What won the race: Pulling off a spectacular charge from the 15th starting spot to the lead without the benefit of a caution flag, Max Blair of Centerville, Pa., overtook Hudson O’Neal to gain command with two circuits remaining and capture Saturday night’s Freedom 50 at Muskingum County Speedway. The 36-year-old driver survived two restarts on the final lap to secure a $25,000 paycheck for his first-ever full-field triumph on the Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series.

Quotable: “I said, ‘Well, that's a hell of a run, you know, 15th to fourth. This is pretty cool,’” Blair commented. “And I said, ‘You know what? Maybe we’ll get a yellow and I’ll get a shot at it. And then we went about three more laps, and I was like, ‘Holy cow! Like they’re not even in lapped traffic and I’m running them down pretty quick, so …’Oh man, I can’t believe it. It’s awesome.”

Key notes: Blair, who won a Lucas Oil Series semifeature on June 23, 2023, at Lernerville Speedway in Sarver, Pa., cracked the top-five on lap 31 and moved to fourth on lap 36. He was still nearly 5 seconds behind the top three — O’Neal, Clay Harris and Devin Moran — but turned circuits a half-second faster than the leaders to run them down. … Blair completed his advance passing Harris for third on lap 46 and then ducking underneath Moran in turns one and two and O’Neal on the backstretch to sail into the lead as lap 48 was scored. … The race’s two caution flags came on lap 49 — for sixth-running Brian Shirley’s right-rear flat tire and then a turn-four tangle involving Josh Rice, Todd Brennan and Cory Lawler — but didn’t hamper Blair, who pulled away for his elusive breakthrough Lucas Oil win. … Blair's victory came one week after he earned a $20,000 RUSH Crate win at Lernerville Speedway on the Firecracker 100 undercard. ... Moran crossed the finish line 0.731 of a second behind Blair after overtaking O’Neal on the final lap. … O’Neal settled for third after leading laps 2-47; he said he was struggling late with his soft tire choice. … Harris, who led the first lap and ran second through lap 44, finished fourth. It was his first top-five on the series since Georgia-Florida Speedweeks. … With rain threatening throughout the program — and spits of precipitation falling during the two late caution periods — the checkered flag was thrown at 9:34 p.m.

On the move: Max Blair came from 15th to emerge victorious.

Winner's sponsors: Blair's Centerline Motorsports Longhorn Chassis is powered by a Clements Racing Engine and carries sponsorship from Riggs Fiber, C&J Dairy, Murphy’s Logging, Virgile Iron & Steel, Tavern 618, The Gable Inn Bar & Grill, Andy’s Towing, Deer Lakes Bowl, Willie’s World, Close Racing Supply, VG Performance, Presto Racing Stables and Bilstein Shocks.

Points chase: After Muskingum County: 1. Hudson O’Neal (4,370); 2. Brandon Sheppard (4,325); 3. Devin Moran (4,220); 4. Brandon Overton (3,945); 5. Max Blair (3,935); 6. Ricky Thornton Jr. (3,850); 7. Garrett Alberson (3,695); 8. Brian Shirley (3,590); 9. Josh Rice (3,585); 10. Kyle Bronson (3,495); 11. Clay Harris (3,475); 12. Carson Ferguson (3,440).

Current weather: Broken Clouds Light Rain, 79°F

Car count: 29

Fast qualifier: Hudson O'Neal

Time: 15.688 seconds

Polesitter: Hudson O'Neal

Heat race winners: Hudson O'Neal, Brian Shirley, Clay Harris, Brandon Sheppard

Consolation race winners: Garrett Alberson

Provisional starters: Steve Prince, Larry Bellman, Caiden Black

Next series race: July 9, 34 Raceway (West Burlington, IA) $15,000