**Shae Paulo Takes Dominant Opening Statement at Lanier** Shae Paulo came to Round 1 ready to make a statement, and that's exactly what he delivered. After winning his heat race, Paulo controlled the feature from start to finish, leading 16 laps and never giving anyone a real chance to threaten his authority on the dirt at Lanier National Speedway. Billy Rowlee mounted the closest challenge but couldn't find a way past — Paulo's car was simply the class of the field tonight. The real story beneath the surface belonged to Kyle Matson2, who turned a 21st place starting spot into an eighth place finish. That kind of charge through the field in a non-wing sprint car at a track like Lanier doesn't happen by accident — it was pure racecraft and a car that came alive as the night went on. Zach Jaynes earned the pole position with a 13.102 second qualifying lap but couldn't convert that speed into a feature win. He'll be back, though — his heat race victory shows the pace is there.