| USA Provides Fans With A National Showdown | Hoffman, Miller and Drawdy show why they are among the best
By Jack Smith
 The FASCAR and CRA co-sanctioned 200 lap Speedfest got under way under threatening skies Saturday night at Florida biggest short track, the 3/4 mile USA International Speedway in Lakeland, Florida.
1961 Daytona 500 winner Marvin Panch was the Grand Marshall for the event. "These are some amazing cars, a whole different than anything we were used to", he said. Marvin Panch was inducted into the National Motorsports Press Association Hall of Fame in 1987 and was named one of the top 50 drivers by NASCAR in 1998.
The two winners from Friday took the pole positions for Saturday's race, Wayne Anderson was on the outside and Ben Rowe on the inside. Two of the biggest surprises of the night would come from deep in the field. Justin Drawdy forced to the rear with a backup car and Eddie Hoffman, starting in the 20th position.
The lights between turn 1 and 2 went out during the first caution at lap 3, causing a bit of a delay as CRA officials called in Don Nerone for assistance. This delay would prove minor compared to what was to come. The race was restarted on lap 14, with Wayne Anderson setting a fast pace. The lights were back on by lap 33.
L.B. Skaggs of Ft Myers Florida was the first car to go a lap down, getting passed by Wayne Anderson on lap 28.
 On lap 30 Ben Rowe took the lead, caution out lap 31. Havoc probably described the action, Brock Burns, Auburndale, Fl. came into the pits to repair damage, while Mac Johnson, Newbury, Fl., watched his number 6 machine get scraped off the wall, slung onto a flat bed, his racing done for this night.
Jeff Scofield, having started the race from the 22nd spot, found his night going nowhere fast. Jeff was in the pits under this early caution trying to get things squared away. Six cars left the race during the caution, including Skaggs, McLeod, Johnson, Lehr, Burns and Stephen Davis from Satsuma, Al.
When racing resumed green on lap 39, Rowe shadowed by Anderson, set the pace, with Loxahatchee, Fl. driver Jeff Choquette, Lake City, Fl. ace Jay Middleton and Wisconsin's Jeremy Lepak following to round out the top five in the early going.
The field was just getting up to full speed when, on lap 45, the caution lights brought the field to their slow crawl around the 3/4 mile oval. Lepak was done for the night with a destroyed race car, while Butch Miller brought his 52 machine in for adjustments, with more than a little confusion in his pit area.
The Miller race car was sent to the rear for pitting too soon, during the caution, which was a bit confusing as there was not the normal turn four/pit gate flagman we are used to at FASCAR sanctioned races throughout the year. Travis Cope, Bronson, Fl., in what we believe is his second Super Late Model race, was also penalized for entering the pits too soon.
Cassius Clark, another driver from Maine, took over the 5th spot as the race resumed, with the lightest sprinkles of rain starting to fall, as the race resumed under green.
Oklahoma driver Travis Wilson, son of former NASCAR racer Rick Wilson, destined for a bit of a rough night, had the first of several spins at lap 62, this one it appeared from our turn four vantage point occurred with assistance from another driver.
Just prior to the caution, Jay Middleton had passed Jeff Choquette to move into the third spot. Another brief green flag period was stopped at lap 72 when Cope and Wilson spun coming off four.
 Rain was starting to come down a little harder by now, and when the caution flag waved for another racing incident, Rowe was still holding off a pestering Anderson. Fans began to slowly seek shelter, while they watched Riverview, Fl driver Joe Boyd, Indiana's Eddie Van Meter, Canada's Patrick Laperte and Wisconsin's Chuck Barnes, Jr. all leave either on the hook or behind the wall too damaged to continue.
As the rain developed into a steady drizzle, the cars continued to make laps under yellow, while CRA officials tried to decide what to do. Several votes were taken of the other officials, the drivers and even the spotters.
The laps ticked off until it reached 101, though the cars continued to roll around the track, and at 101 the lap counter stopped.
Ironically, the only car or spotter than voted to continue was the 8n of Eddie Hoffman sitting at the rear of the now 24 car field. Scotty Crockett of Land 'O Lakes, Fl and Travis Cope had retired behind the wall at lap 98 under the caution.
The laps started counting again, still under caution, with the rain actually falling harder, and with the laps counting off, the CRA officials eventually bringing the cars in under a competition yellow allowing the drivers to get gas and tires.
