What won the race: After overtaking leader Dennis Erb Jr. amid lapped traffic, seventh-starting Nick Hoffman of Mooresville, N.C., held off Bobby Pierce in the closing stages of Thursday's 40-lap Sooner State Showdown weekend opener at Arrowhead Speedway. Hoffman led the final 22 laps in beating Pierce by 0.410 of a second for the $10,000 payday, his first on the Comp Cams Super Dirt Series.

Quotable: “(The track) changed a lot throughout that race and I got the middle rolling there for a little while, then the top of (turns) one and two was pretty nice," Hoffman said. "I seen (Bobby Pierce) up there, then obviously that (lap-26) caution comes out and lets me restart and get back to the top.”

Key notes: Hoffman notched his seventh feature victory this season. ... Sixth-starting Bobby Pierce reclaimed the runner-up spot on lap 29 and pressured Hoffman late. ... Pierce drew within 0.074 of a second on lap 25 before he and Hoffman traded the lead prior to a lap-26 caution. ... Third-finishing Dennis Erb Jr. led laps 13-18. ... Tim McCreadie was fourth after a late back-and-forth battle with polesitter Brian Shirley, who led the first 12 laps. ... Drake Troutman gained eight spots to finish seventh. ... Tyler Erb and division rookie Tyler Wolff tangled battling for eighth on the 21st lap, with Wolff spinning again for the race's third and final caution on lap 26. ... The first stoppage came on lap four when the restart cone was pushed onto the racing surface. Drivers continually pushed the infield tires around while dragging their left-fronts through the grass at the exit of turn four. ... Arizona native R.C. Whitwell, driving a Jared Thompson-owned entry, was the race's first retiree on lap 18 in his fist Late Model feature start in nearly five years. ... The 40-lapper lasted 19 minutes with 20 starters completing the distance. ... Jon Mitchell scratched after crashing in the third heat race. ... World of Outlaws Real American Beer Late Model Series sanction joins the final two nights of the Sooner State Showdown, with Friday's 40-lap, $12,000-to-win event preceding Saturday's 60-lap, $20,000-to-win finale.

On the move: Tim McCreadie of Watertown, N.Y., started 17th and finished fourth.

Winner's sponsors: Hoffman’s Tye Twarog Racing Longhorn Chassis is powered by a Clements Racing Engine and carries sponsorship from NOS Energy Drink, C&W Trucking, Petroff Towing, Tye Twarog Performance Parts, Lonewolf Petroleum, Holdren Construction, Haulin’ Haskells, Tri Valley Equipment Sales, Deatherage Opticians, Allgaier Performance Parts, VP Racing Fuels, Bilstein Shocks, Eibach Springs, Lincoln Smith Racing, Wehrs Machine, Burlile Fuels and KBC Graphix.

Points chase: After Arrowhead Thursday: 1. Billy Moyer (2,265); 2. Morgan Bagley (2,130); 3. B.J. Robinson (1,945); 4. Eli Ross (1,855); 5. Kyle Beard (1,780).

Current weather: Clear, 79°F

Car count: 39

Fast qualifier: Brian Shirley

Time: 12.396 seconds

Polesitter: Brian Shirley

Heat race winners: Brian Shirley, Cade Dillard, Dennis Erb Jr., Dustin Sorensen

Consolation race winners: Tim McCreadie, Clay Stuckey

Provisional starters: Morgan Bagley, B.J. Robinson, Kyle Beard, Charlie Cole

Next series race: August 22, Arrowhead Speedway (Colcord, OK) $12,000