What won the race: Pole-starting Brandon Overton of Evans, Ga., led all 25 laps Friday at Deep South Speedway for a $5,000 payday on opening night of the Hunt the Front Southern Showcase. He took the checkered flag 1.173 seconds ahead of Commerce, Ga.'s Payton Freeman.

Quotable: “It was getting pretty rough in (turn) one,” Overton said. “One time I thought I bicycled it pretty good and I said, ‘Damn I better calm down.’ I was just a little too tight, a little too tight and I would shove across (the corner). We just did what we had to do to stay out front and not get in a wreck.”

Key notes: Overton recorded his 15th overall victory of the season ahead of Saturday's $22,000-to-win finale. ... Freeman was the behind the wheel of G.R. Smith's Team 22 Inc. machine. ... Joseph Joiner, whose family promoted the event, finished third with 12th-starting Josh Putnam fourth. ... Whynot Motorsports Park owner Rodney Wing, piloting the No. 1c normally driven by Chad Thrash, finished sixth. ... The 25-lap feature was slowed by four cautions and required 22 minutes. ... Monte Skinner, behind the wheel of a Billy Franklin-backed Rocket Chassis, brought out the feature's first caution on lap six and finished 24th. Other cautions: Jeremy Broadus (spin); a six-car melee on the frontstretch (lap 13); and Rusty Schlenk (slowed and pitted). ... Overton broke the previous Late Model track record of 15.304 seconds set by Rick Eckert during a March 13, 2009 World of Outlaws Case Late Model Series visit. ... The track has been shortened by 70 feet since the WoO show, though the middle of the track is a true 3/8-mile oval now according to track owner Billy Roberson. ... Billy Franklin scratched for the night after breaking a motor in heat action. ... Crate Late Model pilots Larry Yates and Arlen Smith withdrew before time trials. ... Trying to avoid inclement weather, Saturday’s start time was moved up two hours with gates opening at noon, hot laps at 3 p.m. and racing at 5. The rain date is Sunday. ... Watch live on FloRacing.

On the move: Jeremy Broadus of Biloxi, Miss., started 21st and finished eighth.

Winner's sponsors: Overton’s Wells Motorsports Longhorn Chassis is powered by a Clements Race Engine and sponsored by CrossFit Overton, E-Z-Go, Big Dog Stump & Tree, R.W. Powell Construction, Angry Elephant Tattoos & Piercings, Convenient Lube, Dirt Mafia, Allstar Performance, Penske Racing Shocks, Hoosier by Brian and Topnotch Kustom Koncepts.

Current weather: Clear, 45°F

Car count: 31

Fast qualifier: Brandon Overton

Time: 13.962 seconds

Polesitter: Brandon Overton

Heat race winners: Brandon Overton, Spencer Hughes, Payton Freeman, Joseph Joiner