KNOXVILLE, Iowa (Sept. 15) — It was a perfect night for Mike Marlar of Winfield, Tenn.

After clocking fast time and winning his heat race, the defending Lucas Oil Late Model Knoxville Nationals winner overtook Tim McCreadie of Watertown, N.Y., late race to score a $7,000 Lucas Oil Series victory in the second round of preliminary action at Knoxville Raceway.

Gaining momentum from a lap-18 restart, Marlar powered around the top of the racetrack, pulling ahead of McCreadie on lap 20 of 25. Leading the final circuits, the Tennessee driver scored his third career Knoxville victory.

“It was an awesome race there,” Marlar said in victory lane. “When that caution came out there when I got into third, I was like, ‘Man, this is an awesome race.’ I fortunately came out on top of it. But if I hadn’t, it was still just an awesome race.”

Starting outside the front row, McCreadie charged to the lead at the drop of the green flag, falling to third-starting Brandon Sheppard of New Berlin, Ill., on the second lap when he slipped over the berm. With Sheppard setting a torrid pace, the top two cars distanced themselves from the remainder of the field in the early running.

As the pair approached lapped traffic on lap 13, McCreadie started closing the gap between him and Sheppard, with Marlar advancing to run in third when a yellow flag waved on lap 14.

Racing side-by-side for the lead, McCreadie slipped ahead of Sheppard in turns three and four to lead lap 18. But just as McCreadie assumed the point another yellow flag flew, bringing the field back together.

Marlar used the restart to his advantage, charging ahead of McCreadie to lead the final laps and score his eighth career Lucas Oil Series victory. It was a rebound for Marlar, who was forced to pull out a backup car after sustaining damage in Thursday’s preliminary feature.

“We had a good car tonight,” Marlar said. “My team’s so awesome. Them guys work hard. We had a rough night last night and them guys come through here and helped us get everything patched together … (crew chief) Josh (Davis) and Jerry (Sprouse) and Bernie from back home and Craig, our buddy from out in Iowa. A lot of hometown guys up here with us this weekend and we’re doing well.”

McCreadie finished runner-up with Josh Richards of Shinnston, W.Va., improving from the eighth starting spot to run third. Sheppard finished fourth, with Chris Simpson of Oxford, Iowa, rounding out the top five.

“You’re a sitting duck on restarts when you’re running around that bottom,” McCreadie said. “You’ve got to slow down so much and keep your right-front traction. I thought it was going to be Brandon (Sheppard) and it was Marlar. Those guys know what they’re doing. We’re going to work on our car to get a little better and hopefully have something for them tomorrow night.”

After winning Thursday’s prelim, a podium finish marked another solid night for Richards and his Best Performance Motorsports team.

“The track was a lot slicker tonight,” Richards said. “We kind of left the car alone to see what we had. We tried some stuff early in the night and it worked. Now I feel like I’m a bit on the free side. Mikey and those guys did a great job. His car’s really good, and we’re going to have to get a tick better with him and the other cars.”

With the his perfect night,  the 39-year-old Marlar secured the pole position for Saturday night's $40,000-to-win finale. He will be joined on the front row by Jonathan Davenport of Blairsville, Ga., who didn't qualify for Friday night's A-main due to rearend trouble in the B-main.

Notes: Marlar scored his third career Knoxville victory. Along with last year’s Knoxville Nationals triumph, he won a preliminary feature back in 2012. … Marlar became just the second driver to record a perfect 500-point score. Josh Richards conquered the same feat in 2016. … The race was slowed by three cautions. … A yellow flag waved on the opening lap for a fronstretch pileup; Earl Pearson Jr.  pitted with heavy damage to his No. 1 machine, with Don O’Neal retiring under the caution. … A second yellow flag flew on lap 14 when Boom Briggs spun on the backstretch, narrowly avoiding contact with the race leaders. … Jared Landers slowed with a flat tire to draw a caution on lap 18.

