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That’s exactly what happened last year when 17-year-old hot-shot driver Landon Cassill stole the lead from Hoffman on the last lap of the ASA Late Model North Series Oktoberfest feature, then won the event. Hoffman, who was steamed last year after the wild finish, led that race for 64 laps, but didn’t lead the one that counted the most.
Saturday night, he led 66 laps, including the final one, as he held off Jacob Goede for the win.
“I came up a little short last year. I wasn’t going to let that happen again,” said Hoffman, who has entered five ASA Late Model North Series races, and won three of them. “He (Goede) was all over us in the middle of the race. I wanted to make sure I didn’t kill the car and had something for the end.”
Hoffman had plenty of car — and tires — left at the end as he cruised to victory in the 100-lap event that was run before a La Crosse Fairgrounds Speedway crowd that numbered 5,800.
Goede, a 22-year-old driver from New Germany, Minn., was all over Hoffman’s bumper for about 15 laps midway through the race, but simply couldn’t power past Hoffman. He settled for second, while pole-setter Nick Neville of Mackinaw, Ill., grabbed third place.
“I tried everything I knew. I just about had him a few times,” Goede said. “If I could have gotten even, or by him, I think I could have pulled away. All I needed was some fresh air for my car. My car got tight at the end, and I didn’t have anything for him at the end.”
J. Herbst of West Salem, Wis., managed to avoid all 10 of the crashes in the race, and wound up with a 12th-place finish.
MID-AMERICAN RACE: Fans who left the Fairgrounds Speedway Saturday night surely thought Ryan Rose of Rosemount, Minn., won the 35-lap Mid-American Stock Car Oktoberfest feature. Hold on.
Rose beat Doug Brown of Savage, Minn., to the checkered flag and was apparently the race winner. However, Rose’s car failed a post-race inspection — it was too light — and was therefore disqualified. That meant the official winner was Brown.
ATTENDANCE: With Saturday’s crowd of 5,800, the first three days of the 38th running of the Oktoberfest Race Weekend has drawn 15,600 people to the West Salem track. That means the all-time attendance record of more than 20,000 could be broken with a crowd of 4,400 or more today.
2008 SEASON: John McKarns, president of Motorsports Management Services, which manages the La Crosse Fairgrounds Speedway, made a couple of announcements to the Saturday crowd about the 2008 season at the West Salem, Wis., facility.
McKarns said the track will host a USAC National Midget series race on Friday, May 16. The series features teams owned by Nextel Cup drivers Tony Stewart and Kasey Kahne. Stewart won the USAC Midget Series championship, propelling him into the Nextel Cup.
Also, McKarns said a tentative agreement is in place with the ASA Late Model North Series to host a regular-season race on June 7. The La Crosse Late Model cars also will be a part of that program.
FOLLOWING McCLINTOCK: Onalaska’s Tom McClintock, a 2006 United States Truck Series season champion, competed in his third Mid-American Stock Car Series event Saturday at the Oktoberfest Race Weekend. McClintock, who finished third in his heat race, missed his chance to earn a spot in the Mid-American Stock Car Oktoberfest feature. He did make it into the main event, however, via a last chance race. He finished 19th in the feature.
It’s been an adjustment jumping into the high-powered, quick-handling Mid-American cars, McClintock said.
“It’s totally different than anything I have ever driven before,” McClintock said. “It quicker and dancier than a (La Crosse) Late Model. It’s the hardest race vehicle I have ever driven.”
McClintock said it’s also a lot of fun to have a 475-horsepower motor powering you around the track. That’s about 50-horsepower, or more, than the La Crosse Late Model cars pump out.
“When you get on it, it sets you back in your seat,” McClintock said.
Jeff Brown can be reached at (608) 791-8403, or at jbrown@lacrossetribune.com
