What won the race: Leading from the start, polesitter Eric Spangler of Lake City, Mich., cruised to his third American Ethanol Late Model Tour victory of the season, winning at his home track by 1.33 seconds over Dona Marcoullier of Houghton Lake, Mich. Spangler's Pace Performance 40 triumph was worth $4,000.

Quotable: “This is the car we ran for the last three nights. We ran good down at Attica, we ran good last night and we brought it home tonight,” said Spangler. “It’s a lot of hard work in the garage and it paid off tonight. Everybody’s racing for positions out there and everybody deserves the same race track. You just gotta pick and choose where you go.”

Key notes: Spangler previously won June 15 at Merritt and July 1 at Thunderbird Raceway in Muskegon, Mich. ... Runner-up Dona Marcoullier extended his streak of finishing on the podium in every series event this season. ... Ethanol competitors made their third and final stop at Merritt. ... Spangler leads Merritt’s UMP Late Model weekly points. … The tour’s next scheduled stop Sept. 16 at Plymouth has been cancelled. … The series added a Sept. 30 race at Berlin Raceway in Marne, Mich., which will now host the final three Ethanol events.

On the move: Curt Spalding started 17th and finished 10th.

Winner's sponsors: Spangler's MasterSbilt Race Car is sponsored by Spangler Heating & Cooling, Cyclo Products, Forbes Construction & Excavation, Mark Mitchell P.C., Atkins Electric, Taco Boy, A&L Trading Post, Babb Ford, Goodman H&C and Xtreme GrafX.

Points chase: Entering the race, Dona Marcoullier (764 points) led Eric Spangler (672), Brandon Thirlby (612), Ryan VanderVeen (584) and Travis Stemler (579) atop the Ethanol standings.

Car count: 21

Fast qualifier: Brandon Thirlby

Time: 13.863 seconds

Polesitter: Eric Spangler

Heat race winners: Brandon Thirlby, Rich Bell, Eric Spangler

Next series race: September 23, Berlin Raceway (Marne, MI) $5,000