What won the race: Polesitter Chris Ferguson of Mount Holly, N.C., led all 30 laps to capture Friday night's first 30-lap Mountain Moonshine Classic semifeature at Smoky Mountain Speedway. He beat his younger cousin, Carson Ferguson, by 1.073 seconds for the $5,000 top prize.

Quotable: "We had a rough weekend last weekend (at Eldora Speedway) in the humbling sport of Dirt Late Model racing, but we’re back here in victory lane,” Chris Ferguson said. “Me and Carson, we battled down the frontstretch (at the initial start). I knew it was gonna be about who gets into (turn) one and we were able to just kinda lean on him a little bit and drive off in there. I was just praying under that last caution — I lost brakes.”

Key notes: Despite losing his car's brakes midway through the race, experiencing carburetor trouble and racing half the distance with a damaged nosepiece, Chris Ferguson notched his second victory of the season and his first since March. ... Two-time and reigning Schaeffer's Oil Spring Nationals champion Carson Ferguson fended off multiple challenges from Jonathan Davenport in the closing laps to secure the runner-up position. ... Davenport, fresh off his $129,000 Dream victory at Eldora started finished third to join the Fergusons as transfers to Saturday's 60-lap, $50,000-to-win Mountain Moonshine Classic finale. They will contest a six-lap dash Saturday with the second semifeature's top-three finishers to determine their starting positions. ... Hudson O'Neal and Jimmy Owens each advanced six positions, finishing fourth and fifth, respectively. ... The race's third and final incident necessitated a 15-minute red flag for cleanup on lap 21 when sixth-running Trevor Landrum hit the inside berm with his left front, causing him to spin rapidly out of turn four; Landrum appeared to complete a clean 360 before his left-rear tire came off the bead, causing his driver-side to dig into the surface and tip over onto his roof while being hit by Garrett Alberson. Landrum climbed out of his car after track officials several minutes to turn it back onto its wheels; he said his left wrist was sore afterward but did not think it was serious. ... Will Roland ran in fourth place until overheating woes caused him to pull off on lap 17. ... Stormy Scott scratched from the feature. ... After an extended period of time was spent scraping and working the surface following qualifying, series and track officials decided to scrap Friday's heat races because of the challenging conditions. They lined up the twin 30-lappers by qualifying times. ... The was slowed three times, including the 15-minute red flag, and lasted 28 minutes overall, with 16 drivers completing all 30 laps. ... It was the first Super Late Model event run on Smoky Mountain's new shortened 3/8-mile configuration.

On the move: Cory Hedgecock of Loudon, Tenn., started 20th and finished ninth.

Winner's sponsors: Ferguson’s Team Zero Race Car is powered by a Clements Racing Engine and sponsored by Diff-Tran Machining, Live Oak Aesthetic and Family Dentistry, K&K Trucking, Carolina Roofing & Gutters, The Racing Warehouse, Little Mountain Farm, Heckle’s Plumbing, Spartan Transportation, Keith’s Handyman Services, Rosewood Assisted Living, On Time Construction, Count On It Construction, Vinson Sims Construction, Beaux-Tie Limousine Service, Hoosier Racing Tire, Fox Racing Shox and Schaeffer’s Racing Oil.

Points chase: Before Smoky Mountain: 1. Ricky Thornton Jr. (3,410); 2. Hudson O’Neal (3,245); 3. Brandon Overton (3,195); 4. Tim McCreadie (3,050); 5. Devin Moran (2,950); 6. Jonathan Davenport (2,885); 7. Daulton Wilson (2,885); 8. Max Blair (2,755); 9. Tyler Erb (2,730); 10. Spencer Hughes (2,685).

Current weather: Few Clouds, 81°F

Car count: 44

Fast qualifier: Chris Ferguson

Time: 13.733 seconds

Polesitter: Chris Ferguson

Next series race: June 17, Smoky Mountain Speedway (Maryville, TN) $50,000