What won the race: Overtaking his closest title rival on the 31st lap, Dona Marcoullier of Houghton Lake, Mich., led the rest of the way Saturday on the dirt-covered asphalt at Berlin Raceway for his series-leading fifth American Ethanol Late Model Tour victory of the season. Marcoullier earned $5,000 for the triumph using the high side to overtake Eric Spangler, who led laps 8-31 but slipped to fourth at the finish.

Quotable: "The car was really good in the heat race, and I just fine-tuned it for the feature. I was just mainly biding my time," winner Dona Marcoullier said of a lengthy battle with Eric Spangler. "I was just trying to find the right point where we didn't make any contact and just race clean."

Key notes: Marcoullier has 10 career series victories, half of them in 2017. He had a 0.912-second edge on runner-up Ryan VanderVeen at the checkers. ... Eric Spangler slipped from second to fourth after the lap-37 restart, allowing Ryan VanderVeen and Rich Bell past. ... Early leader Chad Finley, who competes on asphalt in the ARCA division, clipped an infield tire before halfway to bring out a caution, forcing him to the tail. ... Fifteen drivers completed 40 laps. ... The race was the first of three straight Saturdays of American Ethanol Late Model Tour action at Berlin, a 7/16-mile paved oval that is ending its 2017 campaign with a dirt covering the surface.

Winner's sponsors: Marcoullier’s Rocket Chassis has a Vic Hill Racing Engine and is sponsored by Northside Services, Dennis Craft Construction, Dubie Groomer, Jimmy’s Collision, McBain Body Shop and Allstar Performance.

Points chase: Heading to Berlin, Dona Marcoullier of Houghton Lake, Mich., had 847 points to lead Eric Spangler (761) and Brandon Thirlby (692).

Car count: 25

Fast qualifier: Brandon Thirlby

Time: 16.812 seconds

Heat race winners: Rich Neiser, Dona Marcoullier, Eric Spangler

Next series race: September 30, Berlin Raceway (Marne, MI) $0