What won the race: Joseph Brown of Columbus, Ga., continued his mastery of the Early Bird 50 at Needmore Speedway, leading from flag-to-flag on Sunday to capture the track's ninth annual Southern Clash Late Model Series event for the third consecutive year. He beat Mark Whitener of Middleburg, Fla., to the finish line by 1.453 seconds for the $5,000 top prize.

Key notes: Brown, who became the first driver to win the Early Bird 50 three years in a row, survived a mid-race scrape with a lapped car in turn two that allowed Whitener to make his strongest challenge of the race. ... Whitener credited Brown with a flawless run: "He was class of the field. He got me. I couldn't do nothing with him." ... Saturday night's card included time trials and heats as well as a Top 4 Dash that saw Brown earn the feature's pole position by topping Whitener, Rhett Carter and Ryan Carter; last-chance races and features run on Sunday. ... The Southern Clash A-main carries a $1,000 bonus for the highest-finishing driver in a 604 Crate or Florida Late Model.

Winner's sponsors: Brown drove a Black Diamond Race Car powered by a Bobby Thomas engine.

Current weather: Clear, 77°F

Car count: 27

Fast qualifier: Mark Whitener

Time: 14.773 seconds

Polesitter: Joseph Brown

Dash winner: Joseph Brown

Heat race winners: Russell Brown Jr., Jordy Nipper, John Baker