What won the race: Slipping by early leader Dallon Murty at the completion of the 20th lap, seventh-starting Terry Phillips of Springfield, Mo., led the rest of Saturday's 50-lap MARS Late Model Series-sanctioned Fall Nationals finale at Lucas Oil Speedway. Phillips took the checkers 1.508 seconds ahead of Chris Simpson for the $10,000 paycheck, his first MARS Series win of the season and 95th of his Hall of Fame career.

Quotable: "I don’t know about having an advantage from being around here, cause I suck here normally," Phillips quipped. "This is why I’m so excited. Haven’t won a modified or a Late Model race, especially Late Model (here), in a long time. We’ve been racing this Late Model a little bit more and kinda feeling it, kinda getting a rhythm with what we need to change. My crew chief decided to make a call and it worked real well."

Key notes: Holding off Chris Simpson on a lap-41 restart, Phillips led the final 31 laps en route to his first MARS win since July 1, 2017, an event co-sanctioned with the Midwest LateModel Racing Association at Salina (Okla.) Highbanks Speedway. ... It's his third feature win of the season and first Wheatland victory since an MLRA visit on June 6, 2009. ... The fifth-starting Simpson settled for second. ... Third-starting Dallon Murty surged to the lead on the second lap and paced the field until giving way to Phillips at the completion of lap 20. Murty slipped as low as fourth before retaking third from Chase Junghans, winner of Friday's $5,000 Fall Nationals prelim, as they raced towards the white flag. ... Dennis Erb Jr., who matched Garrett Alberson's track record in time trials and led the opening lap from the pole, passed Junghans for fourth on the final lap, dropping him to fifth. ... Tony Jackson Jr. trailed Murty for much of the early going before slipping to finish sixth. ... Dylan Thornton, who crashed his primary car in Friday's prelim, finished eighth aboard a Chris Bragg-owned Longhorn in securing Rookie of the Year honors. ... Points leader Ryan Unzicker suffered heavy damage during the race's first caution on lap 29 after Bob Gardner and Blaze Burwell tangled in front of him, with Unzicker piling into Burwell's stopped machine. ... Burwell retired while Unzicker soldiered to a 19th-place result as the final starter running at the finish, clinching the 2026 MARS championship by five points over Jason Feger; Unzicker earned his second series title and first since 2022. ... The final stoppage came on lap 41 when Scott Crigler spun in turn four; Crigler continued to finish 15th as the final starter to complete 50 laps. ... The race lasted 31 minutes and ended at 10:30 p.m.

On the move: Jason Feger of Bloomington, Ill., started 20th and finished seventh.

Winner's sponsors: Phillips drives a Mann Motorsports Longhorn Chassis sponsored by Andy’s Frozen Custard, Mesilla Valley Transportation, Keyser Manufacturing, Don Babb Motorsports, VP Racing Fuels and Midwest Sheet Metal.

Points chase: 2026 final: 1. Ryan Unzicker (1,316); 2. Jason Feger (1,311); 3. Dylan Thornton (1,224); 4. Bob Gardner (969); 5. Daniel Adam (968).

Current weather: Clear, 72°F

Car count: 42

Fast qualifier: Dennis Erb Jr.

Time: 14.443 seconds

Polesitter: Dennis Erb Jr.

Heat race winners: Dennis Erb Jr., Tony Jackson Jr., Dylan Thornton, Dallon Murty

Consolation race winners: Mark Voigt, Gordy Gundaker

Provisional starters: Ryan Unzicker, Bob Gardner