What won the race: Ending a nearly four-year absence from victory lane in Dirt Late Model competition, Chase Junghans of Manhattan, Kan., captured Saturday night’s 12th annual Ron Jenkins Memorial at Lucas Oil Speedway. The 33-year-old driver inherited the lead on lap 15 when race-long pacesetter Cole Wells experienced terminal mechanical trouble and was flawless the remainder of the 50-lap distance to pocket a $11,000 paycheck, including a $1,000 bonus, in the finale of the Midwest LateModel Association’s Labor Day weekend doubleheader at the 3/8-mile oval.

Quotable: “I was just kind of riding around at the beginning, trying to see where those guys would mess up and whatnot,” Junghans said. “I kind of got to (Wells) and I was getting ready to start making moves and he unfortunately broke, but our car was really good tonight.”

Key notes: Junghans, who finished third in Friday’s opener at Wheatland, survived a threat from Friday’s winner Dillon McCowan before a lap-42 caution flag and drove away from Tony Jackson Jr. following the race’s final two restarts. He beat Jackson to the finish line by 1.693 seconds. … It was Junghans’s first Dirt Late Model triumph since a World of Outlaws Late Model Series win on Oct. 2, 2022, at Humboldt (Kan.) Speedway and first on the MLRA tour since Sept. 2, 2022, at Lakeside Speedway in Kansas City, Kan. He has three career MLRA victories. … McCowan, seeking to sweep the weekend, moved by Jeff Herzog for second on a lap-15 restart and appeared primed to battle Junghans to the finish until the caution flew on lap 45. He slipped to fifth on the restart and then, while contesting fourth place on lap 45, tangled with Cade Dillard and spun between turns one and two; McCowan pitted and returned to salvage a 10th-place finish. … Jackson finished the race with his steering out of whack after making contact with the lapped car driven by Matthew Larson on lap 39 as he was chasing McCowan for second. … Daniel Hilsabeck finished third after failing to qualify for Friday’s feature; an engine change before Saturday’s action helped invigorate him. … Cole Wells led the race’s first 15 laps before stopping in turn one to draw the second of the race’s four caution flags. He was pushed to the pit area with a tell-tale trail of oil dripping from underneath his stricken car. … Herzog triggered a lap-42 caution after ending up backwards in turn two with heavy nosepiece damage while running fifth. … Aaron Marrant brought out a caution on lap two and later retired with smoke wafting from his car. … Tyler Kuykendall and J.C. Wyman both scratched for the night after separate heat race incidents. ... Wheatland is scheduled to host the MARS Late Model Series on Oct. 9-10 for $5,000- and $10,000-to-win programs as part of its Fall Nationals weekend.

On the move: Chris Simpson of Oxford, Iowa, started 15th and finished fourth.

Winner's sponsors: Junghans’s Rocket Chassis is powered by a Clements engine and carries sponsorship from Bozard Ford, CJR Motors, Paulson-Stussy, Integra Shocks and Sunoco Race Fuels.

Points chase: After Wheatland Saturday: 1. Tony Jackson Jr. (2,140); 2. Aaron Marrant (1,910); 3. Jeff Herzog (1,870); 4. Matthew Larson (1,645); 5. Brennon Willard (1,485).

Current weather: Clear, 90°F

Car count: 37

Fast qualifier: Dillon McCowan

Time: 15.119 seconds

Polesitter: Cade Dillard

Heat race winners: Cade Dillard, Terry Phillips, Cole Wells, Jeff Herzog

Consolation race winners: Chad Simpson, Dylan Sillman

Provisional starters: Aaron Marrant, Kayden Clatt

Next series race: September 6, Springfield Raceway (Springfield, MO) $7,064