What won the race: Retaking control after Wil Herrington tangled with a lapped car and spun on the 24th lap, polesitter Tanner English of Benton, Ky., survived the remainder of Friday's rough-and-tumble 40-lap MARS Late Model Championship Series debut at Benton Speedway. English led all but three laps (1-20, 24-40) and beat his father-in-law Rodney Melvin by 1.455 seconds for the $5,000 paycheck, his first MARS Series victory of the season and 18th of his career.

Key notes: English survived Benton's rough surface for his sixth feature win of the season and first MARS tour victory since Sept. 19, 2025, at Brownstown (Ill.) Bullring. ... Fourth-starting Wil Herrington, making his debut aboard Steve Lampley's No. 33 Rocket, slipped by English for the lead on lap 21 only to tangle with the lapped car driven by 12-year-old Callan Hill a few laps later. Herrington's right front launched over Hill's left rear before landing hard and causing Herrington to spin, flattening his left-rear tire; Herrington retired and was credited with 10th. ... Rodney Melvin, making his first start of the season, inherited the runner-up spot on a lap-31 restart, but never seriously challenged English over the final 10 circuits. ... A large bump formed in turn one, creating calamity and leading to multiple rollover wrecks throughout the 40-lap feature, including second-running Billy Moyer's near rollover crash on the third lap. ... Fourth-running Dylan Thornton hit the turn-one bump wrong on lap five, sending him on a nasty barrel roll that necessitating a 10-minute red flag for cleanup; he was unhurt. ... Points leader Ryan Unzicker restarted fourth on lap 24 before spinning in turn one, triggering a multicar melee that sent Myles Moos's car upside down and on top of Unzicker's driver's side; Moos, and Bob Gardner were eliminated in the lap-24 restart mess while Jake Little soldiered to a sixth-place result; Tyler Kuykendall continued for a handful more laps before pulling off and was credited ninth as the first starter who failed to finish. ... All drivers were OK. ... Unzicker, who had three turn-one spins throughout the night, including two in his heat race, rallied to finish third. ... Besides the turn-one carnage and Herrington's mishap, the race was slowed three other times, including for Brandon Carpenter's stopped machine on lap 10. ... Third-running Clay Stuckey slowed on lap 14 and retired with apparent left-rear suspension damage. ... Second-running Jason Feger slowed with a flat left-rear tire on lap 30, giving the runner-up spot to Melvin; Feger pitted and rebounded to finish fifth. ... The main event lasted nearly 40 minutes and ended just before 11 p.m. ... Matt Cooper and Dustin Martin scratched.

On the move: Ryan Unzicker of El Paso, Ill., started 21st and finished third.

Winner's sponsors: English's AK Race Car is powered by a Pro-Built Racing Engine and sponsored by Thoroughbred Auto Auction, Seay Motors, Bailey’s Trucking, Riggs Fiber, Bad Boy Mowers, M&M Painting & Construction, SI Towing & Recovery, Chase Motorsports Coach & Trailer, Melvin’s Towing, Rural Route Repair, Minon Construction, Custom Automotive, Supreme Enterprises LLC, DeFew’s Body Shop, Bel-O Cooling & Heating, Daikin, AFCO Brake Systems, Bilstein Shocks, BASE Racing Fuel, BASE Oil and Accelo Racewear.

Points chase: Before Benton: 1. Ryan Unzicker (782); 2. Jason Feger (699); 3. Dylan Thornton (670); 4. Daniel Adam (549); 5. Bob Gardner (543).

Current weather: Clear, 75°F

Car count: 23

Fast qualifier: Tanner English

Time: 13.716 seconds

Polesitter: Tanner English

Heat race winners: Tanner English, Billy Moyer, Jason Feger

Next series race: August 29, I-55 Federated Raceway Park (Pevely, MO) $5,000