Hudson O’Neal scored his second consecutive Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series victory on Friday night at East Bay Raceway Park. Photo: LOLMDS Media
Hudson O’Neal went back-to-back for Rocket1 Racing by winning Friday night’s Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series Weiland Winternationals feature at East Bay Raceway Park in Tampa, Florida.
O’Neal, who also led every lap of Thursday night’s race, went wire-to-wire to score his fourth career victory at the “Clay by the Bay” in a span of 24 hours.
Daulton Wilson made a valiant charge in the final laps to finish second. Wilson had cut more than a second off O’Neal’s lead before getting into the fourth turn wall, which took him out of contention for the victory.
Hampton, Georgia’s Ashton Winger came home in third, with Devin Moran in fourth, and series points leader Ricky Thornton, Jr. in fifth.
O’Neal jumped to lead with fellow front row starter Garrett Smith of Eatonton, Georgia falling in line behind him. Smith stayed in second with Ryan Gustin holding down the third spot. Gustin moved past Smith for second right before Smith got sideways in turn two forcing a caution flag.
O’Neal still held the top spot on a lap-19 restart as Moran started overhauled Gustin for second. Moran then started to pressure O’Neal and by the halfway mark Moran could get a run on O’Neal but could not quite clear him for the lead.
After coming close to taking the lead, Moran fell to third after a lap 32 restart as Wilson picked up the spot. From there Wilson cut a second off O’Neal’s lead within a few laps. But contact with the wall ended his bid for the win as he was forced to hold of Winger for second at the finish.
“That was 50 laps of getting it on,” said O’Neal after recording his 20th career series victory.” The track was in great shape tonight. We were way more maneuverable tonight to get around those lapped cars. Hats off to the East Bay crew they got the track way better. We could race all over it. I could see Devin (Moran) several times underneath me there before the last caution. I knew I needed to get up on the wheel and go because I knew he was.”
“Our confidence level is sky high right now no doubt,” O’Neal added. “To be able to win like we did last night in a little bit slower conditions than we had tonight. You can have a bad fast track and still be able to hang on. We just must continue to qualify good and heat race good and stay up front and when you start on the front row of these features it makes everything easier.”
Garrett Alberson, Blairsville, Georgia’s Jonathan Davenport, Evans, Georgia’s Brandon Overton, Wil Herrington, and Logan Roberson rounded out the top 10.
The Wieland Winternationals were scheduled to wrap up on Saturday, February 11, but an unfavorable forecast forced East Bay Raceway Park and Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series officials to cancel the event.
“With the forecast for heavy rain at race time, we felt it was in the best interest of the teams and fans on-site to make this decision early,” said Al Varnadore, President of East Bay Raceway Park. “This will allow everyone time to make the necessary preparations and clear the grounds before they become heavily saturated.”
The Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series returns to action on Friday, March 17 at Atomic Speedway in Chillicothe, Ohio. For more information, visit LucasDirt.com.
Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series
East Bay Raceway Park – Tampa, FL
Wieland Winternationals – February 10, 2023
1. 1H-Hudson O’Neal
2. 18D-Daulton Wilson
3. 12-Ashton Winger
4. 99-Devin Moran
5. 20RT-Ricky Thornton, Jr.
6. 58-Garrett Alberson
7. 49-Jonathan Davenport
8. 76-Brandon Overton
9. 19M-Wil Herrington
10. 89-Logan Roberson
11. 19R-Ryan Gustin
12. 46-Earl Pearson, Jr.
13. B5-Brandon Sheppard
14. 11-Spencer Hughes
15. 7-Ross Robinson
16. 1T-Tyler Erb
17. 96V-Tanner English
18. 111B-Max Blair
19. 10-Garrett Smith
20. 79-Ross Bailes
21. 16-Tyler Bruening
22. 21M-Billy Moyer, Jr.
23. 40B-Kyle Bronson
24. 3S-Brian Shirley
25. 20-Jimmy Owens
26. 76B-Blair Nothdurft
27. 39-Tim McCreadie
28. 89J-Mark Whitener
29. 28-Dennis Erb, Jr.
30. 2S-Stormy Scott
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