What won the race: Dominating start-to-finish, Ashton Winger of Hampton, Ga., captured Saturday’s seventh annual Gene Maine Memorial at Needmore Speedway. He was never threatened en route to winning the 40-lap Southern Thunder Super Dirt Series feature’s $7,501 top prize by a commanding margin of 6.466 seconds over Mark Whitener.

Quotable: “I knew getting that start there was important,” Winger said. “I knew I probably needed to lift pretty early down here on the start in order to get launched like I needed to leaving (turn) two. I felt like it really got one lane, but, like, you could still pass just based on, like, how long you waited to pick the throttle up down here leaving two, and then just the longer you went into three there beside somebody, as long as you stayed in the throttle. The shape of the racetrack actually just allowed you to pass (lapped cars).”

Key notes: Winger recorded his first win of the 2026 season and the second of his career on the second-year tour. His previous Southern Thunder score came last July 31 at Clarksville (Tenn.) Speedway. … Whitener, who won Friday’s Southern Thunder feature at Waycross (Ga.) Motor Speedway and was the 2023 Maine Memorial victor in CRUSA 604 Series competition, ran second for the entire distance but finished over a straightaway behind Winger. … Florida’s Bubba Roling, making his second career Super Late Model start, challenged Whitener for much of the race before losing ground in the closing laps and settling for a third-place finish. … The only caution flag came with one lap complete when Wil Herrington slid sideways between turns one and two, collecting Steven Roberts and Allen Styck. … The feature lasted just over 14 minutes and had 10 cars still running at the checkers. … Payton Stevenson stopped on the frontstretch during the feature’s pace laps and his powerless car was pushed off the track. ... Trae Kirk scratched from the main event lineup. … The race honored the late driver of the familiar No. 201 machine, which Maine drove on a regular basis at tracks in Georgia and Florida. He was the 1997 series champion on the Ray Miller-promoted National Late Model Series.

On the move: Dalton Cook of Salem, Ala., started 15th and finished seventh.

Winner's sponsors: Winger’s Jeff Mathews Motorsports Rocket Chassis carries sponsorship from WESPRO, JCB, RVSSelectInc.com, CURS, Integra Shocks, Capital Sports Construction, CSR Aluminum Fabrication, Super K Express, A-Plus Collision Center, Airport Sports Center, Dixie Sporting Goods, Whooping Creek Construction, FK Rod Ends and Crown Security.

Points chase: After Needmore: 1. Mark Whitener (288); 2. Ashton Winger (270); 3. Josh Putnam (266); 4. Wil Herrington (264); 5. Dalton Cook (252).

Current weather: Broken Clouds, 81°F

Car count: 20

Fast qualifier: Ashton Winger

Time: 15.772 seconds

Polesitter: Ashton Winger

Next series race: June 19, Penton Raceway (Penton, AL) $5,000