PORT ROYAL - A gentle giant was awakened Saturday night at Port Royal Speedway. Most of his talking was done with a heavy right foot. Keith Kauffman, "The Man from Mifflintown," drove the Michael Herffner-owned No. 27 under Pat Snyder's checkered flag first in the sprint car feature and the crowd erupted in cheers. It was Kauffman's first win of the season and and broke a long dry spell for the veteran racer. In the process, Kauffman managed to show all he still is competitive as ever given the right equipment."I know I can get it done," Kauffman said. "I have a couple left. I didn't have a good car all year until now."Car owner Michael Heffner was full of emotion and nearly in tears.

"This is one of the best days of my life," he said. "Sean (Michael, the usual driver of the No. 27 who is out with an injury) is a good friend of mine and he will race again this year. Keith was the right man at the right time for this job. I'm real proud of this crew. This place is great. (Port Royal) It's great to get the first win off my back."Kauffman savored the victory and took an extra cool down lap to enjoy the moment. After removing his helmet in the winner's circle, a wide grin broke out on Kauffman's face.

"Not too bad for an old guy," Kauffman joked. Kauffman showed signs of his glory years by racing on the top of the speedway in turns three and four. Early in the race, Kauffman had some trouble navigating through turns one and two, but that all changed after a lap 21 red flag for a flip by Kauffman's nephew, Josh Dressler, in turns three and four. Dressler was not injured in the mishap and following the restart, Kauffman smoked the field by driving off and pulling away from second-place finisher Chad Layton.

Kauffman dominated the last four laps on the way to the win. "There's good clay and it's coming around," Kauffman said of the Port Royal racing surface. "I could run the track and it wasn't one lane and all rubbered up. I could go to the top. But it takes a good car and I didn't have that at the beginning of the season. This deal is week-to-week. Maybe since I won some money tonight, they'll let me drive next week.  "We had a good run against the Outlaws at Williams Grove and we're clicking right now. We're getting better and better."