Erick Rudolph was a four-time podium finisher with the Super DIRTcar Series this year prior to Saturday night’s Hall of Fame 100 at Weedsport Speedway. But after 100 circuits around the 3/8-mile dirt oval, the Ransomville, NY, driver finally earned the top spot in 2018.

Rudolph, who started from the pole position, led from flag to flag to capture the $10,000-to-win feature ahead of “Mad” Max McLaughlin and series points leader “Super” Matt Sheppard. Rudolph’s victory was his first in an SDS-sanctioned event since winning the 1000 Islands RV DIRTcar Northeast Fall Nationals in October 2016.

“It feels great—the last three years I started on the pole each time,” Rudolph said. “The first one gave me nightmares and last year I started on the pole again. I think I ended up top five. But to start on the pole and lead every lap here—it’s such an amazing facility and such an amazing team—[I’m] just happy to be here.”

Green flag racing! pic.twitter.com/DPKYAZvAIf

— Super DIRTcar Series (@SuperDIRTcar) July 29, 2018

A third-generation driver, Rudolph also gets to add his name to the list of Big-Block Modified race winners at Weedsport, where his father and crew chief, Charlie Rudolph, was a former track champion.

The Hall of Fame 100 was the fourth of seven Super DIRT Week Qualifier races this season, meaning Rudolph now has a guaranteed berth to the 47th annual event, which takes place Oct. 3-7 at Oswego Speedway.

“We’re looking forward to Oswego this year,” Rudolph said. “The last couple of years haven’t gone as we would like but looking forward to getting back there and we’re guaranteed to race, so even more excited to get there now.”

Meanwhile, McLaughlin scored third runner-up finish in an SDS race this season. 

The 18-year-old, who is seeking his first win with the series, previously opened the season with a second-place at Weedsport—his home track—on May 28 behind Stewart Friesen, who raced with the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series on Saturday at Pocono Speedway.

“I gave it all she had,” McLaughlin said. “We were just a little snug, and it was my fault. I tightened up a little bit too much. But all in all, this car has been awesome lately. We’ve had consistent top fives, second two Weedsport races in a row. So we’re very close—we’re knocking on the door.”

.@WeedsportSpdwy is pulsing with excitement! pic.twitter.com/h3s72f75yi

— Super DIRTcar Series (@SuperDIRTcar) July 29, 2018

Sheppard, who won at Autodrome Drummond in Quebec on Tuesday, entered Saturday night at Weedsport with a 121-point advantage over Rudolph in the standings, with McLaughlin trailing by 141 points. Altogether, Sheppard is tied with Friesen for the most series victories this season at four wins apiece.

“We were decent; obviously, Erick was really good tonight,” Sheppard said. “I felt like I kind of hung there with Max for most of the race and tried to take a stab at him a couple of times and just wasn’t really good enough to do anything. We had a pretty good car tonight, just not good enough. 

“We’ll go back and work on it a little bit. It was another good night at Weedsport for us. I think we’ve got four top fives now and a couple wins—we’ll take it and move on to the next one.”

The Super DIRTcar Series stays in New York for back-to-back nights of racing next week, beginning with the Battle of Plattsburgh 100 at Airborne Park Speedway on Tuesday and the Jack Johnson Tribute at Fonda on Wednesday, which is streaming LIVE on FloRacing.

From Super DIRTcar Series Timing & Scoring pic.twitter.com/AesPti3XuE

— Super DIRTcar Series (@SuperDIRTcar) July 29, 2018