What won the race: Powering around polesitter Hayes Mattern on the opening lap, Mason Zeigler of Chalk Hill, Pa., led all 33 laps of the 23rd annual Butch Renninger Memorial presented by Bleeders Have Dreams Too at Port Royal Speedway, earning a $7,333 payday. Zeigler cruised to a 4.952-second victory over Mattern.

Quotable: “It was just a treacherous racetrack. You had to race it almost like a slick racetrack getting in because if you hit it too hard, you’d jump it," Zeigler said. "It sort of reminded me of a cushion at Fairbury, Ill. — it’s black right up to it. You think you can lean on it, but you have to be careful because if that right-front gets over top of it, it’s really treacherous.”

Key notes: It marked Zeigler’s fifth overall victory in 17 feature starts this season and his second Renninger Memorial triumph, adding to his 2020 victory. ... Mattern, whose wife welcomed their baby boy, Rhetlee, last Sunday, mounted his strongest challenge on lap 14, inching ahead of Zeigler along the bottom in turn two before Zeigler carried his momentum around the top and surged back in front. Mattern peeked underneath him again in turns three and four on lap 16 but couldn’t complete the pass. ... The first caution came on lap 22 when 19th-running Gary Stuhler spun in turn one after contact with leader Mason Zeigler, who tried squeezing beneath the 71-year-old Dirt Late Model Hall of Famer in traffic. Stuhler backed into the turn-one wall but didn’t sustain a hard hit. … A lap-23 red flag halted the action for roughly five minutes after Ross Robinson (ninth), Jason Covert (14th), Dillan Stake (17th) and Jim Yoder (18th) tangled while barreling into turn one. Stake was the only driver able to continue, and no injuries were reported. … The event honored Howard D. “Butch” Renninger Jr. of Mifflintown, Pa., a 41-time feature winner and three-time track champion at Port Royal; Renninger, who sits fourth on Port Royal’s all-time wins list for Late Model competitors, died on May 1, 2004, at the age of 62. … Trever Feathers of Winchester, Va., clinched his first career Port Royal track title with his seventh-place effort. ... Six-time Renninger Memorial winner Gregg Satterlee of Indiana, Pa., finished sixth from 13th. … This weekend’s racing action was held in conjunction with the 172nd annual Juniata County Fair.

On the move: Lane Snook of Port Royal, Pa., started 18th and finished eighth, collecting a $333 bonus courtesy of Addicted2Dirt PR & Media Management.

Winner's sponsors: Zeigler’s Rocket Chassis has a Clements Racing Engine and sponsorship from Greenlane, Hranec Corp., BX Logistics, HWE Trucking, RBS, Matheson Gas of Uniontown, Dyers Top Rods, Fox Racing Shox, Deep Creek Docks, VP Fuels, Swift Springs and BLE.

Points chase: Port Royal before Saturday: 1. Trever Feathers (1,835); 2. Gregg Satterlee (1,830); T3. Rick Eckert (1,735); T3. Hayes Mattern (1,735); 5. Dylan Yoder (1,710).

Current weather: Clear, 70°F

Car count: 32

Fast qualifier: Mason Zeigler

Time: 18.509 seconds

Polesitter: Hayes Mattern

Heat race winners: Rick Eckert, Ross Robinson, Dylan Yoder, Gene Knaub

Consolation race winners: Jakob Piper

Provisional starters: Roy Deese Jr.