What won the race: Sliding by polesitter Dallon Murty on lap four then fending off points leader Bobby Pierce on a late restart, third-starting Nick Hoffman of Mooresville, N.C., captured Friday's King of the Arch opener at I-55 Federated Raceway Park. Hoffman beat the 17th-starting Pierce by 2.357 seconds for the $12,000 paycheck, his seventh World of Outlaws Late Model Series victory of the season and 18th of his career.

Quotable: "I was gonna, probably get yelled at by my old man if I let (Pierce) pass me on the top because earlier he said if you're doing it right, you're gonna knock that spoiler off to win this race tonight," Hoffman said. "I just wanted to prove to him that I could get done around the bottom."

Key notes: Fresh off a six-figure payday in the Sept. 12 World 100 at Eldora Speedway, Hoffman stuck primarily to I-55's hub and led the final 37 laps largely unchallenged for his 11th overall feature win of the season. ... Hoffman saw his near five-second advantage erased by a lap-32 debris caution, just two laps after Bobby Pierce moved into the runner-up spot, but Hoffman pulled away on the late restart. ... Tim McCreadie trailed Hoffman from laps 6-29 before settling for third. ... Fourteenth-starting Jason Feger took fifth from Shannon Babb on lap 37, dropping Babb to sixth. ... Tristan Chamberlain ran as high as third just after the race's halfway mark before slipping to eighth. ... Dallon Murty led the opening three laps from the pole until fading to finish 11th. ... Brent Larson finished 12th in a backup car after ripping the nose off his primary machine in the night's first consolation race. ... Besides the lap-32 debris caution, the race was slowed three other times, first for Eli Johnson slowing on lap six; Johnson continued to place 22nd, the final starter running at the finish. ... Wil Herrington slowed and retired on the 19th lap. ... Fifth-running Ryan Gustin tagged the turn-four wall on a lap-19 restart attempt and was nearly collected by Pierce and Ethan Dotson; Gustin rallied to finish 14th after pitting for repairs. ... The 40-lapper lasted 21 minutes with 21 starters completing the distance. ... The two-day program concludes with Saturday's 55-lap, $20,000-to-win finale. ... Drake Troutman, winner of last year's I-55 finale, scratched after engine trouble in hot laps.

On the move: Runner-up Bobby Pierce of Oakwood, Ill., started 17th.

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, Tri Valley Equipment Sales, LoneWolf Petroleum, Haulin’ Haskells, Holdren Construction, Pivotal Propane, Bilstein Shocks, Eibach Springs, VP Racing Fuels, Rockwell Security and Wehr’s Machine.

Points chase: After I-55 Friday: 1. Bobby Pierce (6,635); 2. Nick Hoffman (6,528); 3. Tyler Erb (6,272); 4. Tim McCreadie (6,215); 5. Ryan Gustin (6,073); 6. Ethan Dotson (5,972); 7. Daulton Wilson (5,901); 8. Dennis Erb Jr. (5,792); 9. Trey Mills (5,785); 10. Dustin Sorensen (5,671).

Current weather: Broken Clouds, 66°F

Car count: 39

Fast qualifier: Tyler Erb

Time: 12.709 seconds

Polesitter: Dallon Murty

Heat race winners: Dallon Murty, Tristan Chamberlain, Nick Hoffman, Tim McCreadie

Consolation race winners: Bobby Pierce, Ethan Dotson

Provisional starters: Dustin Sorensen, Brent Larson

Next series race: September 26, I-55 Federated Raceway Park (Pevely, MO) $20,000