What won the race: Fourth-starting Brandon Sheppard of New Berlin, Ill., beat Bobby Pierce of Oakwood, Ill., to the finish line in Thursday night's UMP DIRTcar Late Model feature for his first victory of the season at Tri-City Speedway.

Key notes: Sheppard had registered a pair of podium finishes at Tri-City earlier in the season, placing second on May 23 and third in the June 20 UMP DIRTcar Summernationals event. ... With his runner-up finish, Pierce clinched his first-ever UMP DIRTcar Late Model national title. ... Fast-timers in group qualifying were Randy Korte, Tony Jackson Jr., Jim Shereck, Bobby Pierce and Tim Manville. ... Both Pierce and Sheppard pulled double-duty, competing in the Late Model and UMP modified action. While Sheppard failed to qualify Dave Wietholder's modified, Pierce made the cut through a B-Main and charged forward to finish third in the feature. ... Friday was the first of three consecutive nights of racing for Dirt Late Models as part of Tri-City's Summit Modified Nationals. All three Late Model events pay $2,000 to the winner. ... The UMP modifieds take center stage during the weekend with increasingly larger first-place purses of $3,000, $4,000 and $5,000 over the weekend.

On the move: Pierce charged from the ninth starting spot to finish second. Rusty Schlenk of McClure, Ohio, rallied from the 20th starting position to finish ninth.

Winner's sponsors: Sheppard's Pro Power-powered Rocket Chassis is sponsored by Valvoline, Kid's Castle Learning Center, Petroff Towing and Keyser Mfg.

Points chase: With a third-place finished, soon-to-be-retired Randy Korte of Highland, Ill., increased his Tri-City points lead over fourth-place finisher Jim Shereck.

Car count: 42

Polesitter: Randy Korte

Heat race winners: Randy Korte, Tony Jackson Jr., Jim Shereck, Brandon Sheppard, Tim Manville

Consolation race winners: Billy Laycock, Jesse Stovall