Tears of joy flowed last Wednesday, when Tyler Hoch won his first All Star slingshot feature at Action Track USA in Kutztown, Pennsylvania. The road to the victory didn’t come easy. But, throughout his struggles, his family stood behind him.
Ten years ago, Hoch’s achievement seemed far out of reach. He struggled just to get to the races to support his brother Dylan. An intestinal disorder often hospitalized Hoch. (For more on Dylan, read “Dylan Hoch: Funding the Sportsman with a Slingshot”.)
“I was emotional because I haven’t had the easiest path to racing,” Hoch, 20, of Mertztown, Pennsylvania, said. “I was so sick, I couldn’t get out of the hospital.”
Hoch persevered. He started racing slingshots at Action Track USA in 2018.
“I was running for rookie of the year, but my best finish was seventh,” said Hoch. “The next season I decided to switch to Shellhammer [Dirt Track in Shoemakersville, Pennsylvania], and I got three wins.”
He started to rack up trips to victory lane, but a win at Action Track USA was elusive until last Wednesday. Tyler Hoch battled his way to the front from a sixth-place finish.
“There were a lot of fast cars driven by drivers I grew up watching,” Hoch said. “It was so cool to race against them, and win my first race at a track that meant so much to me growing up.”
The victory came in a ride with colors honoring his late uncle, Troy Moyer.
“My uncle died of brain cancer when I was a child,” said Hoch. “He was a legend in our family and he had a big influence in me wanting to be a race driver.”
However, perhaps one of his greatest influences congratulated him in victory lane — his brother, Dylan.
“My brother is a huge mentor to me,” Hoch said. “He’s helped me out in more than racing — in life in general. To race side by side with him is a dream come true. I watched him race, and he taught me everything that he learned on the racetrack.”
Mike Adaskaveg has written hundreds of stories since the website’s inception. This year marks his 54th year of covering auto racing. Adaskaveg got his start working for track photographer Lloyd Burnham at Connecticut’s Stafford Motor Speedway in 1970. Since then, he’s been a columnist, writer, and photographer, in racing and in mainstream media, for several outlets, including the Journal Inquirer, Boston Herald, Stock Car Racing, and Speedway Illustrated. Among Adaskaveg’s many awards are the 1992 Eastern Motorsport Press Association (EMPA) Ace Lane Photographer of the Year and the 2019 National Motorsports Press Association (NMPA) George Cunningham Writer of the Year.
