From left, Dennis Spurgeon, Tom Hoffman and Randy Vanhook. (Dennis Mothershed photo)

When the dust settled from Round 2, the battle for the crown was down to three racers. Randy Vanhook still held a small lead, but no longer could control his destiny. Hoffman and Spurgeon still had a shot and were still racing.

In Round 3, 2013 Series Champion Hoffman showed his metal with a great .018 reaction and a dead-on 10.75 to take out local favorite Bob Westhoff and his ’63 Galaxie. Spurgeon took out the giant killer Nappier to make it almost a three-way tie for the title. Round 4 had both contenders moving on, along with Shaun Johnston and his Wedge-powered ’67 Plymouth.

Round 5 had three racers remaining, two going for the title and one trying for his first win. The ladder gave Johnston the bye, pitting Spurgeon against Hoffman. As the two experienced Mopar racers staged, you could cut the tension with a knife. Spurgeon left with a slight lead, but slowed at the end, handing the win to Hoffman. This win gave Hoffman the Championship and meant Vanhook got second place over Spurgeon by less than one round. Although this was very exciting, we still had one more round of racing to go.