What won the race: Taking the lead with an inside move through turns one and two on lap 27 as Ricky Thornton Jr.'s car belched a cloud of steam, Spencer Hughes of Meridian, Miss., paced the final three circuits to win Sunday's 30-lap Sunoco American Late Model-sanctioned Baltes Classic at Eldora Speedway. The 20-year-old beat Hudson O'Neal to the finish line by 2.643 seconds to earn $5,000 for his first-ever triumph at the half-mile oval.

Quotable: “I knew I just kind of had to bide my time there,” Hughes said. “I really wasn’t too good there at the very beginning. I just tried to keep ourselves out of trouble because with the racetrack this fast, and that much character, it’s just hard on equipment. It just worked out like I guess how it’s supposed to in lapped traffic and stuff. When that last caution come out I was just hoping to hang on and stay in the top three.”

Key notes: Hughes’s first-ever ALMS victory was also his first win since he started driving for Craig and Shannon Sims’s Hope, Ind.-based PCC Motorsports in May. … After Hughes slipped past O’Neal for second on lap 24, he quickly caught Thornton and assumed command when the leader was eliminated by a busted lower radiator hose. … Steve Casebolt led laps 1-14 before retiring during a caution period with a broken left-rear birdcage. ... Thornton led laps 15-27. … Devin Moran traded sliders with Casebolt for the lead on a lap-12 restart but slowed two circuits later with a right-front flat tire and nose damage. … Piloting the Kentucky-based Hatcher Motorsports Team Zero No. 6, Ashton Winger ran as high as third before problems on the final lap left him with a sixth-place finish. He plans to field the car at the World 100s because his own team is down on motors. … Jon Henry, who has made infrequent starts in a variety of cars in recent seasons, piloted Rick DeLong’s No. 3 to a third-place finish. … The race was slowed by three caution flags and lasted 23 minutes. … With rough-and-tumble track conditions after overnight rain, just 10 cars were running at the finish and five were on the lead lap.

On the move: Nathan Loney of Danville, Ohio, started 23rd and finished fifth.

Winner's sponsors: Hughes’s PCC Motorsports Longhorn Chassis carries a Cornett engine and sponsorship from Professional Concrete Cutting & Drilling, Roth Heating and Cooling, Bob and Tammy Burton and Bilstein Shocks.

Points chase: Before Eldora: 1. Rich Bell (481), 2. Brandon Thirlby (357); 3. Curtis Roberts (342); 4. Rusty Schlenk (342); 5. Travis Stemler.

Current weather: Clear, 64°F

Car count: 33

Fast qualifier: Spencer Hughes

Time: 15.150 seconds

Polesitter: Steven Roberts

Heat race winners: Ricky Thornton Jr., Steve Casebolt, Steven Roberts, Devin Moran

Consolation race winners: Robby Hensley

Next series race: September 17, Tri-City Motor Speedway (Auburn, MI) $10,000