Funny Car veteran Hofmann, championship runner-up in 1995, dies

Former NHRA national-event-winning Funny Car driver Al Hofmann, a longtime fan favorite despite his take-no-prisoners exterior who gave John Force his most serious championship challenges in the mid-1990s, died March 20 of a heart attack at his home in Eustis, Fla. He was 60.

Hofmann, who won 15 times in 32 final-round appearances, was a regular in the NHRA top 10 from 1991, when he finished seventh, through 1996, highlighted by a five-win 1995 campaign in which he finished second in the standings to Force. He finished third in 1992 and 1994 and fourth in 1993 and 1996.