What won the race: Muscling his way by early leader Dale Timms on the third lap and fending off Cody Overton's early challenges, third-starting Garrett Smith of Madison, Ga., led the rest of Tuesday's 40-lap Schaeffer's Southern Nationals debut at Harris Speedway. Smith beat Donald McIntosh by 1.480 seconds for the $7,553 payday and his second career Southern Nationals victory.

Quotable: "I knew (Zack Mitchell) was coming, I really wasn’t sure where I needed to be at on the racetrack. With the humidity out here, it’s really got the surface kinda greasy. I really couldn’t steer like I wanted to, you know what I mean?" Smith said. "I wasn’t real sure where to go, so I figured he was probably having to work really hard to get by us there though, cause the way it’s so greasy now, you can’t really turn in a perfect world."

Key notes: Cody Overton nearly led the fifth lap, coming within 0.022 of a second of Garrett Smith, before slowing with a flat right-rear tire for the race's first caution on lap 17; Overton rallied to finish seventh. ... Smith, the Spring Nationals champ, added his second Southern Nationals victory to July 19, 2025's event at Screven Motor Speedway. ... Smith's only other victory of 2026 game March 28 in Spring Natonals action Thunderhill Raceway in Summertown, Tenn. ... Dale Timms, who inherited the pole after Trent Ivey's qualifying lap was disallowed because of an unapproved tire compound, led two laps and finished fifth. ... Ivey worked his way as high as 15th before retiring under a lap-19 caution. ... Seventh-starting Donald McIntosh, back in the Billy Hicks Racing No. 79 for the tour, took second on a lap-23 restart but never seriously challenged Smith. ... Reigning Southern Nationals champ Kaede Loudy finished third after a back-and-forth battle with Zack Mitchell. ... Besides the lap-17 caution for Overton's flat, the race was slowed five other times, most notably for a multicar crash on a lap-20 restart when Hunter Kohn appeared to spin from 10th. He departed along with Stacy Boles, Braden Jones, Beckham Malone and Daniel Boles. ... Eleventh-starting Benji Hicks worked the high line as high as second on a lap-19 restart before getting pinched in the turn-two wall on the 20th lap. ... Allen Styck slowed from 12th for the final stoppage on lap 33. ... The 40-lapper lasted 43 minutes and ended at 10:20 p.m. with 11 starters running at the finish. ... Jake Jackson scratched.

On the move: Mike Benedum of Salem, W.Va., started 19th and finished 11th.

Winner's sponsors: Smith’s Longhorn Chassis is powered by a Vic Hill Racing Engine and carries sponsorship from The World Famous Cadillac Ranch, Mossy Pond, Atlanta Paving & Concrete Construction, Chase Motorsports Coach & Trailer, Stanley Painting, Will Moseley Music, SS Enterprises, VP Racing Fuels, Boswell Oil, JM Custom Laser, Go Lithium, Schaeffer's Racing Oil, Bilstein Shocks, DirtCarLift, Hoosier Race Tires by Durham, VG Performance, SRI, Slicker Graphics and MyRacePass.

Points chase: After Harris: 1. Zack Mitchell (386); 2. Donald McIntosh (380); 3. Garrett Smith (378); 4. Kaede Loudy (376); 5. Joseph Joiner (368).

Current weather: Clear, 73°F

Car count: 29

Fast qualifier: Trent Ivey

Time: 14.532 seconds

Polesitter: Dale Timms

Consolation race winners: Gray Parton, Beckham Malone

Provisional starters: Mike Benedum, Mathew Porter, Daniel Boles, Landen Zakalowski

Next series race: July 16, Modoc Speedway (Modoc, SC) $7,542