Posted by Illiana Speedway on 6/27/2005, 1:59 pm
Board Administrator

By Tony Baranek SCHERERVILLE, Ind. - There wasn't anything dramatic or heroic about Eddie Hoffman's performance in winning his third consecutive Champion Racing Association Super Series Elmer Musgrave Memorial 100 Saturday night at Illiana Speedway. It was just power, power and more power. Impressive power. "Yes, it was very impressive," Hoffman said with a smile, referring to his No. 8 Chevrolet that led the final 87 laps. "Last year we had a really great car off of qualifying. We didn't this year. But the car actually drove better than last year." Truth be told, though, Hoffman wasn't exactly chopped liver in qualifying this time, either. He was the fastest of 34 cars with a 19.194-second lap. But if that wasn't clear and wide better than the top several cars, his run in the main event was. Hoffman, who started in the third row, took the lead from Mike White on lap 13, and never had a bumper laid on him the rest of the way. He wound up beating Dave Weltmeyer by about five car-lengths. "It was just hooked up. I could drive anywhere," Hoffman said. "The car cut, and when the car cuts and you hear that, you know you've got an excellent car. I just couldn't believe how good the car was." While it was Hoffman who won the show, Weltmeyer WAS the show. The "Dyer Flyer" started 14th in the 29-car field, and one by one picked off the competitors in front of him as he drove his No. 16 Chevy in brilliant fashion to the front of the pack. He cracked the top 10 by lap 10. By lap 20 he was sixth. By lap 30, he was fourth. On lap 46, Weltmeyer took second place away from White. All this while spotting most of the field a significant horsepower advantage, using his concept motor against the 9-to-1 motors that the CRA regulars (including Hoffman) employ. "It showed on the straightaways," Weltmeyer said. "I think I wore the tires out passing all of those cars, too. I tried to pace myself a little bit and try a couple of different lines (to catch Hoffman), but we had a second-place car. We did OK." A handful of late yellow flags gave Weltmeyer a chance to move up on Hoffman's bumper, but on every restart the result was the same. After one lap under green, it was Hoffman by a car-length or two, and stretching. It came as a relief, of sorts, for Hoffman, who didn't really know what he'd be dealing with while Weltmeyer was working his way through the field. "You're always curious about the one guy who's coming, and he (Weltmeyer) was the one guy who was coming," Hoffman said. "I told my crew to keep giving me his laps times, and they did. "He ran some pretty good laps, but when I really pushed it I could get a tenth on him. So you're not sure, and you just hope the car doesn't change on the restarts." Third place went to CRA regular Jeff Lane. White, a three-time Illiana Speedway champion, led from laps 1 through 12 and checked in fourth, while current points leader Pat Kelly was fifth, Eddie Van Meter sixth and Boris Jurkovic seventh. In addition to his victory in the race, Hoffman also claimed the top prize in the Stash Kullman Chicagoland Showdown Challenge, which combined the points from the Musgrave race with those from the "George Appleton Memorial Race" held earlier this month at Grundy County Speedway. In the Mid-American division, points leader Josh Nelms bounced back from a disappointing effort in last Saturday's feature to clobber the field in the 25-lap main event. Nelms took the lead from Keith Sterkowitz on lap 8, and was never headed. Jeff Cannon finished about four car-lengths behind in second, followed by Bill Neering, Sterkowitz, Craig Amptmeyer and Pat Broenneke. Billy Jarrells took the early lead in an extra-length 30-lap turbo stox feature, but had to hang on at the finish as Tom Gasik gave him a side-by-side challenge before settling for second place. Third went to Eddie Wolf, ahead of Bill Serviss, Ryan Moore and Roger Rubino. SUMMARY Late-model Last-chance race: 1. Terry Fisher Jr., 2. Landon Cassill, 3. Joe O'Connor. 100-lap feature: 1. Eddie Hoffman, 2. Dave Weltmeyer, 3. Jeff Lane, 4. Mike White, 5. Pat Kelly, 6. Eddie Van Meter. Mid-American 25-lap feature: 1. Josh Nelms, 2. Jeff Cannon, 3. Bill Neering, 4. Keith Sterkowitz, 5. Craig Amptmeyer, 6. Pat Broenneke. Turbo stox 30-lap feature: 1. Billy Jarrells, 2. Tom Gasik, 3. Eddie Wolf, 4. Bill Serviss, 5. Ryan Moore, 6. Roger Rubino.