What won the race: Outside front-row starter John Ownbey of Cleveland, Tenn. led all 40 laps Saturday at North Georgia Speedway for a $4,000 victory in grabbing his first career Ultimate Super Late Model Series victory. Jason Hiett of Lincoln, Ala., and Donald McIntosh of Dawsonville, Ga., finished second and third in Ultimate's season opener.

Quotable: "We had a real good car," Ownbey said. "We was debating on coming down her (with) a steel motor. We was afraid (the track) would be real fast against the big motors. But it seemed to hook up good and the track suited the car."

Key notes: Ownbey became the fifth different winner in series six events at North Georgia; only Dale McDowell is a repeat winner. ... Ownbey survived a spin by the lapped car of Glenn Elliott early in the race. ... Ownbey previously won Winchester (Tenn.) Speedway's WinterFest on Feb. 20. ... Third-finishing Donald McIntosh got sideways in turn four on the first lap but kept the handle on his car. ... A multicar pileup on lap 17 took Mike Marlar, Bo Shirley, Anthony White and Jason Croft out of the event, drawing a red flag. ... Chris Ferguson was the first retiree.

On the move: Jason Welshan of Maryville, Tenn. started 14th and finished eighth.

Winner's sponsors: Ownbey's No. J0 Longhorn Chassis is powered by a Phantom Race Engine sponsored by Sam's Restaurant Equipment, A+ Moving & Storage, M&S Motors, Denton's Wrecker Service, Stealth Carburetor and Austin Trucking.

Points chase: Saturday's event opened Ultimate's 2016 campaign, which is currently slated to include 28 events.

Car count: 35

Fast qualifier: Donald McIntosh

Time: 13.733 seconds

Polesitter: Donald McIntosh

Consolation race winners: Skip Arp, Jason Croft

Next series race: March 19, County Line Raceway (Elm City, NC) $4,000