Final points standings

(Best points night)
1. Mike Marlar - 500
2. Jonathan Davenport - 496
3. Josh Richards - 494
4. Brandon Sheppard - 484
5. Don O’Neal - 484
6. Tim McCreadie - 483
7. Jared Landers - 482
8. Chris Simpson - 481
9. Darrell Lanigan - 474
10. Jimmy Mars - 471
11. Jimmy Owens - 463
12. Scott Bloomquist - 463
13. Chad Simpson - 462
14. Gregg Satterlee - 462
15. Brian Shirley - 462
16. Dale McDowell - 460
17. Shannon Babb - 460
18. Chase Junghans - 458
19. Bobby Pierce - 455
20. Rodney Sanders - 455
21. Earl Pearson Jr. - 448
22. Hudson O’Neal - 447
23. Timothy Culp - 447
24. Kent Robinson - 441
25. Jesse Stovall - 440
26. Steve Francis - 436
27. Kyle Bronson - 436
28. Tyler Erb - 435
29. Jason Feger - 433
30. Spencer Diercks - 424

Preliminary notes and results:

B-main results

Finish (top-six transfer to A-main): Don O’Neal, Jimmy Owens, Earl Pearson Jr., Dale McDowell, Chad Simpson, Tyler Erb, Kyle Bronson, Dennis Erb Jr., Shannon Babb, Steve Francis, Brent Larson, Ryan Gustin, Billy Moyer Jr., Jordan Yaggy, Joey Moriarty, Dave Eckrich, Scott Bloomquist, Billy Moyer, Spencer Diercks, Timothy Culp, Jake O’Neil, Jonathan Davenport.

C-main results

Finish (top four transfer to B-main): Dennis Erb Jr., Scott Bloomquist, Spencer Diercks, Timothy Culp, Matt Furman, Randy Timms, Jeremiah Hurst, Mike Fryer, Justin Duty. Scratched: Tim Lance, Brian Shirley, Jay Johnson, Bob King, Jonathan Brauns, Colton Flinner.

Consolation lineups

B-main
(15 laps; top six transfer)
Row 1: Jimmy Owens, Jonathan Davenport
Row 2: Chad Simpson, Don O’Neal
Row 3: Dale McDowell, Tyler Erb
Row 4: Jake O’Neil, Earl Pearson Jr.
Row 5: Shannon Babb, Billy Moyer
Row 6: Joey Moriarty, Steve Francis
Row 7: Kyle Bronson, Brent Larson
Row 8: Jordan Yaggy, Billy Moyer Jr.
Row 9: Dave Eckrich, Ryan Gustin
C-main lineup
(12 laps; top four transfer)
Row 1: Dennis Erb Jr., Scott Bloomquist
Row 2: Spencer Diercks, Timothy Culp
Row 3: Matt Furman, Tim Lance
Row 4: Randy Timms, Brian Shirley
Row 5: Jay Johnson, Justin Duty
Row 6: Bob King, Jeremiah Hurst
Row 7: Jonathan Brauns, Mike Fryer
Row 8: Colton Flinner

Heat race notes

Dennis Erb Jr. was the lone accident casualty of the heats after he pushed across the track in turn two and pounded the outside wall on lap five of the first prelim. Though he was able to limp his machine into the pit area, sustained right-front suspension and rear deck damage that left him scrambling to fix. … Erb received assistance on his repair work from driver Colton Flinner and Flinner’s father, who parked their Kryptonite No. 75 for the night after an extremely rough start. During hot laps Flinner’s car was felled by a broken driveshaft that bent its lift bar; Flinner replaced the driveshaft and straightened the lift bar, but on his way out for the second heat the driveshaft broke again, prompting him to throw in the towel on his evening. … Mike Marlar won the first heat despite racing the entire distance with his car’s left-rear quarter-panel pushed up from opening-lap contact with Jared Landers. … Rodney Sanders was leading the first heat with three laps remaining when smoke began to trail from his machine. He held on to finish second, but a post-race check found that his engine had expired, forcing him to pull out his backup MB Customs car. … Gregg Satterlee transferred to the feature with a third-place finish in the second heat but made a radiator swap after returning to the pits.

Sixth heat

Outside polesitter Jesse Stovall edged ahead of fellow front-row starter Jeremiah Hurst to take an early lead. As the race neared the halfway mark, sixth-starting Kent Robinson improved to run second, with seventh-starting Darrell Lanigan challenging for position. With the top-three cars distancing themselves from the field, Lanigan edged ahead of Robinson on lap nine, setting his sights on Stovall. Pulling ahead of Stovall down the backstretch, Lanigan led lap 11, winning the final heat. Robinson nosed ahead of Stovall to finish runner-up.

Finish (top three transfer): Darrell Lanigan, Kent Robinson, Jesse Stovall, Don O’Neal, Earl Pearson Jr., Billy Moyer Jr., Jeremiah Hurst, Tim Lance.

