What won the race: Second-starting Jake Knowles of Rome, Ga., topped Wil Herrington and Mark Whitener in Friday night’s Durrence Layne Chevrolet Series opener at Cochran Motor Speedway. Finishing 1.612 seconds ahead of Herrington, Knowles pocketed $2,000.

Quotable: “I’m pretty sure we went with a little different tire combination than anyone else and when we took the lead, I was pretty confident we had a winning race car,” Knowles said. “I’ve got to thank my dad Wade Knowles, who worked all day out here in the heat to give me a race car that handled better than any I can remember. We’ll just dust it off, get a new set of tires ready and we’ll be ready to go for tomorrow.”

Key notes: Sixth-starting Jimmy Thomas was an early retiree on lap-36. … Cochran hosts back-to-back nights of Durrence Layne Chevrolet Series action, with a $2,000-to-win main event scheduled Friday and a $2,500-to-win feature set for Saturday. … It’s the tour’s only appearance at Cochran this season. … John Ownbey of Cleveland, Tenn., won the series stop at Talladega (Ala.) Short Track on Wednesday. … Entering the holiday weekend, there have been five different winners in five DLCS events this year with Ashton Winger, Wil Herrington and Cory Hedgecock joining Knowles and Ownbey.

On the move: Oakley Johns of Clifton, Tenn., started 17th and finished fourth.

Winner's sponsors: Knowles drives a Longhorn Chassis sponsored by Knowles Race Parts & Bodies, Josh Roberts Trucking, Buster Goss Body Shop, Martins Wrecker Service, Curbow Logging, Coosa Heating & Cooling and JW Motorsports.

Points chase: Entering the event, Jake Knowles (470 points) of Rome, Ga., leads Cruz Skinner (422), Wil Herrington (394), Tyler Wood (392) and Oakley Johns (390).

Current weather: Partly Cloudy, 77°F

Car count: 25

Fast qualifier: T.J. Brittain

Time: 15.335 seconds

Polesitter: T.J. Brittain

Next series race: July 6, Cochran Motor Speedway (Cochran, GA) $2,500