He wasn't even supposed to be there.
The fifth and final contestant at the 2017 Florida Strawberry Festival Strawberry Spaghetti Eating Contest, however, had to bow out due to illness. When a call went out to the audience for a final contestant, Mark Lunetta emerged from the wings of the Stingray Chevrolet Entertainment Tent with his hand raised confidently high. A few minutes later, he walked away with a new trophy and secured place in Strawberry Festival history. Contestants were tasked with powering their ways through a bowl of spaghetti, with Plant City strawberries in place of meatballs, as fast as they could.
The contest, now in its third year, is put on by Spaghetti Eddie's, a food vendor located just across from the Stingray Chevrolet Entertainment Tent, which has been a Strawberry Festival staple for nearly 40 years.