Dutch Hoag

Donald "Dutch" Hoag (November 2, 1926 – May 11, 2016) was an American racing driver who won the Langhorne National Open five times when it was the most prestigious event for Modified and Sportsman racers.

Hoag was the only driver to win that race both when Langhorne Speedway's surface was dirt (1956, 1960, 1963) and when it was asphalt (1967, 1968). He won an estimated 400 feature events, and won numerous track championships. Hoag was selected for the Northeast Dirt Modified Hall of Fame (one of thirteen charter members), the New York State Stock Car Association Hall of Fame, the Eastern Motorsports Press Association Hall of Fame, and the FOAR Score Hall of Fame.

Early career Hoag first raced in 1949. A new racetrack was opened in Naples, New York, and Hoag wanted to try racing. He bought a car from Bob Ratcliffe for $175 and towed it to the track on a chain. Later that year, Hoag won his first feature, at the Civic Stadium in Corning, New York.

In 1969, Hoag raced a 1965 Dodge, built for Grand National racing by Ray Fox, in the Permatex 300 for Late Model Sportsman cars (predecessor to the Nationwide Series) at Daytona International Speedway. Hoag finished second to Lee Roy Yarbrough.

Death Hoag died on May 11, 2016, at the age of 89.

Motorsports career results NASCAR (key) (Bold – Pole position awarded by qualifying time. Italics – Pole position earned by points standings or practice time. * – Most laps led. Grand National Series

NASCAR Grand National Series results Year Team No. Make 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 44 45 46 47 48 49 50 51 52 53 Pts Ref 1952 - - Ford PBS DAB JSP NWS MAR CLB ATL CCS LAN DAR DSP CAN HAY FMS HBO CLT MSF NIF OSW MON MOR PPS MCF12 AWS DAR CCS LAN DSP WIL HBO MAR NWS ATL PBS 114th n/a 1955 188 Oldsmobile TCSPBS8 JSP DAB OSP CLB HBO NWS MGY LAN CLT HCY ASF TUS MAR RCH NCF FOR LIN112thn/a 96 Chevy MCF17 FON AIR CLT PIF CLB AWS MOR ALS NYF SAN CLT FOR MAS RSP DAR MGY LAN RSP GPS MAS CLB MAR LVP NWS HBO 1957 86 Pontiac WSS CON TIC DAB CON WIL HBO AWS NWS LAN CLT PIF GBF POR CCF RCH MAR POR EUR LIN LCS ASP NWP CLB CPS PIF JAC RSP CLT MAS POR HCY NOR LCS GLN KPC LIN OBS MYB DAR NYF AWS CSF SCF LAN CLB CCF CLT MAR NBR CON NWS GBF n/a n/a

Champion racers influenced by Hoag Lee Osborne, a former motorcycle racer, was Hoag's protégé for several years. He dated Hoag's daughter Donna from 1964 through 1966. In early 1965, he rebuilt an old Turner Brothers modified and began stock car racing. Osborne won 55 Modified features from 1965 through 1968. After retiring from driving, Osborne became one of the top Sprint car builders. In the 1990s, Donna Hoag lost her husband to cancer, reunited with Osborne, and married him.

Descendants in racing Dutch's son Dean Hoag got his start by driving Dutch's backup Modified, an older car, at Shangri-La Speedway. Dean drove Modifieds for a few years in the 1970s. Dean won the 1978 Perry Raceway (now Wyoming County International Speedway) Modified title with his No. 7. When Oswego Speedway created a Limited Supermodified division, Dean Hoag was a top contender driving the No. 41, with 16 feature victories to lead that division's all-time win list. Dean claimed the 1996 and 1997 titles before retiring in 1999. He has raced asphalt Modifieds as his grandfather did. He has raced in limited schedules on the NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour and the Busch East Series. He returned to racing after several seasons off from active driving in the Oswego Limited Supermodified division where he won one feature during the 2014 season with a #73.