Fennewald's victory gave him the track championship in a nip-and-tuck chase among the top three finishers. ... "We won the championship last year. I thought that was all right," Fennewald said. "But I told myself, 'See how good you are, see if you can back it up.' "

"The guy that I probably look up to the most in racing (Will Vaught) was right behind me," the winning high school senior said. "This is pretty cool for me. I outran him in go-karts once, but I never dreamed I'd ever outrun him in a Late Model." | Story

Fennewald led flag-to-flag for his track-leading fourth 2018 victory. ... "I knew my car might be a little bit tight, so I was gonna have to get off to a good start," said Fennewald, who beat Kaeden Cornell into the first corner. "It worked pretty good."

Fennewald led all the way. ... "We've just been struggling a little bit," Fennewald said of his season. "We should have won a lot of races, but couldn't seem to make it happen. This track, when it gets slick, is a lot of fun to race on."

Russell, who led 21 laps, held off Johnny Fennewald on a restart with two laps remaining. ... "I love coming down here," Russell said. "You're going to race against the best in every class when you come down here. It's good to come out on top."

"We had a really good car," said Fennewald, who overtook Marrant on a restart with seven laps remaining. "We've been struggling in heat races and not been qualifying very good. I've been working my butt off, trying to figure things out on this new car. I think we've about figured it out."

Cornell, 17, got his first Lucas Oil Speedway victory. ..."This season has not gone as planned, at all. To be honest, it's been an awful season with bad luck stuff. But I guess I'll take this," Cornell said. "First of all, I have to thank God. I'm the most-blessed kid on the planet. And happy Father's Day to my dad (Aaron) and to (car owner) Rick Hoover."

Marrant led all 20 laps for his third victory in four Wheatland starts. ... "I had to drive the wheels off that thing tonight," Marrant said. "I can't thank these guys (on the crew) enough for everything they do for me and everybody who makes this possible. We're off to a pretty good start this year. These guys work their butts off and we're trying."

Marrant overtook Shane Essary on a last-lap pass. ... "We were about the same speed," Marrant said. "I knew it was gonna be a Hail Mary. I wanted to wait until the last lap because I didn't want to lose position and lose myself an opportunity in that last corner."

Fennewald took the lead from Marrant on the seventh lap, then kept Poe in check after a mid-race caution. ... "This new car is a little different. I'm not very comfortable in it yet," Fennewald said. "But we made some changes and ... it's a pretty good car now."

The polesitting Marrant won the season opener that battled through a rain delay.