What won the race: Inheriting the point when race-long leader Jeremy Steele slowed on the 44th lap, hometown driver Montana Dudley led the rest of Sunday's 50-lap 604 Crate Late Model portion of the 53rd annual Alabama State Championship at East Alabama Motor Speedway. The sixth-starting Dudley endured two late-race restarts to beat Matt Henderson by 1.170 seconds for a $10,000 Rogers-Dabbs Crate Racin' USA 604 Series victory, his richest payday and fifth EAMS victory of the season.

Quotable: “The way my year’s been, I felt like a little bit of luck finally fell on our side. I’m pumped, I could probably cry right now,” Dudley said after giving his driving gloves to a fan. “Like I said it’s been such a rough year, I was starting to wonder if maybe I’d lost the edge or something, but I’m just glad to be back in victory lane. This is my first $10,000-to-win so that’ll be cool hanging on the wall.”

Key notes: Dudley's fifth 604 Crate win this season raised his most lucrative payday to $10,000, up from the $5,000 he earned on Oct. 28, 2023, on the National 100 undercard, also at EAMS. ... It's his first on the CRUSA tour since July 3, 2016, at EAMS, worth $2,500. ... Fifth-running Matt Henderson took second on the lap-44 restart after Jeremy Steele's apparent mechanical woes, but never truly challenged Dudley over the last handful of laps. ... CRUSA points leader, Steele, of York, S.C., led the opening 43 laps from the pole before slowing to draw the race's fourth caution. He retired and was credited with 15th. ... Joseph Brown challenged Steele in the early stages before slowing with apparent overheating issues on the 39th lap. He returned to the track after Steele's trouble and finished 14th, six laps down to the race winner. ... Cody Overton, displaying heavy left-side damage for much of the race, slowed from fourth on the final lap and slipped to 13th in the final rundown. ... Hayden Cardwell, 2023's Alabama State Champ, recovered to 10th after slowing from third with a flat right-rear tire on lap 45. ... Caleb Gay overcame a lap-39 spin to finish 12th, the final starter to complete 50 laps. ... Hometown racer Jimmy Thomas pulled off under green on lap 20. ... Tenth-running Wil Herrington retired on the 15th lap. ... Colby Quick pulled off before taking the green flag. ... The race was slowed by five cautions and lasted 26 minutes.

On the move: Runner up Matt Henderson of Loudon, Tenn., started 18th.

Winner's sponsors: Dudley’s Dustin Elliott-owned Longhorn Chassis is sponsored by Tim Thomason Construction Landscaping, Thomason Properties, Whistling Pig Cafe, Sheffield Trucking, D&K Precast, Curb Appeal Construction, Burgers and More, The Racing Zone and Stealth Racing Carburetors.

Points chase: Before EAMS: 1. Jeremy Steele (814); 2. Bubba Roling (766); 3. Joseph Brown (758); 4. Matt Henderson (752); 5. Austin Yarbrough (746).

Current weather: Clear, 90°F

Car count: 44

Fast qualifier: Jeremy Steele

Time: 15.231 seconds

Polesitter: Jeremy Steele

Heat race winners: Joseph Brown, Ricky Culpepper, Russ Ogletree, Jeremy Steele

Consolation race winners: Josh Ray, Matt Henderson

Provisional starters: Koulten Herbert, Trent McLeod

Next series race: October 4, Talladega Short Track (Eastaboga, AL) $5,000