What won the race: Using a late-race restart to slide under Kye Blight, fifth-starting Dillon McCowan of Urbana, Mo., led the final six laps to win Friday's $5,012 Richard Craven Memorial at Kankakee County Speedway. McCowan, the 20-year-old hotshoe, led twice for eight laps (16-17, 35-40) to earn his first career MARS Championship Series victory and his first triumph of the season. His car's right-rear tire was flat in victory lane.

Quotable: “It was a heck of a racetrack tonight man, there with a couple (laps) to go we had that restart and I thought my right-rear (tire) was going flat, it was shaking awful bad,” McCowan said. “Kye (Blight) was fast up there and I knew the only way to get around him was to get one good run off of a restart and that was the only way I was gonna catch him.”

Key notes: Eleventh-starting Bob Gardner grabbed the runner-up spot on the final lap, crossing the line 0.566 of a second behind McCowan. ... The second-starting Blight, of Katanning, Western Australia, led three times for 31 laps (1-10, 12-15, 18-34) before giving way to Gardner and settling for third. ... Allen Weisser and Kevin Weaver traded fourth several times in the late going, with Weisser prevailing and Weaver placing fifth. ... Third-starting Jason Feger led lap 11 before slowing with a flat right-rear and drawing the race's second caution on lap 12. He recovered to finish sixth. ... There were five lead changes in total among Blight, Feger and McCowan. ... Frank Heckenast Jr. overcame a heat-race crash to improve nine positions and place eighth. ... Tommy Sheppard Jr. rebounded from a lap-12 flat tire of his own and grabbed 10th. ... Series points leader Ryan Unzicker slowed from 10th and pulled off on lap 15. ... Friday's feature was slowed by six incidents, the largest being a 15-minute red flag on lap 19 when Mike Harrison hopped the turn-two cushion while battling McCowan for second, slamming the backstretch wall and rolling over onto his roof. He was uninjured. ... The main event lasted 36 minutes, with 15 drivers running at the checkers. ... Taylor Scheffler was unhurt after climbing the turn-four wall and rolling over once during his heat race, before landing on his wheels.

On the move: Turk Letizia of Milwaukee, Wis., started 19th and finished ninth.

Winner's sponsors: McCowan’s Longhorn Chassis is powered by a Scott Bailey Racing Engine and carries sponsorship from Sonic, BLC Transportation, Pomeroy Services, Empire Energy, McCowan Farms, Heritage Tractor, Elite Construction, VP Racing Fuels, Swift Springs, Bilstein Shocks and Midwest Sheet Metal.

Points chase: After Kankakee County: 1. Allen Weisser (117); 2. Tommy Sheppard Jr. (113); 3. Bob Gardner (108); 4. Ryan Unzicker (107); 5. Kye Blight (106).

Current weather: Clear, 70°F

Car count: 28

Fast qualifier: Mike Harrison

Time: 14.145 seconds

Polesitter: Jake Little

Heat race winners: Mike Harrison, Dillon McCowan, Jason Feger

Consolation race winners: Tommy Sheppard Jr.

Provisional starters: Rich Bell, David Marlow

Next series race: May 18, Highland Speedway (Highland, IL) $5,000