Fifth heat

Outside polesitter Boom Briggs led the opening lap, with eighth-starting Josh Richards working his way through the field to run third on lap three. Racing around the top side, Richards powered ahead of Briggs to lead lap five, as Billy Moyer and Brent Larson battled for the third-place spot. With Richards distancing himself from the field, the battle for third continued late-race, with Chris Simpson challenging Moyer for position. Richards won the heat, with Simpson pulling ahead of Briggs on the final lap to finish second.

Finish (top three transfer): Josh Richards, Chris Simpson, Boom Briggs, Billy Moyer, Brent Larson, Tyler Erb, Brian Shirley, Justin Duty.

Fourth heat

Polesitter Bobby Pierce took an early lead, as sixth-starting Tim McCreadie advanced to run in third on the third lap. As second-running Chase Junghans began reeling in Pierce, Jonathan Davenport attempted to work his way from the eighth starting spot, running in fifth at the halfway point. Junghans pulled ahead of Pierce at the flag stand to lead lap seven, with McCreadie closing in on the pair. A battle for second ensued late-race, with McCreadie and Pierce racing side-by-side. Junghans picked up the heat win, with McCreadie edging out Pierce to run second.

Finish (top three transfer): Chase Junghans, Tim McCreadie, Bobby Pierce, Steve Francis, Jonathan Davenport, Ryan Gustin, Timothy Culp, Scott Bloomquist, Mike Fryer.

Third heat

Working around the top side, fourth-starting Shannon Babb edged ahead of polesitter Tyler Bruening to take an early lead. Racing around the bottom of the racetrack, seventh-starting Brandon Sheppard challenged Bruening for the runner-up spot, pulling ahead on lap four. As Sheppard starting reeling in Babb, Bruening and Jimmy Mars battled for the runner-up spot. Babb and Sheppard crossed the line side-by-side on lap six, with Sheppard shooting to the front of the field one circuit later. Stretching his lead late-race, Sheppard won the heat race, with Mars running second and Bruening edging out Babb to finish third.

Finish (top three transfer): Brandon Sheppard, Jimmy Mars, Tyler Bruening, Shannon Babb, Chad Simpson, Jake O’Neil, Randy Timms, Bob King.

Second heat

Polesitter Jay Johnson led the opening lap, with fourth-starting Hudson O’Neal taking the point one circuit later. As Jason Feger began reeling in O’Neal on lap four, Gregg Satterlee advanced from the sixth starting spot to run in third. O’Neal began stretching his lead at the halfway mark, with the top three cars distancing themselves from the rest of the field. O’Neal won the heat, with Feger and Satterlee grabbing transfer spots.

Finish (top three transfer): Hudson O’Neal, Jason Feger, Gregg Satterlee, Jimmy Owens, Dale McDowell, Kyle Bronson, Matt Furman, Jay Johnson, Colton Flinner.

First heat

Polesitter Dave Eckrich charged to the lead at the drop of the green flag, as Rodney Sanders and Dennis Erb Jr. battled for the third-place spot in the early running. A yellow flag waved on lap five when Erb got into the turn two wall. Using the restart to his advantage, Sanders pulled ahead of Eckrich on the restart, with eighth-starting Mike Marlar moving to third. Sanders held the lead at the halfway mark, with his No. 20 beginning to smoke on lap 10. Pulling ahead of Sanders down the backstretch to lead lap 11, Marlar picked up the heat race win. Sanders finished runner-up with Jared Landers rounding out the podium in third.

Finish (top three transfer): Mike Marlar, Rodney Sanders, Jared Landers, Dave Eckrich, Jordan Yaggy, Joey Moriarty, Spencer Diercks, Dennis Erb Jr. Scratched: Jonathan Brauns.

Heat race lineups

(12 laps; top 3 transfer)
First heat
Row 1: Dave Eckrich, Jordan Yaggy
Row 2: Joey Moriarty, Spencer Diercks
Row 3: Dennis Erb Jr., Rodney Sanders
Row 4: Jared Landers, Mike Marlar
Row 5: Jonathan Brauns
Second heat
Row 1: Jay Johnson, Matt Furman
Row 2: Kyle Bronson, Hudson O’Neal
Row 3: Jason Feger, Gregg Satterlee
Row 4: Dale McDowell, Jimmy Owens
Row 5: Colton Flinner
Third heat
Row 1: Tyler Bruening, Randy Timms
Row 2: Jake O'Neil, Shannon Babb
Row 3: Brandon Sheppard, Jimmy Mars
Row 4: Bob King, Chad Simpson
Fourth heat
Row 1: Bobby Pierce, Ryan Gustin
Row 2: Chase Junghans, Steve Francis
Row 3: Timothy Culp, Tim McCreadie
Row 4: Scott Bloomquist, Jonathan Davenport
Row 5: Mike Fryer
Fifth heat
Row 1: Justin Duty, Boom Briggs
Row 2: Brian Shirley, Brent Larson
Row 3: Billy Moyer, Tyler Erb
Row 4: Chris Simpson, Josh Richards
Sixth heat
Row 1: Jeremiah Hurst, Jesse Stovall
Row 2: Billy Moyer Jr., Tim Lance
Row 3: Kent Robinson, Earl Pearson Jr.
Row 4: Darrell Lanigan, Don O'Neal