And then finally, some 45 minutes later the green flag finally waved again, with the 1500 or so fans on their feet as Wayne Anderson got beside Ben Rowe's number 4 machine going into turn one on the restart and took the lead back from Rowe.
Anderson held off Rowe until lap 142, when his number 84 had race ending mechanical problems. Meanwhile Justin Drawdy, of Fort Pierce, Fl. kept his steady advance through the field picking up a spot every 4-5 laps. By lap 150 he was solidly in the top ten.
With Anderson out of the race, Rowe appeared ready to roll away with the win, as Jay Middleton, Jeff Choquette and company didn't seem to be able to run his pace.
The field restarted with 50 laps to go, with the 89n of Minnesota racer Jonathan Ellen spewing out smoke like a mosquito fogger, Rowe in full command.
Jeff Choquette started slipping of the leaders pace around lap 165 and would no longer contend for the lead, while Middleton seemed to be the one car that could catch Rowe, unless Drawdy could maybe get there.
Drawdy was now right in the thick of things, having moved from 38th to the top five in 190 laps of racing. But Eddie Hoffman, remember the driver who was in favor of continuing the race when most competitors wanted to stop at lap 101, was also in the top five, along with Butch Miller, the most experienced veteran racer on the track.
With Ben Rowe in full command and only a few miles to go to take the checkered flag, Mike Rowe, another Maine driver, spun hard into the inside front straight wall coming off turn four with four laps to go, bringing out a caution the other Rowe surely did not want to see.
 On the restart Middleton was close on Rowe as the two came off turn two, all the fans on their feet as Rowe slowed and slipped up as he started down the back straight, Middleton's 74 made contact with Rowe, Rowe got sideways and more contact was made sending him into the inside wall, Middleton drove high through turn three, allowing Hoffman to slide under and take the lead.
CRA Officials concluded that Middleton was at fault and was sent to the rear.
The race then went to lap 212 with Hoffman winning easily with Butch Miller taking second, and Justin Drawdy taking third.
After the race, track security had to intervene as members from the Rowe team reacted to the earlier wreck.
After the race, Middleton said that he though something happened to the number four which caused him to slow down, which video later seemed to substantiate.
Justin Drawdy earned the 6th starting but had to start last with his backup car. "We crashed the primary car in practice when the throttle stuck. This car only had 4 laps on it when we brought it out and it was really fast from the get go, but I don't think anyone would have had anything for the other car it was just that good."
PHOTO GALLERY FOR SPEEDFEST 2007
This race once again proved the old Yogi Berra adage, "it ain't over until it's over". Fans who left early due to the rain missed one of the more exciting finishes in recent races at USA and Drawdy, Miller and Hoffman showed great spirit in fighting to the end.
Young Blake Lehr raced with a broken middle finger, from an incident earlier on Saturday while working on his car, out of the race after only 30 laps.
This was the first really big Super Late Model race of the year for Florida fans. On February 9th fans can see eight nights of these high powered racing machines at the World Series of Asphalt Stock Car Racing at New Smyrna Speedway near Daytona.
After that Florida fans can follow the FASCAR Sunbelt Super Late Model series as they travel to many Florida Speedways, the All American Challenge Series at DeSoto Super Speedway and the Super Late Model Division at Citrus County Speedway.
Rundown
F Car Driver
1 -8n Eddie Hoffman
2 -52n Butch Miller
3 -12s Justin Drawdy
4 -3n Cassius Clark
5 -10s Ryan Crane
6 -13n Charlie Menard
7 -70s Jeff Choquette
8 -36s Tim Russell
9 -80s Brian Finney
10 -01n Brian Scott
11 -5n Jerry Artuso
12 -74s Jay Middleton
13 -47n Corey Williams
14 -54n Jeff Fultz
15 -55s Billy Mowery
16 -70n Travis Wilson
17 -87n John Webb
18 -89n Jonathan Eilen
19 -4n Ben Rowe
20 -2n Mike Rowe
21 -115s Clay Jones
22 -72n Scott Hantz
23 -84s Wayne Anderson
24 -07s Jeff Scofield
25 -28s Scotty Crockett
26 -26s Travis Cope
27 -5s Joe Boyd
28 -23n Eddie Van Meter
29 -91n Patrick Laperle
30 -55n Chuck Barnes Jr.
31 -40n Jeremy Lepak
32 -1s Steven Davis
33 -40s Brock Burns
34 -4s Blake Lehr
35 -6s Mac Johnson
36 -78s B. J. McLeod
37 -71s L. B. Skaggs
38 -22s Perry Brown
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