The Official Site of Area Auto Racing News and Len Sammons Productions Area Auto Racing News
The 66th running of the prestigious Race Of Champions transpires this Saturday at Oswego Speedway and when it does, couple of heavyweights in RoC contemporary history, Chuck Hossfeld and Matt Hirschman will be among the favorites.
Over the previous 65 years of RoC action, Hossfeld and Hirschman are the top ranking active drivers in a list of all time great drvers in the event’s long history.
Noted racing historian Ken Parrrotte has combed the RoC archives, researched the top three finishers in each year’s race and ranked them by assigning three points for a win, two for a second place finish and one for a third.
By this measure, the recently deceased Donald ‘Dutch’ Hoag, with five wins and twenty points is the best of all time. He is the only five time winner of the race and the only man to win on both the dirt and pavement at Langhorne. Hoag was also second twice and third once.
Four time winner George Kent has 18 points with four wins, two seconds and two thirds. Tony Hirschman has 17 points with four wins, a second and three thirds.
Chuck Hosfeld and Matt Hirschman, ranked fourth and fifth, are the highest ranked drivers who will be in RoC action at Oswego Saturday. Hossfeld and Hirschman each have won the RoC three times. Hossfeld backs his three wins up with three seconds and two thirds totaling 17 points while Hirschman backs up his trio of first place efforts with two secionds and one third for 14 points.
If Hossfeld wins Saturday’s race he would tie Hoag for most points. while Hirschman would tie Hossfeld and his father Tony at third on the list were he to win and Hossfeld finish outside the top three.
The Richie Evans (13 points, 3 wins), Geoff Bodine (10 points, 10 points, 2 wins), Jan Leaty (10 points, 2 wins), Jim Delaney (9 points 3 wins) and Jamie Tomaino (9 points, 0 wins) complete the top ten.
Zane Zeimer, 16th (6 points, 1 win), is the only other driver in the top ten in the ‘ Parrotte points’.
All told, 42 drivers have won the Race of Champions which has been held on two kinds of surface and on eight different speedways.
