What won the race: Regaining control from early leader Ethan Dotson, fourth-starting Spencer Hughes of Meridian, Miss., paced the final 16 laps to win Friday's $5,000 Clash at the Mag opener at Magnolia Motor Speedway. Hughes led 21 laps in total (9-13, 15-30) to notch his third career Comp Cams Super Dirt Series victory, his first since July 11, 2020, at I-30 Speedway in Little Rock, Ark.

Quotable: “I’ll have to go back and watch that one, I can only imagine what all was going on behind me there,” Hughes said. “We got the lead there and it was really good, but just more of that lapped traffic and stuff that we really didn’t know where to be (on the track). I just kept down there watching (crewman) Caleb (Todd) and I think at times I needed to be up higher.”

Key notes: Hughes also won April’s $3,000 MSCCS stop at Magnolia. … Ninth-starting Ashton Winger muscled his way into second on lap 15 and trailed Hughes the second half of the race, finishing 0.747 of a second back. ... Payton Freeman advanced five spots to finish third. ... Tenth-starting Stormy Scott rounded out the top five. ... Second-starting Ethan Dotson led twice for nine laps (1-8, 14) before Winger's turn-four slider ended on Dotson's nose, causing heavy damage. Dotston slowed from fifth to draw the race's lone caution on lap 17 before pulling off just a few laps later. ... Dotson shared the front row with his ASD Motorsports teammate, fast qualifier John Henderson, who slipped to finish 16th. ... Friday's Clash at the Mag opener lasted 13 minutes, with 18 competitors completing 30 laps and 21 running at the finish. ... The two-day show concludes with Saturday's 50-lap, $12,000-to-win finale.

On the move: Kyle Beard of Trumann, Ark., started 18th and finished ninth.

Winner's sponsors: Hughes’s JCM Motorsports Rocket Chassis is powered by an Andy Durham Racing Engine and carries sponsorship from Torco Advanced Lubricants, Yellow Hammer Design & Construction, Cliburn Tank Lines, Neon Bubbles Car Wash, Indiana USSSA Fastpitch, Link Construction, Professional Concrete Cutting & Drilling, Hyperco, The Mercantile, Steering Buddy, VP Race Fuels, Fox Racing Shox, Boswell Oil and Midwest Sheet Metal.

Points chase: After Magnolia Friday: 1. Morgan Bagley (545); 2. Logan Martin (544); 3. Kyle Beard (502); 4. B.J. Robinson (480); 5. Jon Mitchell (479).

Current weather: Clear, 79°F

Car count: 49

Fast qualifier: John Henderson

Time: 14.419 seconds

Polesitter: John Henderson

Heat race winners: John Henderson, Sam Seawright, Jeremy Shaw, Ethan Dotson, Spencer Hughes, Chad Thrash

Consolation race winners: Oakley Johns, Noah Daspit

Provisional starters: Clay Stuckey, Scott Crigler, Jon Kirby, Brandon Ball

Next series race: June 15, Magnolia Motor Speedway (Columbus, MS) $12,000