ST. LOUIS, Mo. — After winning Friday's 25-lap preliminary feature at the Castrol Gateway Dirt Nationals, an event that's put the spotlight on its share of unheralded drivers, Myles Moos wanted fans to make sure he's not satisfied with the $5,000 victory, even if it marks his richest career payday.

In closing his victory lane interview, the 28-year-old Lincoln, Ill., driver wanted to make one thing particularly clear heading into Saturday's $30,000-to-win finale.

"We're here to win this race, just so everybody knows," Moos said.

Starting outside the front row, Moos staked his claim as one of the weekend's fastest drivers at The Dome at America's Center by leading all 25 laps of Friday's main event that completed Gateway's second and final split-field program. He ran mostly unchallenged at the fifth-mile oval, turning back a final charge from Nick Hoffman of Mooresville, N.C., in the final laps

Hoffman, whose Scott Bloomquist Racing team scrambled to make an engine change before his heat race, finished 0.863 seconds back at the checkers. Polesitter Austin Simpson of Bartonville, Ill., and Jody Knowles of Tyrone, Ga. — two more unheralded upstarts — were third and fourth while Gordy Gundaker of St. Charles, Mo., rounded out the top five.

Two-time Gateway Nationals final winner Bobby Pierce of Oakwood, Ill., started 16th in the 20-car field but never cracked the top 10 and retired his banged-up car with six laps remaining.

Moos looked unbeatable most of the race, but he admitted he got a little worried when he caught a glance of the Dome's video screen to see Hoffman making up ground late in the race.

"I kind of screwed up and looked at the (video screen) and I saw Nick, and I was like, 'Aww, dang it.' I just had to hold a smooth line because that rut down there was treacherous," he said. "I was just trying to keep a smooth line like I had all night. It's a race. I just had to picture in my head it was just like a heat race anywhere."

VIDEO: Watch highlights from Friday night's Super Late Model race on FloRacing.

During his victory lane interview, it hit Moos what he'd accomplished in Dirt Late Model racing's lone indoor event.

"Man, this is awesome. I don't even know what else to say to be honest with you," he said. "Look at this? I mean, look at this? Look at all these people! Let's go St. Louis."

Winning exceeded the highest hopes of Moos, who won a heat race in 2017's Gateway competition but had never previously cracked the feature lineup for the finale.

"My No. 1 goal even coming here was just to make the show, you know? Then my dad drew a three (for qualifying order), luckily, when we got here, and I just knew that was going to be important for qualifying," he said. "I can't believe it, to be honest with you. I've been chasing this thing and having bad luck after bad luck, but you know what? We're here in a borrowed trailer, this car's three or four years old. We do what we can with what we've got."

The 25-lapper was slowed by two cautions, the first for a lap-seven pileup in turn two that included David Seibers, Jacob Magee, Joseph Hughes and Bobby Pierce. The second caution came out on the 11th lap when Joseph Hughs stopped inside turn four.

Friday's top four finishers will join Thursday's top four finishers — Tyler Carpenter, Bob Gardner, Tanner English and Kyle Hammer — as drivers locked into Saturday's 40-lap main event paying $30,000-to-win. The rest of the drivers will run consolation races to battle for the remainder of the feature's starting lineup.