What won the race: Inheriting the lead on lap 42 when race-long pacesetter Sam Seawright suffered a flat tire, 12th-starting Ray Cook of Brasstown, N.C., controlled the final eight circuits Saturday at Talladega Short Track to record his third career Ice Bowl victory. The $7,500 triumph was his first with the Valvoline Iron-Man Racing Series.

Quotable: “We’re just so thankful," Cook said. "It’s Talladega, it’s the Ice Bowl, there’s about a groove-and-a-half out there. We were just fortunate enough to be able to run right above them, keep the left sides in the rubber and luckily we didn’t tear it up no more than I did.”

Key notes: Cook, the 2009 and '12 Ice Bowl winner, was involved in two separate incidents in the opening laps before moving steadily through the field. He cracked the top five for the first time on lap 35 and reached second on lap 40, positioning himself to take advantage of Seawright's misfortune. ... After leading the first 42 laps from the outside front row, Seawright changed his flat right-rear tire and finished sixth. ... Fourteenth-starting Chris Jones finished second, 2.442 seconds behind Cook. ... Todd Morrow advanced 14 positions and finished fourth. ... Booger Brooks suffered a flat right-rear tire while running second on lap 43; he settled for seventh. ... Will Harris gained 16 spots and finished eighth, the final driver running at the finish. ... Polesitter Pearson Lee Williams failed to lead a lap and was involved in a multi-car incident on a lap-36 restart attempt; he was unable to continue and finished 10th. ... J.T. Seawright suffered mechanical trouble while running second on lap 29 and finished 14th. ... The 32nd annual Ice Bowl feature was slowed by 16 caution flags and lasted 58 minutes, with six competitors completing all 50 laps. … While a non-points event for the Iron-Man Southern Series, Saturday’s main event was the season opener for the Iron-Man Late Model Winter Series, a three-race schedule that continues at Boyd's Speedway on Jan. 28 for $4,000-to-win.

On the move: Will Roland of Jasper, Ga., started 20th and finished third.

Winner's sponsors: Cook’s Capital Race Car is powered by a Jay Dickens Racing Engine and sponsored by Vinson Sims Construction, Denby J&J Construction, Youngblood Concrete, SFP Performance Systems, Sunoco Race Fuels, Schaeffer’s Racing Oil and American Racer South.

Current weather: Broken Clouds, 68°F

Car count: 33

Fast qualifier: Sam Seawright

Time: 14.653 seconds

Polesitter: Pearson Lee Williams

Heat race winners: Pearson Lee Williams, J.T. Seawright, Sam Seawright, Dallas Cooper

Consolation race winners: David Seibers, Todd Morrow

Next series race: January 28, Boyd's Speedway (Ringgold, GA) $4,000