Pre-race notes

Teams have been working this afternoon under hot conditions with a high temperature reaching 90 degrees for the second straight day. A stiff breeze has been blowing all day, however, helping provide relief from the heat — and skies have remained clear of the rogue shower that struck Knoxville late Thursday afternoon and caused a 1-hour delay in the start of the racing program. … Friday’s field numbers 51 cars, down five from Thursday’s opener. Drivers who competed last night but aren’t in action this evening are Jason Rauen of Farley, Iowa, whose car sustained heavy damage when he hit the turn-four wall during a heat race; John Anderson of Omaha, Neb., who said Thursday that he would likely only enter the first night of the Nationals; Scott James of Lawrenceburg, Ind., who departed early because his Wisconsin-based machine experienced terminal engine woes on Thursday; Joel Callahan of Dubuque, Iowa, who is expected to return to action on Saturday; and Chris Spieker of Massena, Iowa. … Mike Marlar of Winfield, Tenn., has his backup car ready for action after parking his primary mount due to damage it sustained early in Thursday’s feature. … Earl Pearson Jr. of Jacksonville, Fla., also is behind the wheel of his second Dunn-Benson Racing car. The car he started the weekend in was sidelined due to rearend trouble in a Thursday heat. … Gregg Satterlee of Indiana, Pa., replaced the coil in his car after dropping out of Thursday’s A-main with electrical trouble. … Jason Feger of Bloomington, Ind., had his Thursday-night action get off to a rough start due to a broken rearend during hot laps, but his crew quickly installed a new rear and he made it out at the end of his qualifying group. He went on to finish 16th in the feature. … After damaging his car when he jumped the cushion during a Thursday B-main, Billy Moyer Jr. of Batesville, Ark., replaced the complete nosepiece and straightened the rear deck on his car. … Former NASCAR star Mark Martin is in the pit area Friday night after traveling to Knoxville with longtime friend Lance Landers, the father of 2015 Nationals winner and Thursday-night runner-up Jared Landers.

Pre-race setup

The Lucas Oil Late Model Knoxville Nationals continues on Friday with the second round of preliminary action at Knoxville Raceway. The 25-lap feature will once again pay $7,000 to the winner.

Josh Richards of Shinnston, W.Va., was the winner of Thursday’s Knoxville opener. The Best Performance Motorsports driver was also the winner of last year’s Friday portion of the Knoxville Nationals.

Identical to Thursday’s show, Friday’s program will include hot laps, time trials, six heat races (with an eight-car inversion), consolations and the 25-lap main event. Drivers will earn points based on their preliminary performances, which will set the lineups for Saturday’s consolations and the 100-lap finale.

Drivers will use their best points night — not combined points — to see where they stand for Saturday’s alphabet soup of features, which are topped by the $40,000-to-win main event. Twenty-four drivers will be locked directly into Saturday night’s headliner at the conclusion of Friday’s program, with the remainder positioned in Saturday’s D- (if necessary), C- and B-Mains. DirtonDirt.com is offering live coverage of Thursday and Friday's prelims.

