GEORGETOWN, Del. (Aug. 17) — Devin Moran’s first visit to the state of Delaware helped him cast away a frustrating summer stretch of racing.

The big half-mile Georgetown Speedway was certainly unfamiliar territory for the 22-year-old driver from Dresden, Ohio, but he adapted well to register a flag-to-flag victory in the Fulton Bank 40 that was his second World of Outlaws Craftsman Late Model Series win of 2017 but first in nearly three months.

After taking advantage of his pole starting slot to lead every lap of the WoO tour’s first-ever event at Georgetown, Moran sounded relieved to finally return to the circuit’s spotlight. His claimed his first career WoO triumph on May 26 at Atomic Speedway in Alma, Ohio, but since then had experienced several heartbreaking defeats.

“It’s been way too long,” Moran said after beating Austin Hubbard of Seaford, Del., to the finish line by 0.972 of a second. “I’m telling you, it’s been a crazy month and a half. Both of my grandparents haven’t been in the greatest of health so I’ve been praying for them, and we’ve just been having all sorts of problems (on the track) — we’ve been breaking, having stupid stuff happen, getting wrecked. Things that you just don’t want to happen have been happening.

“Generally, though, we’ve had a really good race car. There were definitely races that we were in contention but stuff just didn’t go our way. Tonight it did.”

Indeed, Moran picked the pole position in the redraw among the top two finishers in each of the evening’s three heat races and used it maintain firm control for the 40-lapper’s entire distance. He was chased early by WoO points leader Brandon Sheppard of New Berlin, Ill., and, for the final 27 circuits, his fellow front-row starter Hubbard, but neither rival was able to draw alongside Moran’s Tye Twarog-owned XR1 Rocket on a racetrack that turned one-lane.

Hubbard, 25, settled for a $5,000 runner-up payoff in his XR1 Rocket, crossing the finish line a few car lengths ahead of Sheppard’s Rocket Chassis house car. Rick Eckert of York, Pa., started and finished fourth in Paul Crowl’s Longhorn Race Car while 10th-starter Chris Madden of Gray Court, S.C., placed fifth in his Longhorn after overtaking Shane Clanton of Zebulon, Ga., with two laps remaining.

“We had a really good Rocket XR1 race car, but picking the pole worked out in our favor,” said Moran, who is cruising to 2017 WoO Rookie of the Year honors. “It was definitely tough to pass. I know Austin got by Sheppard on one of them restarts (lap 13), but all in all, we started on the pole, and that’s really what was the key for us.”

For Moran, the race boiled down to keeping his car’s tires underneath him and avoiding a crucial mistake. He accomplished both tasks with aplomb, though he did experience some anxious moments when he approached lapped traffic in the race’s closing moments.

“I was just trying to drive pretty straight,” Moran related. “I knew (the surface) was pretty black and it started rubbering a little on the straightaways, so lapped traffic definitely got a little hairy. I had to be patient, just make sure I didn’t mess up so Austin could get by me.

“Wylie (Moran’s younger brother) was giving me signals (from outside turns three and four), but it was hard to see because it was so dark over there so I was just thinking in my head, Just be smart, stay on the bottom. If somebody goes on the outside of you, you’ll figure something out.

“Well,” he added, “he never got to the outside of me.”

The checkered flag was a milestone of sorts for Moran.

“I think it’s the first half-mile I’ve ever won on,” he said, “so that’s kind of cool.”

Of course, it also allowed Moran to put his recent tough times in his rearview mirror.

“We struggled at Florence (Speedway in Union, Ky., for the North-South 100) last week and didn’t even make the show,” said Moran, who sits fifth in the overall WoO points standings. “We just regrouped this week, worked our butts off and came out here and did what we needed to do.”

Hubbard drew within striking distance of Moran in the final laps, but he didn’t attempt any rash moves that might have cost him second place.

“I had a good rhythm when (the surface) was just starting to rubber, but you can only charge so hard for so long at a track like this because you just overheat the tire,” Hubbard said. “That’s what happened. I ran hard five, six laps and got up to (Moran), but once I got there I felt like I was gonna fly out of the place going in the turn. I just made sure I didn’t drive out of it and run fifth with a second-place starting spot.

“I’ll take it,” he continued. “We’re always damn close to winning this (home-state WoO) race whether it’s at Delmar (Delaware International Speedway) or here. We’re gonna win this race, I swear.”

Hubbard was outgunned for second place at the race’s initial green flag by the third-starting Sheppard, but he reclaimed the spot on a lap-13 restart.

“When they went to restart there was a rut there and I think Devin kind of started right in it and he spun the tires,” Hubbard recalled. “Sheppard had to check up and then get back in it, so I kind of got the momentum. With the long straightaway, I was able to keep it and clear him and then get down in line.”

Sheppard, 24, agreed with Hubbard’s assessment of the pivotal lap-13 restart.

“I don’t think Devin got a very good restart there,” Sheppard said. “He was leaving on the bottom and he just held me up enough where Austin got a good run going down the frontstretch and then he was able to turn to the bottom ahead of me. That was that.

“Devin didn’t mess up enough for me to get up underneath him that first part of the race, and then late there, Austin and (Moran) did a good job and neither of them messed up enough to pass them. I tried moving out there (to the outside) late and it was no good at all, so we had to settle for what we got.”

Three caution flags slowed the race. The most serious incident occurred on lap three when a multi-car tangle in turn four forced Millsboro, Del., drivers Kenny Pettyjohn and Donald Lingo Jr. out of action.

Notes: Moran tallied his sixth overall feature win of 2017. … Eric Wells of Hazard, Ky., was running in the top 10 when he blew a right-rear tire on lap 11, bringing out the race’s second caution flag. His car was towed to the pit area due to bodywork damage from the explosion, but he returned after quick work by his crew and finished 13th. … Frank Heckenast Jr. of Frankfort, Ill., had his car’s water pump break in hot laps, but a blown head gasket on the first lap of his heat forced him to pull out his 2014-vintage Black Diamond car to complete the night. He started 21st but salvaged a ninth-place finish. … Dale Hollidge of Mechanicsville, Md., used a provisional to start the A-main after a broken distributor cap in heat action prompted him to unload his backup car. … Chub Frank of Bear Lake, Pa., finished 11th despite racing with a battered left-side door from his involvement in the lap-three accident. … Ricky Elliott of Seaford, Del., qualified through a B-main after power-steering problems in hot laps prevented him from logging a lap in time trials and he missed his heat race while making repairs. He retired from the feature due to engine trouble. … Mason Zeigler of Chalk Hill, Pa., was behind the wheel of the Bryan Klinedinst-owned No. 43A; Jamie Lathroum of Mechanicsville, Md., made his fourth start in Somey Lacey's No. 45; and Dan Stone of Thompson, Pa., drove the Coleman No. 72 for the first time since May. The only non-qualifier of the trio was Stone, who experienced terminal engine woes. ... The event marked the tour's only 2017 appearance in the state of Delaware. ... Georgetown kicked off a three-race WoO swing that also visits Pennsylvania's Port Royal Speedway on Saturday and Eriez Speedway on Sunday. ... Georgetown promoter Brett Deyo was very happy with the near-capacity crowd that turned out for the richest event in the track’s history.