Time trial results

Driver (car no.), hometown, time
Group A
Mike Marlar (157), Winfield, Tenn., 17.511
Jimmy Owens (20), Newport, Tenn., 17.561
Chad Simpson (25), Mount Vernon, Iowa, 17.78
Jared Landers (1777), Batesville, Ark., 17.883
Dale McDowell (17m), Chickamauga, Ga., 17.896
Brandon Sheppard (1), New Berlin, Ill., 17.973
Rodney Sanders (20), Happy, Texas, 17.985
Gregg Satterlee (22), Indiana, Pa., 17.997
Jimmy Mars (28), Menomonie, Wis., 18.019
Dennis Erb Jr. (28), Carpentersville, Ill., 18.037
Jason Feger (25), Bloomington, Ill., 18.045
Jake O’Neil (0), Tucson, Ariz., 18.104
Spencer Diercks (29D), Davenport, Iowa, 18.128
Hudson O’Neal (71), Martinsville, Ind., 18.166
Shannon Babb (18), Moweaqua, Ill., 18.236
Joey Moriarty (51), Peoria, Ariz., 18.26
Kyle Bronson (40B), Brandon, Fla., 18.264
Tyler Bruening (16), Decorah, Iowa, 18.34
Jordan Yaggy (77), Rochester, Minn., 18.356
Matt Furman (51), Columbus, Ohio, 18.407
Randy Timms (5T), Wheatland, Okla., 18.488
Dave Eckrich (58), Oxford, Iowa, 18.523
Jay Johnson (93), West Burlington, Iowa, 18.665
Bob King (45), Independence, Mo., 19.569
Colton Flinner (75), Allison Park, Pa., no time
Jonathan Brauns (22), Muscatine, Iowa, no time
Group B
Jonathan Davenport (49), Blairsville, Ga., 17.612
Josh Richards (1), Shinnston, W.Va., 17.771
Don O’Neal (5), Martinsville, Ind., 17.8
Scott Bloomquist (0), Mooresburg, Tenn., 17.862
Chris Simpson (32), Oxford, Iowa, 17.951
Darrell Lanigan (14), Union, Ky., 17.954
Tim McCreadie (39), Watertown, N.Y., 18.036
Tyler Erb (91), New Waverly, Texas, 18.047
Earl Pearson Jr. (1), Jacksonville, Fla., 18.144
Timothy Culp (C8), Prattsville, Ark., 18.151
Billy Moyer (21), Batesville, Ark., 18.266
Kent Robinson (7R), Bloomington, Ind., 18.324
Steve Francis (15), Bowling Green, Ky., 18.339
Brent Larson (B1), Lake Elmo, Minn., 18.348
Tim Lance (48), Brimfield, Ill., 18.363
Chase Junghans (18), Manhattan, Kan., 18.374
Brian Shirley (3S), Chatham, Ill., 18.456
Billy Moyer Jr. (21), Batesville, Ark., 18.551
Ryan Gustin (24), Marshalltown, Iowa, 18.603
Boom Briggs (99B), Bear Lake, Pa., 18.616
Jesse Stovall (00), Galena, Mo., 18.637
Bobby Pierce (32), Oakwood, Ill., 18.667
Justin Duty (15D), Mulino, Ore., 19.04
Jeremiah Hurst (58H), Dubuque, Iowa, 19.051
Mike Fryer (54), Freeport, Ill., 19.088

Points after Thursday

1. Jonathan Davenport - 496
2. Josh Richards - 484
3. Don O’Neal - 484
4. Jared Landers - 482
5. Brandon Sheppard - 463
6. Scott Bloomquist - 463
7. Brian Shirley - 462
8. Shannon Babb - 460
9. Chad Simpson - 456
10. Bobby Pierce - 455
11. Dale McDowell - 454
12. Chase Junghans - 452
13. Jimmy Owens - 451
14. Mike Marlar - 450
15. Jimmy Mars - 447
16. Timothy Culp - 447
17. Hudson O’Neal - 447
18. Jesse Stovall - 440
19. Steve Francis - 436
20. Kyle Bronson - 436
21. Gregg Satterlee- 436
22. Jason Feger - 425
23. Spencer Diercks - 424
24. Chris Simpson - 416
25. Matt Furman - 413
26. Tim McCreadie - 407
27. Earl Pearson Jr. - 401
28. Jeremiah Hurst - 401
29. Ryan Gustin - 390
30. Darrell Lanigan - 390
31. Rodney Sanders - 387
32. Brent Larson - 385
33. Billy Moyer Jr. - 385
34. Tyler Erb - 384
35. Dennis Erb Jr. - 381
36. Tyler Bruening - 373
37. Boom Briggs - 368
38. John Anderson - 363
39. Jay Johnson - 360
40. Jordan Yaggy - 357
41. Kent Robinson - 345
42. Jonathan Brauns - 338
43. Joey Moriarty - 329
44. Jake O'Neil - 327
45. Tim Lance - 326
46. Joel Callahan - 320
47. Dave Eckrich - 317
48. Jason Rauen - 314
49. Randy Timms - 311
50. Colton Flinner 310
51. Chris Spieker 306
52. Billy Moyer 305
53. Mike Fryer 300
54. Justin Duty 299
55. Scott James 290
56. Bob King 286